Trouble Is Brewing

Trouble Is Brewing

7x5, soft pastel

I had my "zenful" music playing.  Peace and calm abounded in my studio this morning.  I had a great peaceful scene in mind with a lazy stream of clouds in the sky over fields of wheat...

and then... my husband started having printer problems.  

After three or four interruptions and an hour or so of collaboration, we resolved the problem.  However, the peaceful moment was lost along with what I had in mind.  Once I returned to the studio for the last time to continue my painting, "zen" was no where in sight!  I think it had something to do with employing the "other side of my brain"....or was it the level of frustration we had in simply connecting the printer to our wifi?   Hmmmm, I have to think about that.  Anyway,  having listened earlier in the morning to Stan Sperlak speaking about being honest and authentic in one's work (and I suppose in life too)...I let loose on my painting.  All my frustrations came spilling out (I even dropped and broke a couple of my Terry Ludwigs).  Oh well, the resulting painting and title were appropriate for the moment and completely honest.  

Migraine Morning

Migraine Morning

6x6, soft pastel

I wasn't really going to paint...for the third morning in a row I woke up with a migraine (the weather is about to change drastically).  Then I thought what the heck, I'll try to power through it while I waited for the meds to kick in. 

The toughest part of painting with a migraine is not having any kind of control over the pastel stroke on the page.  The sharp pains can interrupt the most focused of thought making it tough to even see the easel.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day!

Happy Little Clouds

Happy Little Clouds

6x6, soft pastel

Thought I'd end this 30in30 with a little scene of peace and tranquility.  And, a few of Bob Ross's "happy little clouds".  Autumn is here and it's time for Mother Nature to begin displaying her beautiful colors!  Peace to you...thanks for following me this past month!

Harvest Sunset

Harvest Sunset

6x6, soft pastel

During the fall and especially during harvest, sunsets are often spectacular.  The atmosphere is filled with pollen and dust particles while the angle of sunlight hitting the earth's surface changes, further enhancing the drama playing out in the skies.  It's just a glorious time of year!

This painting is particularly delightful to me.  The photograph doesn't adequately depict the gorgeous oranges and copper colors dancing across the sky in the original.  However, I had fun playing with the Photos editing tool.  When sliding the lightness tool from it's lightest setting to the darkest setting it looks as though the sun is actually setting in the painting. Awesome!

Screaming Eagles

Screaming Eagles

6x6, soft pastel

There's no real reason for the title...other than this skyscape reminds me of a couple of eagles swooping down to snatch up fish from the waters below.  Recently while kayaking on a small lake a hawk did just that...diving into the water several feet from me to catch his dinner.  Startled the begeebeez out of me! 

Arizona Sky

Arizona Sky

6x6, soft pastel

On our way to Phoenix we were delighted to view this gorgeous sunset near Kingman, Az.   I especially loved seeing the stars twinkling in the deep dark blue of the early evening.  

Lakeside Sunset

Lakeside Sunset

6x6, soft pastel

Lakeside Sunset is another in a series of sunrises and sunsets I'm working on...practice, practice, paractice!