10″x8″ pastel on sanded paper
“I am going to try to pay attention to the spring. I am going to look around at all the flowers, and look up at the hectic trees. I am going to close my eyes and listen.” -Anne Lamott
Beautiful Spring Came
12″ square pastel on sanded board
“The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.” -Harriet Ann Jacobs
Waiting in the Wings
12″x9″ pastel on sanded paper
I used the pallet I have been using to paint evening primrose flowers to paint these little dancers. I also used as few strokes as possible. I find fields of flowers are more beautiful, and interesting with less information spelled out not more, perhaps that technique will work tiny ballerinas?
Picasso’s Primrose
8″x10″ pastel on sanded paper
“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” – Pablo Picasso
My impression of Evening Primrose
10″x8″ pastel on sanded paper
There is beauty all around us, often mixed up in things that are not very beautiful. I paint exactly how the flowers feel, without the power lines, or houses, or cars. As I enjoy this year’s wildflowers I remember this quote from Monet:
“Try to forget what objects you have before you – a tree, a house, a field, or whatever. Merely think, ‘Here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow,’ and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact color and shape, until it gives you your own impression of the scene before you.” -Claude Monet
Appreciate the beauty, ignore, or deemphasize the rest: That might be good advice to apply beyond landscape paintings.
Winter is Dead
10″x8″ pastel on sanded paper
“She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
“Winter is dead.””
-A.A.Milne
Started this painting with a beautiful underpainting to establish lights, darks, and mood.
Twilight – a time of pause
10″x8″ pastel on sanded paper
“Twilight – a time of pause when nature changes her guard. All living things would fade and die from too much light or too much dark, if twilight were not.” -Howard Thurman
Taking Time for Flowers and Friends
Available $60
“Nobody sees a flower really; it is so small. We haven’t time, and to see takes time – like to have a friend takes time.” Georgia O’Keeffe
Sunset, Bandera Texas 5:54pm
8″x8″ oil on canvas panel
We have made an annual camping trip to Bandera, TX the second weekend in January for the last dozen years. My trail running/backpacking husband says there is no such thing as bad weather, only improper gear.
Those funny little plus marks under the cloud are ICE! Perhaps there is such this as bad weather.
My sons are running the 25k trail run…AND I can’t bear the idea of them finishing tired, alone, and cold. So I am becoming a plein air painter that has dealt with some pretty tough painting conditions. Anyone know where to buy a paint brush with a heated handle?
Three Sisters
Growing up there were two families on our street who had three girls. My mom has two sisters. I am grateful that all of my sisters have grown out of close friendships, for all three sets of sisters I knew as a child “fought like cats” as my mom would say.
You have two more days left in the Valentines flower sale! I have a dozen original flowers that I have painted and are ready to ship. There is only one of each, so shop early if you have a favorite. Each painting is $100 and includes free shipping within in the US. They will be beautifully packaged and will arrive in plenty of time for Valentines. Please let me know if I can include a gift message.
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http://www.etsy.com/shop/Paintandsimple
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