Stray Daisy

Stray Daisy

14x11, soft pastel

Some paintings stay within my control...and some take on a life of their own.  This one insisted on being bright and vibrant.  I haven't really decided if I like it or not but it does look better to me in a mat (picture below).  I don't know, I think I'll have to life with this one for awhile before I know if it should be changed.

Small Bouquet

Small Bouquet

8x8, soft pastel 

So many times a larger bouquet of flowers turns into a much smaller bouquet.  Smaller, but beautiful nonetheless.   Thanks for the photo Danielle!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween

7x5, soft pastel

I don't know...it just seemed like a good idea to do a Halloween themed piece.  Better yet, I thought if I made a caramel apple from my favorite apple of all time...the red, juicy and delicious Fuji apple, then I could eat it after finishing the painting. 

YES!  That's it!!! What a great idea, huh? I have absolutely no will power and I mean AT ALL...zip...zero...nada (and my husband has even less will power than I do)!  So, unfortunately, I only made one caramel apple in a crazy attempt as self control.  

Oozing with sugary goodness...it lasted approximately 1 hour before I split it in half and shared it with my husband (of course only after we added a heavy dose of crushed almonds to the outside caramel). OOHHH, was it ever good! My mouth waters now just remembering it!  The painting then had to be finished based on memory...which might be a good way of practicing my painting skills anyway.

So now I'm thinking I just might paint a whole series of decadent desserts...(one at a time of course)!!

Stare Down

Stare Down

8x8, pastel

This guy seems to be communicating something.  What, I don't know.  Probably something like "what are you looking at?".  I've never painted a sheep before...especially a "black" one.  He has a lot of dark colors in him...but black isn't used much.  There's actually a lot of dark purple and eggplant.  He was a lot of fun to paint.

Cooling Off

 Cooling Off

10x8, pastel

A sheep herder's dog is one of the hardest working dogs around.  They spend hours on end watching over the herd and seem to love moving them from one location to another, dodging here and there, watching for strays and bringing them back into the fold.  After a long day on the range, this guy is cooling off in a nearby stream. 

Sheep Herder's Wagon

Sheep Herder's Wagon

8x10, soft pastel

This painting is in preparation for the annual Trailing of the Sheep festival in the Hailey/Sun Valley area.  I'm looking forward to painting outside (plein air) with friends.  I'm also looking forward to learning more about the custom of bringing herds of sheep down from the hillsides through the center of the town (presumably for auctions and/or slaughter but we won't think about that!). 

We'll go out Friday morning to locate the herd...hoping for good weather and beautiful scenes to paint....or at least to take reference photos.