Wave Good-bye

"Wave Good-bye"
6" x 8"
Pastel on paper
I found a photo of a wave that appealed to me for its colour and shape. I'm not comfortable with waves that are this large, but I like them when they're dry and stopped mid-curl, like this one.  

Pastel seems to be a part of my life now. I guess I'd better take a lesson or two to see if I'm doing it right.

Carol

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Blithe Spirit

"Blithe Spirit"
16" x 20"
Oil on wrapped canvas 
A trip to my local farmers' market showcased the season's brightest and best of the season. Yet the cabbages were not the colors I wanted, so I imagined one in something other than ... green.  

Actually, I didn't have to imagine this one, I photoshopped a green one and made her outrageously colorful and whimsical.  I painted her petals without the veins then added them when I was sure I wouldn't back out of my decision.  I'm kind of liking it.  Now I wish I had some bacon, I'd fry it up and make a nice warm dinner for tonight.  

Carol

Pines in the Fog

"Pines in the Fog"
5" x 5"
Oil on hardboard
Morning was about to burn off the fog that had hugged a stand of pines throughout the night. It wasn't much, but the breath of moisture that the low-slung cloud afforded sustained those living things another day.

I derived quite a bit of pleasure as I made up this little painting. I've been to a place like this, all crunchy and parched, and recalled it through the tip bristles of my brush.

Carol

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Sunday With Daniel

"Sunday With Daniel"
9" x 12"
Pastel on paper
I went with my painting pals to the Daniel Wright Woods again, but this time, instead of taking my oil paints, I brought a box of pastels and a pad of colored paper. I began painting on the textured side of a sheet and hated it. I untaped it, folded it and stuffed it into my Ed Hardy backpack.  I flipped the paper to the smoother side and redrew what I had already planned. The guys had a good head start on me, but I managed to finish all but a few waterlilies by quitting time.  

I'm enjoying pastels about as much as any medium I've tried.  Even though I've posted others, this is my second pastel painting.

Carol

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The Tempest

"The Tempest"
16" x 20"
Acrylic on wrapped canvas
I felt compelled to paint something tempestuous tonight, so I put a large canvas on my easel and squeezed out a limited palette of acrylic paints. I directed my frustrated bewilderment into this very fluid and tumultuous piece, and within two hours I felt a lot better.  

I like how this turned out, so I'm going to try it in oil, possibly tomorrow.

Carol

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Daniel Wright, Overcast

"Daniel Wright, Overcast"
12" x 9"
Pastel on paper



















Autumn made an appearance at the woods today. For the most part, the trees and shrubs have settled into their final, seasonal selection of green, but one shrub had already tried on her fall attire. She wore it proudly, despite the warning that she'd also probably be the first to lose her fancy garb. 

I sat at pond-side with my pastels on a small table next to me to capture the essence of the woods on this overcast day. One of my friends will be going back to Arizona, so this was his last hurrah for the season.

Carol

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Me

"Me"
12" x 9"
Pencil on paper



















It was the sixties — now I'm IN my sixties!  I wanted a bentwood rocker and the only way to get the money for it was to join a band and dance ...  at the Playmore Ballroom in Fort Dodge, Iowa. One night of dancing paid for the chair.  I was a go-go girl and loved every minute of it. 

This is a piece to satisfy the Dailypaintworks "Paint Yourself Young" Challenge.  Fortunately, I have photos of me at this age that were taken by a photographer in the art department at the TV station where I worked.

Carol

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Oceanside Beach at Sunset

"Oceanside Beach at Sunset"
6" x 9"
Pastel on paper
There were lots of people still on the beach as the sun dipped into the Pacific. The wet sand reflected pink as the foamy surf receded.  How different from the rocky, cold beaches of Lake Michigan I'm accustomed to.  

 Pastel number four. I'm learning a lot with each attempt at making art with these chubby, sticks of product.

Carol

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Farmers' Market

"Farmers' Market"
24" x 24"
Oil on museum wrapped canvas
I gathered this produce at our local farmers' market a couple of weekends ago to arrange for a painting, and to eat. I had originally placed my plastic moose in the upper right hand corner, thinking I'd make the "autumn" version of "Toulouse, Your Moose Is Loose,"  but as the painting progressed, my darling moose looked out of place. Not quite as handsome as he looked in the first painting. So I gathered some sunflowers, stuck them in my daffodil pitcher and finished it with sunshine in that corner, like a child's drawing, instead.  

 I will be submitting this painting to be juried with another, in this year's Recent Works competition. I'll let you know as results come in, whether or not my paintings are juried into the show, or not.

Carol

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Violaceous Velvet

"Violaceous Velvet"
12" x 12" 
Oil on wrapped canvas
Her petals unfurled from the tight, yellow bud at her core, to the violaceous milkiness of her velvety corolla. 

It's been months since I've painted a rose, but not for lack of interest. I got bogged down in landscapes and house portraits, but today my heart needed to be involved with my favorite subject matter, no matter what.

Carol

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Heavenly Hollyhock

"Heavenly Hollyhock"
11" x 14"
Oil on wrapped canvas



















Holly's ruffled petticoat fluttered in the sunlit garden like Marilyn's white "subway" dress in "The Seven Year Itch." 

 I painted this heavenly hollyhock tonight in one sitting, ala prima, and with ONE brush. I normally use about eight to ten brushes during a painting. This one would have required more.  I purchased a brush on Friday that has realized my every painting fantasy. It's a number 4 Princeton Catalyst, a totally synthetic, polytip bristle brush. It was billed to remain responsive with water-based paint. I paint with water miscible oils, so I thought I'd try one; their smallest brush. This painting fairly painted itself as I willed the brush to do things I normally only dream possible. Wow. I want more of these!

Carol

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Pond Scum

"Pond Scum"
9" x 12"
Pastel on paper 
On Thursday I painted at the edge of this pond where the light was incredible and the subject matter was luscious.  Before I painted, I photographed one hundred images so that I would be able to paint beautiful things when the weather gets snowy and bleak.  Then what did I go and do today, on this perfectly nice August day in Illinois?  I dipped into my stash and painted from one of the photos.  But wait ... there's more!  

I painted with pastels. This is news! I've never even touched a pastel before, let alone make a piece of art with those thick, chalky sticks. I taught myself to use them, and you are witness to this, my maiden voyage, my numero uno, my inaugural offering.

Carol

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