Kim Denise Fine Art - Contemporary Realism in Soft Pastel

moving again (maybe the last time for a while?)

2011-04-21T09:10:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm moving again. This time I'm staying in the same state, the same area code, the same county, just shifting into the next town. I'm moving into my own house this time, which means I can put down some roots, plant a garden, choose paint colors, and plan on staying for a while. It's going to take some work to get the new studio into useable condition, so I'll be extending my hiatus from

Ballad of the Seemingly Endless Shawl

2011-04-19T23:55:00.010-04:00

Crochet is a new obsession for me. I've been an on-again, off-again knitter for years, but I confess that I've looked down my nose a bit at crochet, the poor stepsister of the fiber world. No longer. I'm hooked (pun intended). So I decided it's time to do a big crochet project. I spent about 48 solid hours poring over patterns on Ravelry and finally purchased a wonderful pattern for a shawl

and just one more pear

2011-04-05T12:13:00.002-04:00

Finished this a couple of weeks ago but somehow never blogged it. I think it's my favorite thus far. The reflections posed quite a challenge, as I was working from a photo reference that really didn't show them. (I know, I know, a real artiste works from life....but I work slowly and have no desire at this point to do paintings of rotting fruit. I never claimed to be a real artiste anyhow.)

My love affair with pears

2011-03-21T00:00:00.000-04:00

It just goes on and on. I love those plump curves, and all that personality! Kettle with Pear, 17 x 10 inches. Availablle Pear with Ribbon, 10 x 8 inches. Available. All content ©2011 Kimberly Denise. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Guess it's about time...

2011-03-18T20:28:00.001-04:00

It's been a month since I posted so I guess it's about time for a flurry of posts. No, NOT a flurry of snow, thank you very much. The snow is all melted here (except for a few grimy persistent plow piles), and spring bulbs have started to come up for air. We made it! I've been painting (happy dance, happy dance, yes I've been painting!). I think I am finally recovered from the frantic prep

Sunny and 55 Degrees!!

2011-02-18T12:03:00.001-05:00

Yes, that is green grass you're seeing, through my wide-open studio window (added a pic for proof)! We're having a little taste of Spring, right here right now and smack in the middle of February. Now if I could only figure out how to format these Blogger posts and put the pics where I want them...but I don't have time for that today. I should be painting, but no way...I AM GOING OUTSIDE!! (

New Moo!

2011-02-17T15:54:00.004-05:00

Yes! New Moo cards! I go through these little beauties like crazy (they are stuck to the refrigerators of half the households in town at this point, LOL), so I ordered a pack featuring a few of my newer pieces. They're so beautiful! The photo does not do them justice. (For those who haven't seen them before, Moo cards are beautiful business cards from Moo.com. My contact info is printed on

setups setups and more setups

2011-02-11T10:18:00.003-05:00

I really don't like doing setups. It's the worst part of the painting process. Well, that and prepping the paper, but I don't have any paper-prepping photos to share right now, so I won't entertain you with that process. (Yet.) I really have been busy, although I have no paintings to show for it. (Yet.) Here is a small sampling of the images I've been shooting as references. There are

Hyacinth Jar still life painting

2011-01-25T18:11:00.001-05:00

Hyacinth Jar, 15 x 13 inches. SOLD I painted this piece in the darkest days of winter, but it seems I was thinking of Spring. Although it must have been a subconscious association, because I chose to paint this subject for reasons unrelated to its Spring-y-ness. This one came right after my three big stained glass paintings, and I just needed a change. It wasn't about the flowers, it was

yippee, banner is fixed!

2011-01-22T16:49:00.000-05:00

No thanks to Blogger, but my banner is fixed. I ended up uploading it to ImageShack, then linking from there. The Blogger help forum is filled with posts from people experiencing the same problem. Don't know if the powers that be have fixed the actual issue, but as long as I have a workaround, I'm happy :)

bad, bad Blogger.com!!

