Different yet the same . . .

Same scene

Different medium

As I sit at my bench and look out the window, this is the scene I see 365 days a year.

The cool part is that it's always going to be slightly different day to day.

Here in the middle of August, the Big Bluestem is green next to the earth

but pale pink gold up above.

It's a hard color to reproduce and I'm always surprised

when I start playing with colors only to find that the colors that work are not

the colors my mind told me they were.

Here I pulled a pale salmon pink from my pastel pencils and overlaid it with grey.

Blend with a little off-white and it works well.

The greens give it just a little depth.

The hills in the distance are miles away and dusty lavender in the haze of August.

I haven't used pastel pencils for a long time and getting used to the

chalkiness is challenging as is the way they blend.

Still, same scene, different.

Holding loosely . . .

 It's funny how words and phrases come to you in bunches.

As if things are being revealed.

Slowing down and paying attention are what we need when this happens.

So it is with me.

Last week I posted on Facebook that I should take time, slow down, paint more loosely.

Of course, as soon as I said so, the reminder to 'hold on loosely' followed me everywhere.

My immediate object was to loosen my hand and try to get some depth to landscapes with shadowed clouds.

Instead of flattening the shapes,

I varied the intensity of color.

While there is no consistency yet,

these little studies are taking me

out of my comfort zone.

Play.

Experimentation.

Commission work . . . updated

Sunshine Bottoms

Lynch, Nebraska

Overlooking the Missouri River in northeast Nebraska

looking north into South Dakota

10"x30"

oil on canvas

UPDATE

The client wanted a little more river, a little softer cloud shapes,

and dividing the fields with a few roads.

I do like the clouds and the fields and all turned out well.

Next - dry and varnish and it's off to its forever home!

xo

And this . . .

This painting of the barn started life as a flat, lifeless painting.

I'm not sure yet if this is much of an improvement

but it is showing more life than before.

I used a palette knife to apply pure white paint to the roof

and ended up with a brightness that gives it a

reflected quality.

I like that.

May be more to play with but it's got a bit more action to it at least.

8x8 oil on canvas

When the day just seems to be slipping away . . .

Take an hour and paint something.

Painting No. 1 - Sunshine Bottoms, Lynch, Nebraska . . .

Project 1 of 2

12"x36"

oil on canvas

Sunshine Bottoms, Lynch, Nebraska

Overlooking the Missouri River into South Dakota

The view I will never tire of . . .

I have painted this scene across the road from us a dozen or more times.

Each time, it will sell at the next art show. Go figure.

It's the view outside my shop window and it changes weekly.

This week the dried blonde distant field is slowly greening while the rusty Bluestem is remaining red. Last Spring this field was burned to clear out the weeds and it came back beautifully.

Waiting for the grass to lie down and the green grass to overtake it again.

I cannot get enough of this view.

 And time to start on a few flower watercolors - out of my element kind of.

I tend to stick with landscapes and buildings that allow me more looseness.

The flowers seem to tighten my hand and it will be good to make myself loosen up and let the water do the work.

Mums in a vase. Reference photo from the new Pottery Barn catalogue.

Below - iris stems. I'll try this one again in more iris colors. These are a little too rose-y.

Too critical?