Quietly Grazing

Quietly Grazing

8x10, soft pastel

Day 6 of 30

It was a peaceful morning as we drove along I84 in Montana this summer.  A light fog was lifting over the hillside and the cattle were quietly munching on their breakfast unaware (and uninterested) in the camera pointed in their direction.  

Summer Color At The Botanical Garden

Summer Color At The Botanical Garden

7x7, soft pastel

Day 5 of 30

I don't know...this is sort of a landscape isn't it?  In any event, during my last trip to the Botanical Garden in Boise, Idaho I spotted this pretty little scene.  Outside the administrative office were these vibrant flowers just bursting with color.  These gorgeous flowers are cannas.  I love how the red and orange blossoms and the green foliage compliment the blue window.  Yummy color!  

Goin' With The Flow

Goin' With The Flow

6x8, soft pastel

Day 4 of 30

My intention was to stick to landscapes this month...but I needed to repaint this little guy for a good friend.   Long story short, I misplaced the first one I painted months ago (guess I'm not as organized as I thought I was).  I do love the colors on this duck!!

Ditch Bank

Ditch Bank

8x6, soft pastel

Day 3 of 30 - The fun thing about painting landscapes is that there is subject matter absolutely everywhere you look.  This small ditch bank is right down the street from my house.  I liked the composition...so, I painted it!

Morning Roadtrip

Morning Roadtrip

6x6, soft pastel

Day 2 of 30 and I'm feeling a bit more colorful.  I think it must be the right brain taking charge.  Or, maybe too much coffee!!!

Along The Way

Along The Way

6x6, soft pastel

Today kicks off the 30in30 painting challenge and I have to admit I wasn't quite prepared.  I arrived home last night from a three day workshop taught by my favorite landscape artist, Barbara Jaenicke.  She is an outstanding teacher and artist...I highly recommend her workshop!  

While the workshop far exceeded my expectations, dashed were my hopes of having all the reference materials lined up; papers selected and cut to size; pastels cleaned, organized and set up; and the studio tidy and ready for 30 days of painting.  This is SO ME!  Basically organized...but a bit unorganized too.  My right brain and left brain are constantly at war with each other.

Today's painting was from a photo taken as we drove down the highway this summer (in Utah I believe) at 75 mph.  Its amazing that any photos turned out at all...but this one had a beautifully simple composition and gorgeous roadside flowers along the shoulder.  I like this composition so much, I think I'm going to paint it again!!!

Streaming Sunlight

Streaming Sunlight

8x10 soft pastel 

Today was plein air in the park.  While we still have quite a bit of smoke in the area, I ventured out with my good buddy Tina and met up with the Plein Air Painters of Idaho.  Tina and I recently joined this fun loving group of fellow artists and I'm so glad we did!  We had a blast painting at the Katherine Albertson Park.  Tina even sold her painting on the spot.  How exciting is that?

There were plenty of good spots from which to chose.  The early morning light was streaming through the trees casting amazing shadows and turning the grass fluorescent green.  I couldn't resist painting this view.