2011-01-21T14:09:00.007-05:00

I uploaded a new, improved title banner for my beautiful blog, and it uploaded all blurry and pixelated. So I went to the Blogger help forum and found I am not the only one with this problem. I was able to link to a nice clear banner from Photobucket, but Blogger displays it at the wrong size--it doesn't span the width of the page--and cannot be resized. I've tried everything. I'll just have

red tea and white wine

2011-01-21T10:40:00.007-05:00

Two more pieces for the February show; beverages this time. Red tea in blue willoware on an Oriental rug (I love that straight-down perspective, especially in a square), and white wine in my mother's beautiful crystal, glowing golden by candlelight. 'Red Tea' may be the most fun I've had doing a painting; it just flowed from my fingers, and I was surprised to find it finished all at once! The

beloved fruit

2011-01-21T09:56:00.004-05:00

I can't prepare for a show without making a couple of paintings of fruit. I love painting fruit, especially apples and pears. Most especially pears (but don't tell the apples). I also love working in a square format. There's something deeply satisfying about a square. Two Pears, 13 x 13 inches SOLD Apple, 12 x 12 inches, available through The Harrison Gallery. All content ©2011

companion pieces

2011-01-21T09:38:00.004-05:00

Pitcher with Apple, 10 x 8 inches. Available through The Harrison Gallery. Pitcher with Apple 2, 10 x 8 inches. Available through The Harrison Gallery. Two small pieces I did as a pair for my upcoming show at The Harrison Gallery. The antique pitchers are from my mother's collection. My mom has some gorgeous, gorgoeus pieces....and I have open access to them, yet I don't have

stained glass

2011-01-20T19:24:00.004-05:00

These pieces will be among those featured in my solo show, opening February 5, at The Harrison Gallery in Williamstown, MA. The show will hang until the end of the month. Chalice, 24 x 24 inches, available at The Harrison Gallery Two Shakers, 22 x 20 inches, available at The Harrison Gallery The reference images for both of these pieces were shot at the Crossroads Country Mall in Lima, NY

from my last show

2011-01-18T18:48:00.007-05:00

These pieces were in a group show at The Harrison Gallery, Williamstown, MA, in the Fall of 2010. Iced Tea in the Afternoon, 10 x 15 inches, available through The Harrison Gallery Iced Tea in the Afternoon was born in the Louisiana summer sun. I was sitting in the shady green grotto beneath a big palm tree in my courtyard with a glass of iced tea, when I became fascinated by the pattern made

down to the bare walls

2011-01-18T14:15:00.004-05:00

I pin my paintings up on the wall as I finish them; it's a safe way of storing them so they won't get smudged. In preparation for my February show, I had nine finished pieces stuck to my wall, and oh! that felt so good. It gave me a little shiver of pleasure every time I entered the studio to see the fruits of my hard work (literally--there were several apples and pears). But now they are

is it true I'm stuck with the blue?

2011-01-18T12:53:00.007-05:00

Having a blast playing with these new Blogger templates, and I'm liking what I've done so far....but am I really stuck with this blue for the post titles? Really? This would not be my first choice. Or my second. Or third. Maybe after I have some lunch, I can figure it out. Didn't I say I was going to eat lunch an hour ago?Later: Aha! I figured it out! No more blue post titles for me!

new year, new look (and maybe even some posts!)

2011-01-18T12:16:00.004-05:00

I'm still here! I have a little catching up to do, as I haven't posted here in 18 months...but I probably won't do that all in one post. I spent the morning playing around with Blogger, giving this space a new look to celebrate its revival. It needs some more work, but this is enough for one day. I've just finished preparing for my February solo show at The Harrison Gallery in Williamstown,

June Bloom Day

2009-06-15T10:58:00.009-04:00

Here's what's abloom in June!Cannas look so exotic and Victorian to me. What a pleasure to leave them in the ground and have them survive the winter. I have two varieties in my yard--I'd love to have a few more.Spiderwort. I know, I know, it's a weed around here...but it's also a beautiful, hardy native. Love the little blue faces.Cherry Tomatoes Sweet 100. I think the tomatoes look

Summer Vegetable still life painting

2009-06-15T09:30:00.006-04:00

Summer Vegetables, 15 x 10 inches, soft pastel on paper. Available.This piece was done for the Week 37 & 38 Challenge on Karin Jurick's awesome blog Different Strokes From Different Folks. Every two weeks, Karin provides a reference photo, and artists of every stripe, from all over the world, submit their interpretations. This is the first time I've participated. I'm sure I'll become a

Gardens at the American Rose Society

2009-06-04T21:47:00.012-04:00

Took a little road trip the other day and stopped in at the American Rose Society gardens near Shreveport, Louisiana. We missed peak bloom by a couple of weeks, but there was still much to enjoy!

