Aaaah Spring!

 Springtime in Coarsegold   Sold

19 x 26

Pastel on Canson Mi-Tientes Paper

There's something about spring that turns me on, brings me out of the winter blues. I scream with joy at my first flower sighting. It's uphill from there. I love the light, I love the flowers. I found out yesterday that Springtime in Coarsegold would be featured on the County of Fresno's website at  http://www.co.fresno.ca.us/ . There are times (as you all know ) that we artists get down and discouraged with painting. I paint for the joy of creating. I would not stop even if I never sold another work again, but it's so nice when something like this happens.

Spring Morning Light Walk

Spring Morning Walk II

8 x 10

Pastel on Linen Mat Board

Several weeks ago my class met in the early morning at The Heron Lake Trail very near where I live. We met to walk aroung the lake and take photos to use for paintings we will be doing in class. It was a beautiful morning. The light couldn't have been better. We took a lot of photos from which to paint. Here is the third one in the series. You can see the first one under "I Won the Lottery" post. The second one is the last post just below. I hope you enjoy them. I'm loving painting them.

Spring Light

Morning Walk on Heron Lake Trail

8 x 10

Pastel on Velour Paper

As much as I dislike velour paper, I used it this time because because  I love painting on it and I am usually pleased with the results, also I needed a quick lift at the time. I don't like velour because it doesn't grip and hold the pastels unless I fix it a lot which is ok I guess but most fixatives will yellow the painting to some degree. In this case I fixed it with a common hair spray which does not yellow near as much as pastel fixitive will.

Spring is here in all its wonderful glory. I love spring light and escpecially early morning light spring light.

If you like this painting here are some others showing the spring light.

Spring Rhythm

19 x 26

Pastel on Canson Mi-Teintes Paper

Morning Rays

18 x 24

Pastel on Canson-Mi Teintes Paper

Leona Valley Panorana

12 x 16

Pastel on Suede Mat Board

Facelift

Royal Lilly

20 x 26

Pastel on Suede Mat Board

There's a lovely lilly pond that sits in the foothills of Yosemite National Park in the town of Oakhust a 20 minute jaunt down the road from where I live. The pond sits in the hills overlooking the town center. Being there is like being in a Garden of Eden. The pond is surrounded by are beautiful flowers and mountain landscaping lovingly tended by the owner of the property. The day I was there, everything seemed to have a special glow in the warm late spring sunlight. I must have taken a hundred photos of this pond and surroundings. I've done several paintings of this location and I treasure the memories of this place in the "precious pond" file section of my heart. 

Shadows

Koi Pond Shadows

                  7 x 51/2             $85

Coated Pastel on  pastel paper board

I have created a process whereby I can put apply a clear finish over the pastel painting thereby protection it from the elements and eliminating the need for glass thus avoiding that drattit glare and reflection. So far it's working but it does have its downside. It does darken the painting somewhat and it will take away some depth that an untreated pastel painting has. I have applied this method to smaller works only thus far. I am fairly pleased with the results and I have had success with this process. I used to spray varnish on it but that does tend to yellow the painting. Now I use an acrylic crystal clear coating that does not yellow.  In the case of Koi Pond Shadows , I like the way the finish darkend the work. I like what it did to the shadows.  Hope you enjoy.

Here are some recent photos of places around here with some lovely shadow patterns.

I Won the Lottery!!!

I

Morning Walk

                             6 x 8                     $100

Pastel on Velour Paper

I wish.

It was the rolled up carpet that did it, no it was my coming down with a nasty chest infection, no it was the trip to our daughter's in Southern California that did it.

It all started when I came down with whatever is going around in our part of the country. It starts with the raw nose, the itchy throat and then comes the cough and the mucous, the nasty mucus. O.k. so I'm sick like go to bed sick. Wish I owned a laptop so at least I could keep blogging thru this, but I don't,( this is where the lottery thought comes into the picture). So now I'm sick in bed but seem to be getting better. I have to get better soon so my husband and I can go to my daughter's and have a nice visit and celebrate our birthdays (one week apart, won't tell you how many years).

So it's time to go visit her in a few days when I'm in my studio painting and bend down to pick up something under my easel on the carpeted floor of my studio. I do that, I get up and notice my knee is cold. I look down to find a wet spot on the knee of my jeans. What the fudge is this I say to myself, I test it lick it...yup it's water but where the heck did this come from? I bend down on all fours now ( not easy to do at my age) but anyway I'm down there and sure enough the carpet is very damp. Horrors, oh horrors I've got a leak somewhere, but where, next thought it's the water heater in the closet/supply room adjoining the studio. I go into that room and sure enough, the carpet is damp. So I call Mark who does our house repairs( Mark fixes anything and everything, he's great). He come over, rolls up half the carpet and we put fans on it to start the drying process. We have the water heater replaced and he comes back to check it out. It's drying nicely but not yet completely dry , but now it's time to leave for our daughter's in the morning. That morning I take Sonny our black lab out to pee walking carefully through the studio with all the furniture and pastel roller carts moved so the carpet could be rolled up. Sonny does his thing, we come back through the studio and the back my flip flop slipper gets caught on the rolled up carpet. Down I go straight onto the cold cement floor.I'm stunned for a few seconds. Upon coming to my senses, I find all my moving parts still move, yeah that's a good beginning. I'm not too sore, just stunned but able to move around. We leave for our daughter's. In a couple of hours, the adrenalin wares off and I'm hurting, but I'm ok. So we continue on going south to L.A. where we have a great visit and a great time and we come home. I'm slowly getting my studio and my body back in shape. I'm still sore and coughing but glad to be home and back to blogging. By the way, we went to see the Renoir exhibition at the Los Angeles County Art Museum while we were there. It was wonderful!!! I'm back painting again and that's the best.