Gold and Blue

Some time ago I bought a large number of handmade cotton rag paper with the intent of using it for pastels.  It has an interesting texture, wonderfully torn edges and comes in 25 colors.  When I got caught up in oil painting this spring, the paper was forgotten.  It sat neglected in a drawer for many months until a studio clean up this summer brought it back to light.

At the time, the winter wheat was ripening and the contrast of golden yellow with bright blue skies was irresistible and this paper seemed perfect for it.  There are two of them right now, and since they seem to make a pair I mounted them together on a piece of matboard to show of the edges.  Both are currently available in my etsy shop.

Top: Through the Fields 8 1/2x11 pastel, copyright 2013

Bottom: Turning to Gold 8 1/2x11 pastel, copyright 2013

Turning 75

Every fall the Dayton Society of Painters and Sculptors has its annual members show.  Most years it has a suggested theme with a special award.  This year the theme was "75" in honor of the organization's 75th anniversary.

Themed shows are a bit of a struggle for me, especially when they are open to interpretation.  I can be rather literal-minded, so figuring out how my rather traditional works fit into a theme can be a head scratcher.  This time though, I decided to just go ahead with a very literal interpretation.

Interstate 75 is a major highway that passes just west of downtown Dayton and is prominent feature of the city.  When heading into Dayton (including the DSPS gallery), we usually take US 35 - the interchange between the two is quite impressive.  US 35 passes underneath I75 and the ramps curve and soar overhead in a dance that always fascinates me as I pass through.  Unfortunately I am usually driving, making it impossible to grab a decent photo.  Thank goodness for Google StreetView, which gave me just the inspiration I was looking for.

I had some fun with this one, and a lot of reworking to get the perspective right (if a bit exaggerated), but it was an enjoyable experiment.  It didn't win any awards, but it did turn some heads.

Approaching Interstate 75 16x20 pastel, copyright 2013

Cobalt blues

Light of Dawn 16x20 oil on panel, copyright 2012

Inspired by a photograph taken several years ago, this is my favorite of the skies so far.   The photo had quite a bit of purple, but the painting wanted to be more blue, so I just went along.  Some time ago a friend was generous enough to give me quite a few oils that she no longer had an interest in using, and cobalt blue was among the colors.  It's been fun mixing it with white and the other blues to find new colors, and I am loving the brightness of it.  

Learning as I go

Through the Aspen 51/2x8 pastel, copyright 2012

Since I wasn't able to try out my plein air set up while on vacation, I've decided to fill up my little pastel  book with studies based on photographs.  After realizing that plein air wasn't going to be possible I took many, many photos with the specific goal of using them for reference, including this one from Grand Teton National Park just south of Yellowstone.  So far I've painted five of these, learning and adjusting to the new landscapes as I work.  A new one will be posted every few days.

Using only the pastels that had been packed for the trip, a timer was set to 20 minutes to imitate the plein air experience.  Very quickly I discovered that I had packed the wrong greens.  Midwestern greens are bright, saturated and varied, while Rocky Mountain greens are far less intense.  This little aspen groove was brighter than the dominant ponderosa pines but certainly not equal to an Ohio forest.   Also, a much higher elevation means more intense sunlight and deeper shadows.  With some adjustments this one should work well as a larger piece.

Bank barn revisited

Bank Barn in Early Spring, Late Afternoon 12x9 pastel, copyright 2012

Hopefully no one is tired of this barn - I certainly am not.  It's funny how it seems to be constantly changing, even though I see it every day.  Right now I really only have this one view that is good, but as we are slowly clearing the area around it, I should be able to get different perspectives. 

There is an artist named Kevin Macpherson who created a series of paintings of the pond outside his house.  Over the course of five years he ended up with 386 small paintings.  I had thought that this might be somewhat obsessive of him, but I can now see that over the course of my life I could easily end up doing the same with this barn.  Perhaps there is a least a little bit of obsessiveness in every artist.