In the Studio

Been having a very hectic week getting ready for my trip to Yellowstone for a acclaimed wildlife artist and naturalist seminar with Robert Bateman, so I haven’t had a whole lot of time for painting, but today was a beautiful sunny day…the first in many days, after about two weeks of almost solid rain or overcast yucky skies. Blech.

So I took my trusty canine, Roxy, and we headed out back to the poplar bluff behind us. The colors of autumn in Saskatchewan are beautiful but brief. Before you know it, these leaves will all be gone and the cold winter air will move in. So I thought I’d best capture the golden hues while they could still be had. I hope that you enjoy this piece!

Autumn Glory
Saskatchewan Prairie Bluff in September
8″ x 10″ pastel
painted in plein air & alla prima
Available - $180 - Inquire

A big surprise for us here in the prairies….middle of September and a BEAUTIFUL fall day. Hot, even. So of course the hubby and I had to escape once more to our summer retreat for one more day, before it turns cold here and the colors all disappear.

Having my pastels currently in use on a larger project at home in the studio, I opted to bring my watercolors with me today. Something a little different for a change. This scene is similar to where I was sitting for #6 seen further down, but the colors of the trees have changed since and the sandbar has shifted as the water levels of the river are down even more than before. It was also a perfectly calm day, not a ripple to be found…the river was like glass…a perfect mirror to capture the fall colors that rose above it.

I was able to capture a slightly different feel to this painting compared to the one I created in pastels. I found myself trying to put lighter colors on top of darker colors, and well, those of you who work in watercolors know that isn’t possible to do. (Wish I’d brung my gouaches!) I’ve sure been using pastels for so long it was just second nature to try and do this. But, I think it still turned out not bad all considering, that I’m not a watercolorist by nature.

“The Last Vestiges of Summer” - approx. 8 1/2″ x 10 ” watercolor /pastel on 300lb cold press

I’m starting to get quite prolific with these! This piece below was created on labour day Monday, but I didn’t get around to scanning it until today. (Musta been on an off-labour day, ha!)

This one is a good match to it’s companion piece from Aug 28th, “Sunny Day in August”. It’s just looking slightly left of that scene, about the same time of day, perhaps a little later in the afternoon as the sun was moving away from the water by the time I completed this piece. I’m titling this one “Sunny Day in September”. Aside from just stating the obvious, it is a good match to the first one, therefor instead of just titling it something like “Sunny Day, The Sequel” I figured I’d change the date, as it was indeed done in September while the other one was done at the end of August. Two beautiful days in an unbelievably beautiful week this late in the year here in the Prairies. Hey, it ain’t summer no more, but I’ll take as much of this summer weather as they can dish out!

I have also now opened my own plein air online gallery which showcases these works in a more organized manner. Be sure to pop by my gallery at www.sherigordon.com. Tell your friends!

Sunny Day in September
South Saskatchewan River
8″ x 10″ pastel
painted in plein air & alla prima

And here to show it with it’s companion piece:

A fine sunny long weekend in September, can’t ask for more! The weather hit 28 degrees today (celcius). Beautiful day to spend at the beach (yet again, seems to be my hubby and I’s favorite “getaway” place this year, and hopefully, many more to come! I absolutely love it there.)

This one was a bit more frustrating to try and do. Perhaps I chose a bad colour of suede to begin with, but I couldn’t quite get the same daylight vibrancy that I was able to get with the previous one. The day was just as sunny, but somehow this piece makes it feel somewhat…..well…unsunny. But it does capture the colors and feel of the river’s edge well, and a bit of the sandbar we were laying on. The river’s down quite a bit this year, so the sand bar is quite the big beach!

“The First Colours of Autumn” 8″ x 9 3/4″ pastel on suede

Today I actually rode my horse!!! For some of you, you might be thinking “big deal”. hehehe But for me, this is a big step. I’m a fairly novice rider, I know how to ride, but don’t have enough confidence in me yet to handle a potentially excitable horse. Not that my horse is excitable, he’s just not a dead calm bomb proof plug. He’s got spirit. I just have to learn to trust him not to be spirited while I’m on his back. Anyhoo, so for today, to actually saddle him up and get on his back, alone, no one around for miles…and ride him (at a walk, mind you) around the arena for a little while was a big accomplishment for me. Yay!!! Baby steps. Next time I’ll feel that much more confident and trusting of him.

After the ride, I took a walk down the riding trails on the farm where my horse is boarded at, and parked my butt down in this spot. At first I sketched it while kneeling down, but my old knees can’t handle sitting like that for long so after a bit I said “screw it” and laid down on the forest floor - pokey grass, wild roses, ants and all. I’m not sure how long I lay there for, could have been an hour, maybe two at the most. When I decided I’d had enough for the day, here is the result of that. I hope you enjoy!

“By the Old Riding Trail” - 8″x10″ pastel on suede