"Daffodils"

"I am no greater for one man's praise, nor less for his criticism." anonymous
One art fair down and 11 more to go. Let's hope the others are better than this one, but I always say, I'm there advertising my work and you never know when someone will think about something they've seen and decide they can't live without it; buying it at the next fair.
So here's little piece of cheery spring from 2010. I'm looking forward to getting back into plein aire drawing in the coming weeks.

"Daffodils" 8" x 12" on Wallis sanded paper. Plein aire drawing

Day 60 "Corn Rows 4"

Pray for Japan and all the people who are suffering. They are amazing people. If you wish to give money be sure it's a legitimate website. There are always lots of scammers out there during a crisis.


I made it. It's day 60 of my 60 days of "Pastel a Day" and it's the last day of work before leaving for KYCrafted the Market. Wholesale days are March 17 & 18, and retail days are 19 & 20 at KY State Fair and Expo Center in Louisville, KY. 
Talk to you all next week.

"Corn Rows" 6" x 6" on La Carte sanded paper

Day 59 "Piggies 4"

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." Scott Adams
Continuing the "Animal Quilt" series is "Piggies 4"
No time tonight for writing.... how did I get so behind to be ready for KYCrafted?

"Piggies 4"

Day 58 "4 Chics"

"There are no days in life so memorable as those which vibrated to some stroke of the imagination." Ralph Waldo Emerson
With the "Quilt Animal" series I want to create colors that vibrate.
I'm heading to the end of 60 days of "Pastel A Day" with 60 new pastel drawings as my goal to have ready for KYCrafted the Market. 
"4 Chics" is part of the small series of drawings to fit into 10" x10" frames. Although creativity is an essential element of the creative process I also have to be practical because this is a business which partially supports our family. I have five 10" x10" frames that need new images, so the smaller version of "Quilt Animals" series is born.

"4 Chics" 6"x6" pastel on salmon colored La Carte sanded paper

Day 57 "Hiking Among Giants 2"

"Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere" Carl Sagan
Olympia National Park has 3 biospheres within one park. My drawing depicts the southwest corner of the park around Quinault River. This area contains the world's largest Sitka Spruce, Douglas Fir, and Western Red Cedar.
I wanted to depict the enormous size of these trees in "Hiking Among Giants 2". This is a large pastel and I've worked on it on and off for a couple of months, but finally it's finished and ready to go to KYCrafted The Market.

"Hiking Among Giants 2" 24" x 18" pastel on Uart sanded paper with oil wash

Day 56 "Mingo Flats Eve" final

"To live a creative life we must lose the fear of being wrong." Joseph Chilton Pierce
Well, here's the final version of "Mingo Flats Evening" and I've included the plein aire piece I drew in West Virginia last summer.

"Mingo Flats Evening" 16" x 36" on sanded paper created with pastel primer

This is the original sketch which included a hazy reference to the forest that lies in front of the field.

"Mingo Flats" plein aire sketch

Day 55 "Mingo Flats Evening"

"What art offers is space - a certain breathing room for the spirit." John Updike
Mingo is my breathing room.
I think "Mingo Flats Evening" is finished but it's always helpful to see the image small on the computer screen. Composition and strength of color and contrast become more evident when the image is small.
I'm not happy with the forest in the foreground and although the valley does appear this way, as an artist I need to make a change. Just not sure what that will be.

"Mingo Flats Evening" 16" x 36" 

I'm tempted to eliminate the foreground forest completely.

"Mingo Flats" - photoshop

Photoshop Elements is a great tool. I think tomorrow I'll eliminate the forest because it is creating a barrier between the viewer and the meadows. I should have done some thumbnails on this one even though it worked in the plein aire sketch. As Scarlett O'Hara said, "I'll think about that tomorrow."