Moo! (New business cards)

2009-05-14T10:29:00.009-04:00

I ordered these fun new business cards from Moo.com. (Apologies for the lousy photo.) You can print lots of different images in each pack. This is the assortment I chose, based on which images best fit the format. They are all cropped at least a little, but I like that too--it leaves people wanting to see more. Each has the same flip side, featuring my contact information on solid black. I

She actually finished another painting!

2009-05-10T21:10:00.006-04:00

Orange Slice, 13 x 13 inches, soft pastel on paper.At long last. I needed a break, but this was getting ridiculous. I had a lot of fun with this one; now I'm dying to do more.It looks a lot better on a white background; click the image to pop it out.Finally, I can ship all the pieces for my May 30 show.

and it rained, and rained, and rained

2009-05-06T22:03:00.008-04:00

When it rains in Louisiana, it rains HARD. The air is all water and the ground is all water and everything shimmers silver. There is a splash haze three feet high. Here are some shots from Sunday's downpour, when my yard was submerged.The garden (and the mosquitos) loved it. We had more of the same today.It was beautiful.

How do you read your Pastel Journal?

2009-04-27T15:47:00.002-04:00

My new Pastel Journal arrived the other day. I love to see it glowing amid the bills and junk and throwaways. It's like getting chocolate in the mail (except you can't actually swallow it).As with M&Ms and Oreos, there is a technique to savoring the Pastel Journal. Actually, there are several. I've employed them all. The first method is where you drop everything and page straight through,

studio cats

2009-04-19T21:50:00.020-04:00

This afternoon I grabbed the camera to shoot some reference images in the fabulous light coming through my front window when Margaret appointed herself artistic director. She hadn't the slightest interest in anything in, around or near this window until I trained the camera on it...and then she couldn't tear herself away. (Excuse me for just a minute while I blow the cat hair off the keyboard.

thinking about painting

2009-04-17T21:41:00.015-04:00

I've been taking a little break from the easel. This is the busy season at work--I'm a manager at Home Depot, and springtime at Home Depot is like Christmas at the mall. We really don't get a chance to breathe. It's FUN, but tiring. I confess I have crawled home some days and fed myself tuna fish straight from the can. I only have one piece left to complete for my upcoming show, and I should

they want my photos!

2009-04-17T21:28:00.007-04:00

I'll be donating some of my photographs of the Genesee Country Village, a living history museum near Rochester, NY, to their new website. I'm a huge fan of GCV, and I have a number of photos of it on my Flickrstream. I've been going there since I was a child, and continue to visit whenever I'm in the area. It has grown and grown over the years and become an amazing historical resource.

okay, some flower photos. I can't resist.

2009-04-06T06:44:00.010-04:00

I need these pics right now. With temperatures predicted to plunge near freezing the next two nights, I need all the springtime I can get!

Blog awards

2009-04-06T06:19:00.006-04:00

These awards seem to be popping up everywhere these days. I was fortunate to receive this award this week from two different bloggers. Thank you, Darlene Twitchell and Jane Hunt! I like the spirit of this award."A Lemonade Award is given to bloggers that show a positive attitude, gratitude,and a willingness to share their ideas, support and online friendship." I try to do all those things...

This week in review. And some fruit.

2009-04-05T19:46:00.021-04:00

I can't believe it's been a week since I last posted. I've done a lot of planting and very little painting in the interim. Today I scrubbed the dirt from under my nails and started the last piece for my spring show. I'll actually be ready ahead of time! That's a first for me. I don't quite know what I'll do with myself...but I never have any trouble filling my time.This week more daffodils

second-stage springtime

2009-03-29T07:20:00.006-04:00

The seasons arrive in stages, each one a surge of new bloom. This is especially true in springtime, as we progress from crocus to daffodil to tulip and on into full-blown summer. (Have you ever managed to catch that mystic switch from spring to summer? I just seem to wake up one day and notice spring has passed, but I don't know when or how she went.)If the year is a parade, daffodils are the

Mason jar paintings

2009-03-28T22:28:00.013-04:00

Here are some more pieces I painted during my blogging-break. I thought they deserved to be posted. I'll confess that these are my current favorites, especially the first two.Jar on Jar, 18 x 24, soft pastel on paper. SOLDMason jar/gauze curtains, 16 x 20, soft pastel on paper. SOLDMason jars/glass heart, 14.5 x 15, soft pastel on paper. SOLDThe glass heart featured in the second and third

