Icy

"Icy"
9.5" x 6.5"
Pastel on sanded paper



















It's cold where I live, but not this cold, nor is it this barren. There's ice on the puddles, but they're not this expansive, nor this deep. Snow has fallen, but it won't still be here come spring. I'm thankful to live where it's appropriately wintery — not outrageous.  

The way I first finished this painting was to perfectly reflect the mountains in water with dry rocks on the shore of a body of water. It was boring. I was ready to fling it into the trash when a voice said, "Keep the mountains, blur the rest."  I did that and instead of tossing this sheet of watercolor paper, which is what I paint on, I'm pleased with its frigid iciness. 

Carol

Colorado Moose Calf

"Colorado Moose Calf"
7" x 8.5"
Pastel on sanded paper
We had driven for two days without seeing any wildlife, then critters began appearing out of nowhere, or maybe we finally acclimated to our surroundings and could see the forest for the trees.  

This calf was on one side of the meandering stream and the cow was on the other.  Thankfully, I was not between them when the opportunity to photograph them came.

Carol

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Rock Pile

"Rock Pile"
4.5" x 5"
Pastel on sanded paper
The sky, trees, rocks and weeds intrigue me when I visit my friends in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.  The shapes and colors are so different from what we see here on the suburban prairie. 

 As I have mentioned before, I am repainting some of the subject matter I've painted in oil and acrylic in pastel. I find it very satisfying.

Carol

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Prickly II

"Prickly II"
6" x 8"
Pastel on sanded paper



















In the desert building of the Chicago Botanic Gardens are some nifty cacti. Well, for a midwestern gal, they're pretty impressive. And I'm privy to them in a greenhouse setting, not out in the wild where I'd LOVE to see them, photograph and study them. This was fun to do, as it was my own photo, but I'd love to see them growing naturally.  

 My experience is that the magenta and orange pastels photograph much differently than the greens and yellows as seen on the cacti. The background is intense, but not quite the way it appears here. It is about four layers of my scribbly marks, not a solid mass at all.

Carol

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You Gotta Have Heart

"You Gotta Have Heart"
6" x 6"
Graphite on paper
In keeping with my other two Zentangle drawings, here is another heart. I've used different patterns to fill in the same basic shape. I have nothing in mind when I begin, except that it will be drawn in a square format, a heart and done in a soft graphite pencil so I can smear shadows where I want them. 

Carol

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Over Yonder

"Over Yonder"
5" x 6.5"
Pastel on sanded paper
It was more like a river than a creek, the blue ribbon that snaked between a stand of pines, running downhill from the mountains. I followed it for a few miles in my car before I lost it for good. 

This was a fun exercise in layering land masses, one in front of the other, determining the actual color of each section and replicating it with a limited array of colors.

Carol

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Garden Path

"Garden Path"
7" x 7"
Pastel on sanded paper
My friends discussed, by way of email today, the merits of copying the art of a favorite artist. Four of us had recently become infatuated with the art of Oregon artist, Romona Youngquist. Her work embodies the lessons we've learned over the past few years from our beloved instructor, Thomas Trausch. We decided to copy one of her paintings to discover how she went about creating the layers of texture, color and light. This is my first contribution to that effort. I'll gladly admit it was a blast!  I loved walking in her shoes during this painting. I'll try it again in a couple of days, but in acrylic with a palette knife next time.

Carol

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Cone/Bells

"Cone/Bells"
9" x 6"
Pastel on sanded paper



















These hardy wildflowers grow in a meadow near where I live, not this time of year, of course. I photographed this image late in the summer a couple of years ago and I've painted it in watercolor, acrylic and now a quick pastel study.  

I'm learning what my innate marks are when I put pastel to paper. This revelation is so interesting to me, more so in pastel than any other medium, I think.  At least this is where I'm seeing my marks most clearly.

Carol

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Slice of Light

"Slice of Light"
5" x 9"
Pastel on sanded paper 
Here's a quick study of a photo I happened on today. I liked the light slicing across the center of the piece enough to paint it again, as a larger piece. 

I saw the Fourth Biennial National Juried Exhibition of the Chicago Pastel Painters on Friday. It was enchanting to see 100 exhibition-worthy pieces in person. I plan to attend again before the show is over on January 4th. One piece in particular, "Flowescent Lighting" by Mike Barret Kolasinsik stole the show. He makes paper sing … arias!  If you're in the Chicagoland area, the exhibit is a "must see" at The Art Center in Highland Park.

Carol

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By Any Other Name...

"By Any Other Name"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas
It's been three months, well nearly, since I've painted a rose. I've dabbled with new subject matter, dipped a toe into the warm waters of another medium and generally spread my wings, but here I am, back to my roots, the place I long to be — at my easel with a rose. And yes, she smelled as sweet as ever. 

 Carol  

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Rock Me

"Rock Me"
9" x 6"
Pastel on sanded paper




















Rocks intrigue me — especially rounded ones. I love the way they look, sound and feel. I found these river rocks and photographed them, then immediately began humming the old Sesame Street jingle, "One of these things is not like the others…"  

It's my first attempt at painting rocks with pastels. I'll be doing THIS again. I enjoyed it thoroughly.  

Carol

From the Peak

"From the Peak"
6" x 6"
Pastel on  sanded paper
On the way down Pikes Peak, while riding the Cog Railway, I saw how flat Colorado is to the east, once you get to the base of the mountain. Colorado Springs is the final flat before the Rockies jut into the brilliant blue sky the rest of that State. 

Here's a quick study of a piece I'll probably paint as an oil painting some day.

Carol

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Autumn Hillside

"Autumn Hillside"
6" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas
Mid-autumn, I photographed some of the same landscapes I had visited during the heat of summer. My quest was to capture colors other than green. This was one of the places I returned to, and was not disappointed with what I found.

I'm in the throes of painting an assortment of house portraits again. They come in clusters, and the turnaround time is tight for most of them.  I'll paint other things as time permits, but while I'm away, just know that I'm not loafing.

Carol

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Sweetheart Cabbage

"Sweetheart Cabbage"
40" x 30"
Oil on wrapped canvas



















While at the Botanic Gardens in October, I came across a variety of cabbage that lacked the traditional round head. It was a pointed and looser variety than I'm accustomed to. The veins in every leaf were arranged differently, and the color ranged from yellow-green to blue-green in the span of one beautiful plant. I photographed this sweetheart from several different directions and decided this angle best showed her intrinsic beauty.  

 I had to paint this piece in a large format in order to capture the veins and shadows that made her so interesting. I would love to start another cabbage, but other colors are calling to me.

Carol

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Along the Way

"Along the Way"
7" x 5"
Pastel on sanded paper
I looked out the window when I wakened from a nap and saw that the landscape had changed drastically. The trees had dropped their leaves, the roadside pebbles had turned into sheer cliffs, the plains had erupted into mountains and the moon was dotting an imaginary letter i.  

I'm on an imaginary trip tonight. I saw this image and had to try to paint it.

Carol

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