A tiny garden

Perennial Sunflower Pair 4x4 pastel, copyright 2012

Pink Zinnia Facing the Sun 4x4 pastel, copyright 2012

I haven't abandoned pastels altogether, just decided to move in a slightly different direction.  My first intention with this 16x20 piece of black matboard was to paint something larger, as I've done in the past.  But as the pastel primer on it was drying, something dripped from the ceiling, right into the middle.  Instead of just letting it dry I wiped if off, ruining the surface at the drip. In frustration I started cutting up the matboard - the pieces kept getting smaller and smaller until I had a stack of 4x4's.  

These have turned out to be fun little sketches.  It can be quite challenging to compose an interesting painting in such a small space, and the rough texture and black surface make it more difficult.  So far I have painted 11.  Eight have turned out well enough to show off and two have the potential to be painted again larger.  

Here are the first two that I like, I'll post two at a time.  The weather has been turning more winter-like which I have decided to defy with garden scenes.  These eight, and hopefully more, will be made available in my etsy shop.

Sunflowers in a mason jar

Sunflowers came home with me again last week after a fundraiser at the art center.  This time I tried them in pastel and in a larger size.  At 18x24, this is the largest still life I've tried in pastel.   The multiple, long bright petals are perfect for the sort of loose, gestural quality I've been leaning towards.  And I decided I needed to use more red in the work this time.  It's a color I rarely chose as I seem to lean more towards the warm browns and blues.  I like how just a bit of red here and there in the flowers really makes the color pop.  I'm going to have to use it more often, although I obviously have no intention of abandoning my bright blues!

For some reason I can't get the image to load on the blog, you'll have to follow the link to see.  I'll see if it works tomorrow.

Update:  Still can't load a picture on this post, you'll just have to use the link.  Weird.

In the "zone"

Sunflowers 16x20 oil, copyright 2010

This weekend's barn tour and dinner, a joint project of the Preble County Art Association and Preble County Historical Society, went very well.  Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and big thanks to all the barn owners, the tour guide (Steve Gordon, a long time friend and historic barn expert), and all the volunteers who made it possible.  And to top it all off, the weather was just perfect.

One of the benefits of helping out with these projects is all the goodies that come with it.  A delicious free meal and a centerpiece from one of the tables - sunflowers in this case.   I grow a few sunflowers every year to provide munchies for the birds (and myself) plus a few plants that are purely decorative.  This summer's heat and drought didn't work out so well for the decorative ones, so I was happy to get a few to take home, hoping to find the time to paint them before they wilted.

I didn't really have the time, but I painted them anyway, most of it in one fell swoop on Tuesday.  I started out with a blue background, which I think made me unconsciously emphasize the orange rather than the yellow.  I liked how it looked, so I just kept going.  The paint is thicker than usual, and I used a larger brush.  All this helped me keep the painting loose and not bogged down in detail.  I was truely in the "zone" on this one, and it was only outside influences (ie family) that kept me from finishing all at once.  Fortunately I was able to hold onto that feeling and finish today.  Being pulled in many different directions can make it hard to find the zone and I was lucky to take advantage of it when I did.

I'm thinking this one might be worthy of trying for a show at the Richmond (Indiana) Art Museum next month.  Hopefully it will be dry by then!