Iron Photographer

2009-03-27T23:08:00.011-04:00

The Utata group on Flickr is one of my favorite places on the Web. Every two weeks, writer-photographer and pillar of Utata Greg Fallis posts the elements for a new Iron Photographer project. The challenge is to make a photograph incorporating three required elements. The resulting images are amazingly creative, beautiful, intelligent, and often hilarious.I can't resist Iron Photographer. No

Sunflower Soup II

2009-03-23T14:01:00.007-04:00

Sunflower Soup II, 12 x 16, soft pastel on paper SOLDFinally finished it. This one got stalled at the "ugly stage," and then I had an exceptionally busy week at work and left it sitting even longer. I wish I had a better approach to surmounting that no-apparent-hope-for-it phase of a painting. My current approach is to just pick up a pastel and start doing something--anything--until it starts

Filling the gap

2009-03-22T08:22:00.017-04:00

I'm going to post a new painting today. Tomorrow at the latest. In the meantime, I have plenty of other work to share, painted during my two-year hiatus from blogging.Here are some pieces from my first gallery show a year ago:Essence of Autumn I; 15 x 10 inches; soft pastel on paper. SOLDEssence of Autumn II; 7 x 14.5 inches; soft pastel on paper. SOLDEssence of Autumn III; 14 x 10 inches; soft

hall of mirrors

2009-03-18T20:08:00.015-04:00

My work goes meta. While the painting on my easel creeps along ever-so-slowly, I thought I'd share some fun photos I've taken using my own paintings as creative elements. I can amuse myself for hours making these kinds of pictures, usually prompted by group projects at Flickr.Click here to see some of my favorites among the photos on my Flickrstream.The glass in this photo is the one from my

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day

2009-03-16T13:04:00.020-04:00

I love this idea: a once-a-month post featuring whatever it is that's blooming in your garden. Begun by Carol on her May Dreams Gardens blog, this happy practice now has hundreds of followers. While there is MUCH more to be seen in bloom around town than in my little plot, here's what I have blooming today:Dianthus--these little dudes have been blooming away all winter long. I suppose

Font Fun

2009-03-15T10:19:00.006-04:00

Vivien Blackburn explored this personal font creator on her blog, and I just had to try it out. It makes a font from your handwriting which you can save to your computer. It isn't hard to do. This doesn't really look like my handwriting, but it's cute, and fun to play around with. Make your own handwriting font here. Try it!

Greenest Art

2009-03-13T17:54:00.004-04:00

(image by funksturm)I had to share this--it weds art and gardening, my two great loves. This is the Caixa Forum in Madrid. The stunning abstract on its wall is a Patrick Blanc vertical garden composed of thousands of live plants. I stumbled on this startling image via the Garden Rant blog, which directed me to this fascinating article on WebEcoist. Do go visit Blanc's website. It's a visual

Winner!

2009-03-11T06:03:00.007-04:00

No, not a painting--this time it's a piece of short fiction. I was over at the Garden Rant blog--one of my daily reads--and, in the interest of procrastination, decided to tap out a few entries for their Flash Fiction contest. I was delighted to learn that one of them was among the winners! I'll receive a couple of gardening books as my prize. I like gardening books even more than I like

tracking the dusties

2009-03-09T08:46:00.013-04:00

I've spent quite a bit of time lately trying to get my pastel collection under control. I've been painting in pastel for 3 1/2 years now, and my collection has reached a size where it requires some organization. I've developed some definite likes and dislikes, and I've used up a bunch of favored sticks.Unfortunately, I can't replace some of my favorites because the labels are peeled off and I

Orange Spiral

2009-03-08T21:29:00.014-04:00

Orange Spiral, 9 x 7.5 inches SOLDA beautiful warm day today, with the sun streaming in and setting the orange alight. I almost felt like the orange itself was giving off heat. I've painted this little glass many times before, but I keep coming back to it because I love the way it holds the light. This is a small piece--I had a scrap of paper already prepped that I wanted to use up, so I

sunflower soup

2009-03-04T20:06:00.010-05:00

Sunflower Soup, 15 x 11 inches, soft pastel on paper.It's past my bedtime, so I'll keep this short. I've been working on this one all week. Floral and glass is a new combination for me. I loved painting the swirls of the petals behind the green glass. I wish I had done this three or four times larger! Uploading seems to have desaturated it somewhat.see all my work on my website.

blogheaded

2009-03-02T16:03:00.005-05:00

Oh, my aching head! Today I took the plunge and upgraded this old blog with the new, improved Blogger features. I just can't resist 'new and improved.' This means that all my painstaking customization disappeared into the ethers, and I had to figure out how to put it back in place using the new functionality.I like the new functionality. It's very cool, very easy to use, and it looks like

a proliferation of pears

2009-03-01T14:44:00.015-05:00

(don't you just love alliteration?)I'm busy preparing for my solo show at The Harrison Gallery in Williamstown, Massachusetts this June. I almost always like to work in series, but at five pieces and counting, this one is taking on a life of its own! I've promised to stop with the pears and diamonds for the time being, but I have no doubt they'll be back. I'm smitten by this angular diamond

Blog? I have a blog?

