Down to the Rocks

I don't do rocks very often and often find them tricky

to do, but this was fun and I love the way it turned out.
The hardest part was thinking of a punchy title for it, which I failed at.  This was from a photograph taken by someone other than me, and is a small waterfall in Loch Lomond, Scotland.

Pastel 16 x 20

Evening at the Lake

 

This one has been sitting around waiting for a frame for a couple of weeks,  I don't remember where I got the photo, but I loved the composition.

Pastel 12 x 16

Summer's around the corner

After the rough winter we've had I felt the urge to paint something to remind me of the summer that is still to come.  This one came off my easel yesterday.

Pastel 11 x 14 on Fisher 400 paper


SOLD

On the Bank

Just finished this one, which I took from a cropped photo taken by someone else.

Pastel 8" x 10"

A Quiet Corner

I am finding that going into my studio and painting has been a welcome distraction since the unexpected death of my son just before Thanksgiving.  It helps to have my mind focused on something else, though of course he is never far from my thoughts.

This painting is the result of watching a video by one of my favorite pastellists, Richard McKinley. He was demonstrating the use of a watercolor underpainting when working with pastels.  I frequently use underpaintings but normally employ the use of pastels with a wash of alcohol over the top.  I enjoyed this method, though I will never be able to get the results he does.
Pastel 11" x 14"

Tulips and Pears

AFTER THE RAIN
SOLD

READY TO EAT

These two pictures are the most recent I have been working on.

The tulips I did because it has been a wish of mine to paint flowers with drops of water on them.  It was fun to do and I'm reasonably happy with the result, though there are a few tweaks that I could make.






The pears are a redo of one I did some time ago when I was just starting out on my art journey. Since that time I have gained a lot more knowledge and experience, and I decided to paint it again to gift to a dear friend.

A future Cup of Tea

I came across this photo recently and decided it was a challenge that I would like to take on. It's very different for me and I have chosen to show more of the strokes used in depicting the tea picker.

Pastel 11" x 14"



                              SOLD



                 

The Creek

Just finished this one. I can't remember where I got the photo, but I'm always drawn to shots of creeks winding through fields, and I need lots of practice painting mountains!!

This is 16" x 20" Pastel.


SOLD

"Calla"

I've been promising myself that I would paint this picture of a Calla Lily for a while and I finally got round to it this week.  It's now framed and waiting for me to put a wire on the back before it can be hung on the wall.  11" x 14"

Gone to Seed

In England when I was growing up, we used to call these Dandelion Clocks and children would blow on them and count how many blows it would take, which would then indicate what time of day it was.  (Never accurate of course).  I have wanted to try my hand at painting one for some time and recently came across this photo.  This is the result.

I absolutely loved painting this and may try doing a group of them together sometime.

Pastel 11"x 14" on Colorfix Suede paper.


This painting has been gifted to a friend.