After The Game

After The Game

8x8, soft pastel

Flushed cheeks, tossled hair....oh, the sweet face of a young boy after a baseball game!  This is Jake after a game on the Fourth of July.  Pure sweetness...and a bit of sweat-ness too!  

Mini Pastel Travel Case

In the spirit of sharing info, today I want to share My Little Travel Buddy.

Small Survivor Dry Box:
It's a sturdy watertight dry box (I found it on Amazon for $16.).  I think it will really fit the bill while traveling light and for kayaking trips.  It measures approx. 6.5x9.75 inches...5x8 inside.

The box has sturdy closures and four holes on the top and sides for adding a lock, lanyard, carabiner or shoulder strap.  It even had a metallic sticker on the bottom for signaling (or maybe starting a fire...I don't know) and a small compass on the topside (should I get lost while plein air painting). Hmmm, I don't plan on getting lost.

The following are items I have been able to fit inside:

• 48 half sticks of soft pastels (I repurposed foam from my Rembrandt pastel box and cut them to size, then glued the foam to heavy mat boards for support)
• 33 partial pieces of Nupastels (inside a 12 piece Nupastel box)
• Foam core and several pastel papers cut to various sizes (up to 5x8) inside a clear bag
• A clear bag for storing finished paintings
• A few business cards
• View finder
• Inside the BandAid box are a couple wet wipes (I'll replace this with wet wipe packets when I get a chance)
• Doggy bags to hold trash (more than I need...but they fit so nicely I threw the whole roll in)
• A red cylinder that once housed a pair of reading glasses.  Inside the cylinder I placed 8-10 finger cots, a small pencil, eraser and sharpener (I was quite tickled finding this little storage item in my hall closet).

In any event, I hope you enjoy my little travel buddy...just in time for a quick trip to try it out!!!

White Iris

White Iris

9x9, soft pastel

It's always amazing to paint a "white" flower and end up using so very little white paint.  This crazy flower was every shade of gray, blue, and purple imaginable. Of course with a dollup of my favorite red/orange thrown in.

I'm pretty excited these days...paintings are selling well and I ordered a full set of new Terry Ludwig pastels that arrive tomorrow!   I am very thankful...and very humbled to be in a position to paint every day.

Daylily

Daylily

6x8, soft pastel

We have gorgeous daylilies in our yard.  Maybe not quite yet (since it's early March) but soon they'll be popping out reaching for the warmth of the sun.  It always amazes me how short lived the blooms are...but they're beautiful all the same.

Hyde Park - Dining On The Patio

Hyde Park - Dining On The Patio

9x12, soft pastel

The best part of a hot summer day is dining out on a patio...especially at a restaurant where I don't have to cook or do the dishes.  Heavenly!  This is the 13th Street Pub & Grill at Hyde Park in Boise.  The patio misters were going full blast on this particular day...cooling the diners just so.  I think I'm ready for the return of summer!

Poppies Down Under

Poppies Down Under

10x8, soft pastel

While painting this one, I imagined laying amongst the poppies looking up on a warm summer day.    It's a breezy day and while there are no clouds in the sky you can almost see the wind along the horizon line gently moving the tallest of the poppies.

In the Pacific Northwest we've had a very warm and dry winter so this painting goes out to everyone on the East Coast hit hard this year by snowfall after snowfall...take heart...spring and summer are  coming!  Really!

Poppy Field and Grapevines

Poppy Field and Grapevines

8x11, soft pastel

Well....It's time to get back in the studio and do some serious work now that I've had a couple weeks off.  

I plan to paint a few poppies and poppy field paintings.  I know, I know, a few short months ago I solidly stated that "I'm no landscape painter!".   But now, I think it's time tackle a few more before I give it up...or fall in love with landscape painting all together.

I love color...as I'm sure you can see in my paintings.  Maybe someday I'll tone it down...but for now, I'm having a blast with the rich yummy colors pastels come in.