2009-03-01T14:31:00.005-05:00

I don't get it. I like to write, I like to read other folks' blogs, and I especially enjoy artists' blogs. But I don't maintain my own. Granted, I don't have much time. I work 50-60 hours a week at my day job, and paint during most of the rest of my waking hours--in addition to all that time I spend procrastinating and doing things like making curried lentil soup (ooh, my house smells so good

welcome . . .

2008-09-09T19:54:00.007-04:00

Or welcome back. I'm returning to this blog after an absence of almost two years. I've revived Luminous World to celebrate the most recent, and most profound, change in my life. The following four posts, originally written as a photoessay for the online photography community Utata.org, chronicle my move to Louisiana after a lifetime in the Northeast. They read in order from top to bottom (

Welcome to USDA Zone 8

2008-09-09T19:51:00.004-04:00

There is a big palm tree outside my front door. Not a sugar maple, not a red oak, not a gnarled old apple. A palm tree. It has three fibrous, serrated trunks and an arcing fountain of fronds that trail against the upper windows of the building next door. This is a foreign creature, citizen of a different vegetable nation. I feel I should show my passport before sitting in its rustling

the light according to palms

2008-09-09T19:46:00.006-04:00

Everyone knows light influences mood. The grand lighting designer for this latitude must have set the mood to “euphoria,” because here I am staggering around sun-drunk and bedazzled, high as a kite on the startling light in this humble inland city. I knew it would be hotter here—and it is!--but I didn't think ten degrees of latitude would lend such intensity to the visible light. The only place

all y'all

2008-09-09T19:41:00.005-04:00

I was given something precious recently, an unexpected boon. It's a syllable. A sugarplum of a syllable. Specifically, a syllable in my own name. Here in Louisiana, my formerly curt “Kim” sounds as if it tastes good, its lone vowel pulled like taffy into a leisurely extra beat.As a lover of words, I am in love with these words around me. They ooze through the humid air, one eliding into another,

tea in the garden at midnight

2008-09-09T19:02:00.016-04:00

One teacup, blue-and-white. (One saucer. One willow ware plate.) Two chairs with baroque red curves. Three trunks of a sheltering palm tree. Four: the numerological equivalent of my new address. Five fingers of my open hand,

Yankee Backyard

2006-09-26T20:53:00.002-04:00

I love to see laundry on the line. There's a dreamlike, ethereal quality to those disembodied garments fluttering in the breeze. A touch of sunlight momentarily transforms the humblest t-shirt into cloth of kings, and I feel a comforting, domestic sense of things-as-they-should-be when I see a full clothesline on a sunny day.It feels like home.This photo was published in JPG Magazine.

Crabapples

2006-09-26T20:41:00.001-04:00

A recurring theme for me. I love them.Equinox ApproachingCrabapple Kaleidoscope

sensual pleasures

2006-08-21T08:36:00.002-04:00

A recent thread on a discussion board asked about people's favorite things. As I read through the replies, my grumbly morning turned into a good day. I consider that a great service indeed!These are just a few of mine: -the first whiff of thawed earth in early spring-the smell of fallen leaves in autumn-the smell of water, especially approaching an unseen lake through trees-the smell of laundry

apples again?

