Saturday Class - Wasting Paint

Frustrating day at painting class. I painted and wiped out the path at least 5 times. The reference photo showed dappled light across the path and grass. I never accomplished that effect. Below is the final painting I did after I came home and worked, reworked and reworked again.... Not a good painting. I really tried to not give up and figure this out, but sometimes you just gotta stop! The version I did while at class,  is shown in the bottom photo.

Premier Exhibit for the new Ohio Pastel Artists League

I've had three pieces accepted into the Ohio Pastel Artists League Premiere show which will open on November 10th at Sunbear Studio in Alexandria Ohio. Awards will be presented on Sunday, Nov. 11 at 1pm in the second floor gallery. The show will hang until December 29th.

Make sure you take some time to see the show! The gallery is the working studio of pastelist, Meredith Martin and she has many artists selling all types of artwork. www.sunbearstudio.com

Saturday Class - Canyonlands

My sister recently camped and biked in Canyonlands National Park and she took some striking photographs. I asked for her permission to use some of these for my paintings. I started this in painting class this morning, and finished it this afternoon. This is oil on the new Arches Oil painting paper. I enjoy using this paper.

Canyonlands View, 9 x 12, Arches Oil Paper

Plein Air Saturday - Lobdell Reserve

My painting class was cancelled today because the room where we hold the class was being used for another event, so I joined my plein air group outside! It was a nippy morning at 42 degrees at 9am, but the sun quickly warmed us up. We met again at Lobdell Reserve. Some of the group was painting at the other area down in the creek bed, but I thought it was too cold to stand in the creek. I walked out in the meadow and found this view of the mowed path. I liked the deep shadows of the grasses on the path. I needed to get started before the sun moved and I lost the shadows.

I recently was lucky to find a used Soltek, Pro model for a good price. I wanted to give it a test drive before the season was over. It worked well! I like it. The Pro is about 4" taller than the standard, which works for a tall person like me.

We had some interesting visitors while we painted. There is a horseman's trail here, so several riders passed by, along with many people walking their dogs, and there was even a nice tabby cat that kept us company!

*Edited Sunday - I adjusted this painting a little bit today in the studio. Below is the final painting and was photographed indoors.

When I was done, I went over to where the others were painting and we did a quick critique. We had a small group today because of the temperature and the distance from home. This is the last scheduled paint-out for the season for us. Many of the group will now meet each Saturday morning at the MAC in Worthington to paint indoors for the winter. I usually hibernate and prefer to work in my jammies in my own studio, instead of getting up early on a weekend on a snowy day!

Plein Air - Revisited

I rarely go back and work on a painting done en plein air, but this one kept begging to be finished. This was originally done at Griggs Park in the end of August.  We are both happy now.

Late Summer, oil, 8 x 10

Saturday Class - Stone Cottage

This is the piece I started in class last Saturday and I've been working on this one several times over this week. I am to the point where it has to be finished, because I am really bored with it. It has lost its freshness.

Stone Cottage, oil, 8 x 10

Saturday Studio - pastel, Umpqua View

Umpqua View, Pastel on Wallis paper

Today was my oil painting class this morning, but I didn't get far enough along to post it here. So instead, here is my latest pastel painting which I finished this afternoon. I started with a thin oil under-painting on Wallis sanded paper. It was looking pretty sad in the middle of the process, but I kept going and I am happy how it turned out.

This was painted from a photo taken by my niece, Andrea, who recently moved to Eugene, Oregon. She gave me permission to use her photo for my reference. Looks like a beautiful place! I hope to visit there sometime.