Early Morning on the Patio

Early Morning on the Patio

9x9, soft pastel 

I couldn't resist painting this one...although it was a bit more time consuming than I initially thought it would be.  Fortunately I didn't try to paint it during the 30 in 30 Challenge.  This one took a couple days.  I love how the early morning sunlight was just coming up over the neighbor's fence...casting sunlight on the table and vase of flowers.  I also like the square format and the way the patio leads to a back gate and into the grassy area behind it. 

Americana

American

8x6, soft pastel

Nothing says Americana like a red, white and blue quilt...and nothing looks more inviting than a cozy patio such as this one.  Thank you Jamie and Alan for letting me crash your home and photograph your quilts.  This is painting number three of a quilt series.  Stay tuned...more to come!

A Glorious Morning

A Glorious Morning 

8x6, soft pastel

This is the final painting for the 30 in 30 Challenge...I'll upload it to Leslie Saeta's blog in the morning...thus the title...a "glorious morning" it will be indeed. The past 30 days have been...what can I say...LONG!  It felt more like 30 weeks. At times I was so darn frustrated...and at other times really happy with my progress. I realized the absolute worst thing to do was to get to the end of the day and still need to paint.  Yikes! Those days were killers (can you say...paint a piece of fruit?).

I was surprised most of all that no matter how badly a painting was one day, I was anxious to try again the next morning. I became much more comfortable with landscapes...and loved doing the seascapes (they were my favorite ones)...aside from today's...which I have to say is my favorite overall (I love the composition, colors, and subject matter). 

I am amazed at how much I learned about painting with pastels and I have to admit I will miss the challenge. I would not have otherwise forced myself to complete a painting each and every day...yet, I'm pretty sure I'll stay on a good pace...maybe a painting every other day (ha!). 

If you're reading this blog, (and you must be)...I hope you'll stop by again. I'll be here...painting away!