Still No Joy

This is only day 5 of the challenge and I feel I am rushing to get something done and only creating pooh. I think my answer to this is post progress on what I am working on otherwise this will turn into a lost month for me.  I have shows that I would like to enter but I need to get to some decent work.....Still thinking this thru.

This is about 13"x 9" on UART.While I like the feel of the paper, I do not like the texture that shows through the paint.

Enter the Pans...

This is the image that I intended to put up after the car. I mentioned that I received award money for the car painting and bought new pastels with that money. Of course. I want to digress here for a moment to point out that I think pastelist are hoarders at heart. We are ALWAYS getting more pastels. Okay. Enough on THAT subject. 

Pan pastels are a different experience. They come in these little compacts that look like foundation make-up. The applicators are like make-up applicators too. As a result, I get a softer look. I don't always want that, but it is great having that as an option.

This is on 18"x 12" UART sanded paper and it is all pan pastels except the lines of the fence.

Challenges, Challenges, Challenges!

If I wrote here everything that I was thinking about today's painting experience, someone would surely offer me some cheese with my whine. With that being said, there is no real need in pointing out that this was less than a stellar moment for me. But hey, that means things WILL GET BETTER!! :)
Today's painting is of my street as I see it from my driveway. The weather has been mostly rainy and dark clouds were coming and going all day.  I thought the safest bet was to set up my easel at the edge of the garage and paint from there.  I got a little sprinkle on me and had to move back a bit but all in all it was fine.  I will have to revisit the setting as my painting does NOT do it justice. Next time!

Daily Painting Post - Can't take the pressure!

It is all over the internet. Artist everywhere are out plein aire painting and blogging about their wonderful experiences doing both. I can hardly keep up! lol! I keep reading that wonderful things will happen to the artists who adhere to these practices and woe begone to those who do not. So I, of course, caved. who wouldn't?! Woe begone?! Who is willing to chance that?!

So this is a 12" x 9" pastel done on UART paper with a variety of soft pastels to include Terry Ludwick, Sennelier, Schmincke and a touch of pan. I usually use a lot of pan but I figure,hey, if I am stepping outside of my comfort zone I may as well step WAAY out.

Next problem to solve between these daily paintings is getting a better image. Sigh,

Eat Your Spinach

     I have been hearing for years how plein air painting will magically solve all of your problems. You will suddenly have an intuitive understanding of quadratic equations and where to apply them. You will glean the solution to world peace and global warming. AND it will solve ALL of your painting problems. Period. It is THE WAY. THE TAO. It is Plein AIR painting!!
     Sigh. So what could I do? I HAD to try this, right? So I packed up my art supplies for doing pastels and headed out to my spot. How did I HAVE a SPOT, you ask? Well, I have been mentally caving to the whole plein air thing for a while and have been scoping out possible sites.
I got there and while I WILL admit there was a meditative quality to experience, I did not come away any wiser. I suppose it is like eating your spinach. You don't see the benefits all at once, but the SAY good stuff IS happening.
So maybe I have to go back...?

I have not been here in a very LONG time. It is not that I have not been working and is not that I have not been composing these in my head. It is just that I have not been here.

I am starting with the car because it sparked a change for me. My gallery was sponsoring a themed exhibition that they entitled, "Art of the Car". This was my answer to it. I used mostly pastel pencils which I had never done and I used Wallis paper which I had never used.  Pastel-ist  sing the praises of this paper and I mostly agree.  However, I found that this paper had slick spots! Places where my pencil would just slide across the paper unable to find traction! OMG!! I did all kind of the things to remedy it and got through. 

The exhibition was competitive with cash out out and I placed! Yay! So there I am with FREE money! What to do? What to do?!?! I bought new pastels, of course! I bought Pan pastels because I had never used those and I was curious and with FREE money there was no reason no to!

It is, after all, ll about the exploration, is it not?

An infrequent Visitor....

I return here....head hanging....with swirling thoughts on approaches and influences. I am reminded and surprised about how all things connect.
I am on a bit of a hiatus as I am recuperating from knee surgery. So I am not painting really....just thinking about it.
Knowing that the hiatus was coming and knowing that my group wanted to do a show themed around local produce I created this painting. I was thinking about former influences when I decided to include the DEL MONTE logo. My background is in graphics, which was called ADVERTISING AND ILLUSTRATION when I was in college. It required actually rendering type and logos, which I gained some facility towards and used to work them into my paintings.
Maybe it was a nostalgic stroll....? It did, however, include the boldness that I assigned for myself after the last painting.