2006-08-20T12:26:00.004-04:00

I'm drawn to working in series. I'll often have a whole series planned and sketched with reference photos.... I paint one or two and get distracted by some other subject. But then in time I find myself coming back to my neglected series and working some more. There's an interesting tidal quality to the pattern. I just sit back and watch. I don't tend to find any deep meaning in my series.

one more--I just had to share

2006-08-19T15:54:00.001-04:00

I needed a pic for Photo Friday. This week's theme is "Friends". This particular shot makes me cry...

serendipity

2006-08-19T11:23:00.001-04:00

Sun DancersAugust LightDaisy DazeBuddy the Mighty HunterI must confess, I have a new obsession. When I looked for an online gallery for my vacation pictures, I discovered Flickr. I'd had an account there for some time, but I had never taken the time to explore the site. Once I started exploring, it took over my life! After spending a week drinking in the images upon images at Flickr, my vision

one of my birthday presents

2006-08-12T20:48:00.001-04:00

Someone dear to me sent me this set of pastels for my birthday. This is the Great American Brights set. The photo doesn't do them justice. They're incredible! Now I have to come up with a subject worthy of these colors... (don't you just want to eat them sometimes?)

enchanted August

2006-08-12T20:32:00.001-04:00

We took a walk last night at a favorite place of mine, Beatty Point. The sun was angling down behind the trees, a light mist was rising, and the fields were filled with Queen Anne's lace. It was magical. Miraculously, my camera saw it the same way I did!Here are a few pics. You can see all of them on my Flickr page.

Birthday/Anniversary

2006-08-09T21:04:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was my birthday--which also marked an important anniversary. Last year, for my 40th birthday, my parents and son gave me an easel and some pastels. I had expressed a desire to revive a brief interest in art that, a few years previous, had led me to take a few pastel lessons. They thought that was a good idea, and gave me what I needed to get started.I haven't looked back. I've drawn

Another floral--a bouquet this time

2006-08-07T19:58:00.001-04:00

Sunday Afternoon, 18x15 inches, soft pastel on Wallis. Started this a while ago--finally had a chance to finish it today. I have no idea how this image looks--I got a new monitor and haven't quite gotten it adjusted yet, LOL.Painting flowers is not my strong suit--but it feeds something in me. I can't get enough. I'm sure you'll be seeing more soon!

another oil pastel quickie

2006-08-06T20:37:00.001-04:00

I'm having fun now! This is from a reference at Wet Canvas. I don't get over there often, but it's well worth a visit. I spent a little over an hour on this one. I need more oil pastels....Iris, 6x12 inches, oil pastel on Wallis.

Niagara Falls photos

2006-08-05T15:42:00.001-04:00

I'm back from our trip and finally have the photos processed and posted. It took me a while--I shot over 500 of them! It was a fantastic trip--one of those times when everything just flows. Daniel enjoyed it as much as I did.Now he has gone back to his dad's and it's time for me to get back to work. I'm dealing with the post-visit, post-vacation letdown. I need to get painting again. Art cures

I'm still working...really, I am

2006-07-11T22:17:00.001-04:00

My son is here for the month, so I'm spending as much time with him as I can...but I'm still working at my art, taking pics, sketching, etc. Tonight, while we watched a DVD of the first season of "24" (what a cool show--I'd never seen it before!), I cut paper from my roll of beautiful Wallis Museum, toned it with acrylics and stretched it to dry. Now the curl is out of it and it's ready to go!

Big Bouquet!

2006-07-08T20:39:00.001-04:00

Big Bouquet, 16 x16 inches, soft pastel on Wallis.I was further inspired by flowers from the garden. I don't particularly like Asiatic lilies in the flowerbed...but in the vase they're irresistible! This may have been the most fun I've ever had painting. I'll definitely be painting more flowers. Why haven't I done this before?I'm going to try and get a better photo--this one is a bit dark. This

Daisy

2006-07-03T22:17:00.000-04:00

I'm doing a lot of fast pieces lately, as I don't have time for much else. I enjoy them, though, and they're good practice, so I'm not complaining!This is a daisy from my garden. I wouldn't ordinarily choose a reference quite like this, but my mother wanted it, so I figured I'd give it a try. I'm not thrilled with it, but Mom likes it, so my mission is accomplished!8x8 inches, soft pastel on

15-minute Bouquet

2006-07-01T23:36:00.002-04:00

Just had to test-drive some of my new colors! This is 9x8 inches, soft pastels on Wallis.

Portrait revisited

2006-07-01T21:05:00.001-04:00

Went and bought a few new pastels so I could fix this up a bit...here's the result. Daniel has approved the new lip color--which doesn't look this red in real life! (We held various pastels up to his mouth at the art store this afternoon.)You can see I altered the jaw line a little bit, which takes away some of the likeness (not that most of you know what he looks like, LOL). I'll have to fix

Yellow Contemplation--finished at last!

