Lily Pad Down Under

Lily Pad Down Under

6x8, Soft Pastel

    

 Today I had a shot of inspiration from an artist buddy who is in Vienna, Austria today at the Albertina Museum.  She shared photos of works by Monet and Degas this morning...two of my favorite artists!  

I've been meaning to take a swing at lily pads for a couple years...and today was the day! I have quite a few pictures from various areas around Idaho and the Midwest...always imaging how awesome they might be...and I have to say, I had a blast painting this little study.   I think I'll paint a larger version!  I hope you enjoy!

The past couple months have been a blur.  Lots of travel, a long bout of influenza (I never get the flu!), a wonderful surprise birthday party, working on refining the Plein Air Painters of Idaho's website and preparing for a couple of art shows. Life is exciting right now...and yes, I have a few paintings to share that I haven't gotten around to posting but I hope to soon.  Thanks for reading!  And, if you're a fellow artist....keep on painting!  

Desert Color

                         Desert Color

                      8x10, soft pastel

When in Vegas, one must paint cacti.

Poplar Place

Poplar Place

8x10, soft pastel

Continuing on with landscapes....I'm beginning to tame the color (at least a little more than usual). Restraint isn't easy for me but I like the progress so far.  This scene captured my attention because I love the way the back field peaks through the trees.

Sunrise Over Redfish Lake

Sunrise Over Redfish Lake

8x10, soft pastel

It was time to paint mountains again.  This scene was an early morning sunrise while I was staying at Redfish Lake last fall during a plein air event.  The sun was lighting up the mountain tops while a subtle fog was lifting over the water's edge.  It was such a peaceful morning!    

Peaceful Meadow

 Peaceful Meadow

5x7, soft pastel

If this looks a bit familiar...it is.   I kept looking at the Wild Phlox painting from a couple days ago and it was crying out "yikes!".  The field I had imagined was going to be much more peaceful...I was headed in a good direction with the trees then as soon as I painted the flowers...I went way way too far with color.  I'm not sure this is an improvement or not...but it's much more peaceful to me.  Thus, Wild Phlox is no more.  That's the beauty of do-overs.  The blues in the photo above look brighter than they do in real life...in a frame, the painting doesn't look too shabby.  

Wild Phlox

Wild Phlox

5x7, soft pastel

Finally...a little landscape.  I wanted to play with a yellow sky.  As I've said in many a post before, I'm not too great at landscapes...but maybe someday I'll be satisfied with one.  Practice, practice!

Copper John - Yellow Belly

Copper John - Yellow Belly

5x7, soft pastel

To me, this little Copper John variation looks a bit like a Yellow Sally Nymph..so I named it Yellow Belly.  Tomorrow,  maybe a landscape is in order.