Cloud Patches

"Cloud Patches" 9x12 pastel on UArt

I've been cleaning our the mess in my garage studio, and found this painting in a stack of rejects! It had promise, so I took this old painting that failed, reworked it and basically started over. I think I'm getting the "cloud thing" going again.

My plan was to create a "path" with the clouds that would keep the eye in the painting and use the foreground marsh to direct the eye to the center of attention - lower left - where the brightest, most intense color is next to the darkest value in the painting.

Painting was revised and updated 5/7/21. Added more value and color separation.

Late Afternoon

Pastel, 6x9 on UArt

Number 11 of '21 in 21' Karen Margulis' challenge

In the late afternoon after the showers have passed over the salt marsh, the wet foliage of the grass and trees comes alive with a special radiance as the broken sunlight sweeps over in drifting patches of light and shadow.

To purchase this painting, visit my web site by clicking here: Late Afternoon.

"Sunlight Center Stage"

Pastel on sanded Arches - 21x14

When I matted and framed this piece, I realized that the design of the foreground did not draw the eye of the viewer into the focal point, the sunlight in the center middle ground.  I revised this painting for a third time - changing the foreground to remove the branch to the right. I am much more pleased with this design and its effect.

I wanted to convey the warmth of the summer in the marsh, but I also wanted to capture the fleeting light and shadows as the ray of sunlight light fell on the cord grass and spartina. In order to make that statement, I moved from my earlier green green pallet for the spartina to a more autumn pallet to add yellows and browns to the grass. The light falling in the center makes the broad scene more accessible and much more dramatic.

As I worked on this painting through its several revisions and through the change in camera, my goal has been to present this scene to convey my praise the the Lord, the Creator.  On the back of this painting I have written the words, "to the praise of His glory."  I want this to be the theme of what I do.

This is the first revision of the painting I posted in June.  I redid the foreground on this piece from what I published late last month.

"Sunlight on Center Stage"

Pastel on Sanded Arches - 21.5x14.5

Every now and then a painting starts as one subject and "morphs" into something entirely different.  I assembled the composition for this piece from several photos and previous paintings of the salt marsh.  What I originally envisioned was an emphasis on pine trees across the marsh, but as I worked on the lighting and values, the cord grass took center stage.  I believe this was an exercise in values and color that really stretched my experience and imagination.

To purchase, contact me.