Day 30 "Spring Trail"

It is so time for spring. I actually like snow but this year has been too cold along with our frequent but shallow amounts of snow to go out to do any plein air drawing. Yes, I said shallow - we've had only 4 inches at a time and I like big, thick, sticky snows....o.k. I'm crazy.
I've returned to spring 2010 photos from Raven Run and the Blue-Eyed Mary flowers that blanket the forest floor. 
This drawing was done on Wallis Belgium Mist paper with an underpainting of pastel washed with alcohol.

"Spring Trail of Blue-Eyed Marys"  8" x 12"

Day 29 "Lake Crescent, WA"

"Art is a technique of communication. The image is the most complete technique of all communication." Claus Oldenburg
Blues, purples, pinks and a touch of red. Colors that relate to each other on the color wheel produce a peaceful response. These kayakers added a nice point of interest to a very quiet scene. 
This piece is on Wallis Belgium Mist sanded paper with an oil wash of blue in the sky and the rest was a dark mauve. I'd love to get this underpainting technique developed so I could leave some of the oil wash showing like Richard McKinley's work which I admire greatly.

"Lake Crescent, WA" 8" x 12" pastel on Wallis paper

Day 28 UK Emergency

Artists have no excuse for boredom. As long as we have some form of paper, subjects surround us. 
This week I had some time while waiting for some friends outside of the UK Emergency entrance. (It was business-not an emergency) I needed a distraction from the blink, blink of my car emergency blinkers as I waited in a "No Parking" zone. An old napkin in the console and an ink pen provided my distraction.
I liked my sketch of the Emergency Room entrance but could I turn it into a pastel without a reference photo for details and color?
Well, here's my attempt. Good start but could be much better as a plein air drawing, however 25 degree weather prevents that.

"UK Emergency"  8" x 12" on Wallis Belgium Mist sanded paper

Day 27 "Peaceful Morning Swim"

The reference photo for "Peaceful Morning Swim" was taken from my kayak which gives the viewer the feeling of sitting on the water along with the ducks. This drawing was created with a very thin oil wash applied over the Wallis Belgium Mist sanded paper. The oil wash seems to give an added depth to the image.

"Peaceful Morning Swim" 8" x 12" on Wallis sanded paper

Day 26 "Pisgah Pike Evening"

Pisgah Pike is one of my favorite country roads in the central Ky area. This image is the corner next to the Pisgah Presbyterian Church in the evening as the shadows begin to envelope the landscape. I created this drawing to go with "Bluegrass Fences-Day 10" for my friend Terri.

"Pisgah Pike Evening" 7" x 10" pastel on textured pastel paper

Day 25 The missing dog

"The Sheep Herders Pasture" is from my trip to Italy (the big art) and the missing dog was a Great Pyrenees. We stopped beside this pasture to photograph the herd of sheep and noticed the large white dog standing guard over the sheep - just one big dog. I called out to the dog, "hey doggie doggie, aren't you pretty" and at that point he charged after the car and then 5 other dogs appeared from the herd of white fluffy sheep and started chasing the car. "Let's get out of HERE, Laurey."
In my photograph I loved the light and shadow plus the house in the background but placing the one white dog in the foreground would command too much attention. So that's the story of the "missing dog."

"Sheep Herders Pasture" 8" x 12" on Wallis sanded paper

Day 24 "Elkhorn Creek"

"Harry's Law" is on (my new favorite TV show) so let's make this quick.  I'm drawn (ha-ha) to this image because I love the backlighting effect. It wasn't that pronounced in the reference photo but I increased the effect in the drawing because I remember it that way.

"Elkhorn Creek Backlighting3" 8" x 12" pastel on Uart paper with oil wash for underpainting