Spring Road

Pastel on UArt - 27x21

This is a view of a road east of Harlan, Iowa, looking to the west. I made some sketches of this scene and took reference photos in the spring of 2009. I have finally gotten around to painting it.

My first attraction was to the trees on the left, but as I worked on the design, I found much more interest in the road as it disappeared over the hill. The trees were just beginning to show the first flush of true, fresh green. The clouds were broken, and the south wind was whipping them away.

Photo taken of signed and completed work on 11/26/2010 under natural light without modification.

Spring Road

11-21-2010 Last update.... Progress is slow. Some days are better than others. Will be off for a day or two before I can finish this.

11-21-2010 Update - cropped subject to examine my work. I did the trees with Sennelier which is softer than Rembrandt and gives softer, less precise lines. Colors in this image are not exact, but I'm looking at the quality of the process.

12-19-2010 pm
I have "completed" the sky. My object was to make it attractive and believable without making it a focal point. I've laid in the the basic color objects with out definition. It is time now to evaluate the relative values and color relationships. The actual colors are warmer than this photo shows.

11-19-2010 am
Line drawing on UArt - grid mostly erased - line drawing to define major shapes, color masses. I sprayed this graphite drawing with fixative so that it won't bleed through onto the image.


A grid drawing on a work this size is necessary for me, especially when I'm not working with the view before me. With my MS, I seem to have lost the ability to improvise. I've discovered that I have to work out details, eliminate and add features, move items, decide on focus, values, and movement with care because I can't do those things in the fly anymore.

Started larger work on UArt 27x21 using reference drawing and photos from the spring of 2009.

Royal Morning

Pastel on UArt, 27x21

I have finished and signed this painting this afternoon. It has been longer in the works because of interruptions and distractions, but that's life.

I have tried to capture the purples and lavenders of morning on the Intercoastal Waterway looking southwest from the Little Jetties toward the Wonderwood Expressway Bridge which is two to three miles away. The passing clouds cast the foreground in shadow but bathe the near shore and the far bank in bright light.

Royal Morning

Pastel - UArt 27x21

Work In Progress

I'm putting this up for my own evaluation. I have added the palm tree as a design element, but I'm not satisfied with the value/color. I'm still new to pastels, and would like to mix my own greens for this. Alas, mixing is a problem.

Royal Morning

11-10 Work for today

11-09 Work for today

Second Look

First Iteration...

Pastel on UArt 27x21

Work in Progress

This picture is based on sketches and reference photos looking from the Helen Floyd Park across the ICW toward the Wonderwood Expressway bridge. I especially wanted to capture the purple and lavenders in the sky set against the sunlight on the sand across the water. The foreground was in shadow which should make the picture more dramatic.

Falling Tide, October

Pastel on UArt 27x21

To purchase, contact me.

The concept behind this painting is the color and openness of the salt marsh at mid morning. The wind is just coming up and ruffling most of the reflections. The tide is falling exposing more and more of the shore line. Across the marsh are some houses that stand out in the morning brightness, but they seem lonely and almost lost in the expanse of grass and water.

This is a view of the landing at Castaway Park. I developed this from a plein air painting and reference photos.