Friday, July 31, 2015

rhythm in the grasses

This new field is driving me crazy. I am transfixed. All these new works are uart paper, some with watercolor underpainting some with rubbing alcohol hard pastel underpainting. The rhythm in the Queen Anne's Lace and the Chicory is intriguing.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

field love




Field love continues. Just sticking to one theme, one field allows me to change the rest of the variables. Simple changes such as tilting the horizon line or the intensity of the underpainting make big differences.

Monday, July 20, 2015

Fingers, pastels and bridging


Fingers and pastel 
I am asked many times about how often my fingers are in the pastel. This is a tricky subject for pastelist. Many abhor all finger use. Some use fingers and tools to smooth the pastel. No absolutes for me, I simply do whatever works.
Smooshing the pastel around with your fingers can create beauty. Or sometimes you can unintentionally make dead passages- places that have lost the crystalline vibrancy of pastel. I use my fingers mostly in the bottom layers of my paintings. It is how I will move the pastel. And sometimes I "bridge."
What is bridging? When a large change in color temperature is needed your paintings can benefit from a more gradual transition. To do so you need to select colors that move the eye along the color wheel to the desired next stop. It makes a more appealing transition. For example, in this field painting, the bridge from the warmer grasses to the cool tree shadows travel from a melon color, to more pink and purple then going over to blue and green. Some colors are in the layers and some are more present.
Try it some time and see how it feels.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

new installation


I am honored to have three of my pieces chosen to be part of the art collection for the new PNC headquarters in Pittsburgh.  All three are oils. They include Island in Late Autumn (above), Rebirth(below) and Talking with Silence, study (bottom.)

Monday, July 6, 2015

Out in the field

The golden grasses of summer have returned. Lately I have been working with many layers of watercolor under painting with pastel on top. I am careful to make my watercolor darks dark enough so that I can leave them more transparent. Yay summer!!!