Heilman box- tiny and wonderful!

Ooh la la, am I excited! I just received my new Heilman box in the mail! I keep going smaller with every box I buy. About 12 years ago I bought the medium box. Rather large in size it serves best in the studio. Next I moved to the backpack box, which I must admit I have 2. Each one has a different selection of brands of pastels. Now today I am the proud owner of the double sketchbox. Only 7.25x9.5x2.85. it's tiny and weighs under 5 pounds fully loaded. I placed the roll of masking tape to give you a reference point.
Last year when I saw Richard McKinley I noticed he had one. He filled it with his two Girault sets- 50 plein air and 50 neutral and friends. (of course the sticks were divided in half.) The rest of the space is filled with some of my other faves, Diane Townsend Terrages and a couple of Rembrandt's and Great Americans.
I am off to Mountain Maryland Plein Air for next week and am excited about my new box.  Since I am driving there I am bringing both backpack and sketchbox. I will let you know which is chosen and why when I return next week.
Links: Heilman boxes
           Girault pastels
           Diane Townsend pastels

going beyond what is there

48x42 oil

plein air piece, pastel with watercolor underpainting 8x8

There is no need to hunt for different locations from which to paint. Just think of Monet. Nesting in to a favorite location and knowing that place like your best friend will always be to your advantage. Let me list the reasons why.
1.You no longer are painting things. Instead you can fully involve yourself in art making.
2. When you see the same place day after day you become far more sensitive to its color changes.
3. Since you are no longer painting things, instead you paint shapes you feel freer to move them.
4. When a place is ingrained in your head you no longer even need to be there. This is a location I have painted on location and in the studio for about 12 years. I will never exhaust its possibilities.
Above (top) is a studio piece done without reference..of course, except the information stored in my head.

Above (under) is a recent plein air piece. One of my many morning vitamins, it's not meant for selling, just information gathering.

maryland public TV pop up gallery

Last night the Maryland Public TV displayed a small pop-up gallery of my work. What a nice surprise!  I found out when I received an email to my website... a new collector!
 Here is the link if you want to see it.http://video.mpt.tv/video/2365484282/
It truly is just a notation in the program...still I am delighted!

April demo at the gallery

finished painting with pastel

watercolor underpainting for demo

This is for all of the folks who attended my demonstration on April 11th. Thank you! This painting was done completely from memory. The bottom photo is what the attendees saw and the top is the finished piece.
Tip- The most important thing to remember when doing a watercolor underpainting is to try to get your values correct. If you don't the watercolor will need to be covered in order for the painting to read correctly.

order from chaos

pastel with watercolor underpainting

Now that my show and residency are finished, my brain and time has been freed up considerably. This just in time for plein air painting's most gorgeous weather of the year. Yay!
Sometimes I think my better plein air pieces come when the subject is total chaos. That means I have to select and create a kind of order. With the thick woods, filled with underbrush and a flowered forest floor the opportunities are limitless. I simply paint color shapes.
PS Thank you everyone for making the show such a great success. To all the folks that put their names on a list for the next workshop- I will get back to you soon! In the meantime- keep painting!!!