New Pastels

Title: High Desert Mountain Meadow

Medium: Pastel on Paper

Size: 9x12 inches

Title: Summer Pond

Medium: Pastel on Pastel Paper

Size: 9x12 inches

For about the last month I have been doing a lot of oil painting. It took some discipline on my part in order to finish some larger works that have been sitting in the studio. It is nice to get back to working in pastel and working in a smaller size again. These two pastels are what I did this weekend.

High Desert Clouds

High Desert Clouds, Oil on Canvas, 20x24 inches

This painting was completed recently. I have quite a few larger paintings that are currently in a working rotation. It is my hope that I can bring these larger pieces to completion in the next few weeks.

Red Rocks Vista

Red Rocks Vista, 8x 10 inches Oil on Canvas on Panel.

This painting will be in the small works show at In Your Eye Gallery in Oklahoma City. The show runs from June 3rd to June 25th.

Red Rocks Sunset

Red Rocks Sunset, 8x10 inches, pastel on pastel board

This painting is going to be in the small works show at In your Eye Gallery in Oklahoma City. The show runs from June 3rd to June 25th.

Sedona Late Afternoon

Sedona Late Afternoon,

Pastel on Paper, 10.75 in x 16.5 in

This is a recently finished pastel painting. This painting is of some rock formations near Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, Arizona. For this painting I primarily relied on photographs and memories from painting in Sedona. I think it will be time for another trip to the Southwest soon. I find that after some time I need to renew my memories by working on location.

Close to Sunset pastel painting, and comments on pastel surfaces.

Close to Sunset

24 in x 30 in

Pastel on Board.

This is a painting based on Sedona, AZ. Sedona is an extremely beautiful place. I am especially attracted to and inspired by the late afternoon light in Sedona. I also love the sunsets there. Last time I was there I did a lot of studies, took lots of photos, and tried to memorize as much as I could. This studio painting is a result of those experiences. I have been making a body of work primarily focusing on Sedona lately.

I have also been experimenting with making different pastel surfaces. I enjoy the different varieties of sanded pastel papers but they have limitations in size. Also papers like Sennelier, UART cannot handle washes. So I started making my own boards. One technique that I have employed is using Art Spectrum ColourFix Primer the Super Fine Version and applying 2-3 coats of it on hardboard panel. I like the surface plus it works really well with doing pastel washes with turpentine or Gamsol (Gamblin's OMS). I do washes for the under painting of my pastel paintings. This technique doesn't work well while working outside because it takes time to dry. It works great for studio work, having washes and values laid in early helps with color relations throughout the painting process.

I am also experimenting with adding marble dust to gesso and applying that to hardboard for another kind of pastel surface. The added bonus for artists is that it saves money, you can customize your surfaces to your liking, and you can create any size you want. An added bonus is that the work is more sturdy, archival, personally involved by the artist and that is a bonus for collectors. I generally mount my pastel papers to hardboard too. The reason I do that is because paper has a higher chance of being damaged. When paper is mounted to a board it is less likely to be torn or be damaged.