"Northeaster Coming"

Pastel on Wallis, 12x9

This painting is a view of the salt marsh from the Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine.  The First Coast Pastel Society had a paint out there, and a northeaster was brewing.  Scattered clouds passed in succession, and the brisk breeze kept the water charged with broken and ruffled reflections of the sky.

This view of an oak and palm hammock in the marsh caught my attention.  The trees have obviously weathered many such days, and were sculptured by the wind.  The tops of the trees have grown away from the dense undergrowth letting the pale sky peek through, which sets the darkness of the trees against the clear, bright green of the marsh.

"Expecting Rain"

Pastel on Wallis, 12x9

This picture was painted at the Barbara Jaenicke workshop in Greenville, S.C. One of the primary things I wanted to learn in this workshop was how Barbara managed her edges and colors. With her help, I came a long way toward managing those key elements of pastel painting.

This painting was done from a photograph of an oak tree on the edge of the marsh. I made some changes in the undergrowth and in the placement of the tree against the background. I moved the colors away from the uniform green of the photo and replaced most of the green with oranges, yellows, purples, and blue.