Hot Sand, Path 6

Pastel, 9x12 on UArt

This painting is number six in my "path project," but it has been completely reworked under a new name "First Rays."  

I'm leaving this photo up for reference, but this painting no longer exists.

Expectations - Path 5

Pastel on UArt, 6x9

I am always inspired by the early morning fog that saturates the pines and woodlands through which I go.  The trees recede into mist, and the pathway ahead is shrouded in delightful mystery.

Path 1

"Path 1" pastel, 6x9

I have been intrigued by two ideas. The first idea is adding paths, trails, roads, and waterways to my compositions to draw the viewer through the painting.  The second goal is to make my paintings more impressionistic with the use of color, value, and shape; and by reducing my dependence on details.
For this painting, I drew in the path and major shapes, added color for definition, and called the painting complete before adding detail. I have discovered that I do not have to explain every element in the painting thereby increasing the power of suggestion.

Light Breezes

Pastel, 9x6 on UArt

The morning begins with calm and quiet.  A soft breeze hardly ripples the water in the bay.  The clouds are rising in tatters, but they will return when the sea breeze begins.

Unsettled

Pastel 9x6 on UArt

One thing I had to relearn with this small piece - be ruthless with things that may be good but don't advance your idea. My initial inspiration was the billowing clouds coming in over the marsh - the unsettled clouds contrasted by the vast, motionless marsh.
To purchase this painting, please contact me via e-mail or comment.

Refining the Idea

Mayo Reprise - 18x12

Sun Streaks - 9x6

Twin Groves - 9x6

Project for the New Year - Refining the Idea

I started with the original painting Mayo Reprise which I had done a few years ago. It was a nice painting, but it seemed to lack a something. I did not find in it a central idea, but many competing elements. At the suggestion of my friend and mentor, Lyn Asselta, I undertook to pull from the old painting the ideas I could explore and do a smaller painting to explore those ideas

These are the first two results.

Sun Streaks - I took as my idea the steaks of light from the broken clouds. In order to emphasize those streaks of light, I eliminated much of the detail of the painting and darkened the sky to support the idea of broken clouds and strong shadows. I punched the colors for emphasis.

Twin Groves - the two clumps of trees standing together but still separate has intrigued me for some time. In order to emphasize the trees, I changed their placement above the underbrush and reduced the definition in the trees and and marsh. I moved the shoreline back to provide space for reasonable and believable reflections. Colors and values were punched while reducing edges and definition.

Cattails 4

Pastel 16x12

On bright summer mornings, the cattails cast their reflections across the pond.  The reflections are ruffled by the soft breezes, and the long blades of the cattails wave their answer.

This scene was complicated by masses of details that had to be toned down, understated, and removed so that the main idea - the cattails and their reflections - could dominate the composition.

To purchase this painting, please visit my web site by clicking here - Cattails 4.