Iron and Wool

Iron and Wool

12x12, soft pastel

This is a second still life painting of the old cast iron kettle and wool rug I recently purchased.  I just love all the textures and placed them on a wooden table in my living room against a textured wall.  I'm enjoying this little series.  It reminds me of the resilience of items from the past. These things weren't "throw away" household items but stood up to all kinds of use and abuse over the years. Resilient and strong...reminding me of the pioneering spirit of days gone by.

Cast Shadow

Cast Shadow

12x12, soft pastel

Painting realism can look like tedious work...but, I find it mesmerizing.  Focusing on the details to express a realistic image sends me into "the zone".  On this piece I loved expressing the texture of the cast iron and subtle reflections on the side of it from the rug it sits on and the challenge of depicting the shadow it cast. I loved painting the textures in the rug with all its imperfections and I'm reminded of how beautiful we all are, imperfections and all.

Eat Your Veggies

Eat Your Veggies

14x11, soft pastel

What can I say, when kids or grandkids go off to college we all want to impart cautionary wisdom. Don't party too much, don't drink and drive, study hard, make good decisions, keep an eye on your goals and your grades.  But in the end, all I can come up with is: "stay healthy and eat your veggies".

A Walk To Work

A Walk to Work

9x9, soft pastel

Day 16 of 30 is a study piece from a trip to downtown Boise last spring.  I took many photos in March anticipating a few cityscapes that somehow were pushed to the back burner in 2016.  I still have hopes of completing them someday...so, I pulled one out to practice Desmond O'Hagan's techniques.   I may have to abandon my "painterly" technique!

Little Red

Little Red

12x16, soft pastel

Painting 15 of 30:  Little Red is finished.  It's always a toss up to be detailed vs. painterly....my style is somewhere in between.   I like definition...but too much detail and too much precision leads to stiff unnatural paintings with less expression.  If I was painting photorealistic then I'd put much more detail in.  So it's a fine balance every artist has to decide for him or herself when to stop and "let it be".   

This particular scene reminds me of myself.  I'm pretty darn petite...ok, I'm downright SHORT at a whopping 5'0".  Pretty much everyone seems to tower over me.  So I can identify wih this little dingy sitting side by side tied to a manmouth ship.  We may both be small...but we're so dang cute...lol.  Of course the older we get, we get a little rough around the edges.

My Pal Jack

My Pal Jack

10x8, soft pastel

This is Jack...a good buddy of Scooter and Tubby's.  They met briefly in Florida when we were rv'ing one winter...they all became fast friends in the dog park...a popular place to hang out for dogs and humans alike!  Jack has a very special "mom and dad too"! 

Corrugated Kitty

Corrugated Kitty

10x8, soft pastel

It was time to try painting a cat.  I've been saving a couple cat photos just for this occasion.  While I don't have a cat (because I'm allergic to them)...if I could,  I think this guy would do.  Those golden eyes of his are beautiful! 

Green Butt Skunk

Green Butt Skunk

5x7, soft pastel

 

Another fly...just for fun.  The Green Butt Skunk is a good fly to use for steelhead and trout fishing ...especially on the Clearwater River here in Idaho.