2006-06-26T15:19:00.002-04:00

16.5 x 16.5 inches, soft pastel on Wallis. SOLD.Whoo-hoo! On to the next one! (I changed the name, by the way. Did you notice?)

Yellow and Blue Danube--start to finish

2006-06-26T15:05:00.001-04:00

I always think it's fun to be able to see them all together in sequence, but there are many earlier posts with commentary about each of the steps. You can find them below and in the list along the right-hand side of the page. This was a challenging piece for me. I changed direction a number of times and had to develop some new skills to handle all this high-key color appropriately. I'm really

Summer Solstice

2006-06-21T07:38:00.001-04:00

Here we are, on the morning of the longest day of the year. In about one hour (8:26 AM EDT), the Earth will be at her greatest "lean" and all of us in the northern hemisphere will be riding closest to our glorious Sun. It's finally Summer.This was one of the holy days of ancient calendars....a day that has been celebrated for time out of mind. Take a moment to reconnect with natural cycles today.

Accepted!

2006-06-17T15:40:00.001-04:00

I just received word that my painting "Bowl of Sunshine" has been juried into the Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod Eleventh Annual exhibition, "For Pastels Only, On Cape Cod". The show will take place August 2-30, 2006, at the Creative Arts Center, Chatham, Massachusetts. This is my third juried show this year (out of three I have entered). I'm very pleased!

getting closer....

2006-06-12T21:08:00.000-04:00

These elements are pretty much done--just a little tweaking to go. Then I have to decide what to do with all the rest of the piece! I have ideas, but won't know how they'll work until I try.

and yet more progress..

2006-06-11T21:14:00.000-04:00

This is progress from today. (The previous post is from yesterday.) The glass is almost-but-not-quite done. Seeing it on the monitor often helps me to see things that need to be changed...must be the changed perspective. This photo is also too dark...but it gives you the general idea!

progress

2006-06-11T21:11:00.000-04:00

More on the glass. I loved doing those reflections in the left-hand side of the glass.

close-ups

2006-06-09T08:54:00.000-04:00

I realized that it's kind of hard to see any details in the small images, especially when my subjects are surrounded by so much blank space, so here are some close-ups. These photos just don't convey a lot of the texture and layered colors--I'll spend some time to get a good photo when I'm done with the piece.

Yellow and Blue Danube, stage 4&5

2006-06-08T22:49:00.000-04:00

stage 4stage 5You thought I'd given up on this one...and so did I! But I've gotten back in gear and made some progress. This is a challenge for me because of the high key and low contrast. I've had to be very disciplined with my palette, and although this painting may never be anything special, the practice will certainly pay off.The color is much more true-to-life in the second pic.

Artist of the Month!

2006-06-04T09:12:00.000-04:00

I've been selected as Artist of the Month for June 2006 by The Art List! You can read the interview and view a small image gallery here.The Art List is a great resource for artists. Each month it provides a huge listing of shows, competitions, and other exhibition opportunites, as well as job openings in the art field. Click on the link in the right-hand column to subscribe.

Yellow and Blue Danube, stage 3

2006-06-01T22:38:00.000-04:00

I've worked on the background and the lemon some more. I'm finally becoming happy with the colors. I just needed a lot of layers to get the desired intensity. I think I'm starting to enjoy this piece now.

Yellow and Blue Danube, stage 2

2006-05-30T22:21:00.000-04:00

After several more sessions working on this piece, you may notice that I don't appear to have gotten much done. Well, I have. It just doesn't show because most of it got brushed off. (This is a lousy photo, by the way. The color is way off. I'm too tired tonight to set up and do it right.)Tonight, after brushing out the lemon twice, and working the background over and over and over trying to

a new work-in-progress

2006-05-27T22:20:00.000-04:00

I bought a set of 20 Mt. Vision yellows, so I had to paint another lemon. (Actually, I already had this painting planned...but who could resist 20 Mt. Vision yellows?) I figured I'd share another work-in-progress, as the last one was so enjoyable.Above are the first two visible steps: the initial drawing, and the blocking-in of some colors. I've got my dark, light and middle tones all on the

Crabapples

2006-05-21T23:57:00.002-04:00

My crabapple tree (known as "Kimmy Crab" to my loving family since I planted the tree at age 9) is in full, glorious bloom. The sun came out for a few brief moments today and I was able to get some lovely photos of her abundant blossoms. I cut a couple of branches to do some quick pastel sketches.Can you smell it?

Amish Country #2

2006-05-18T11:49:00.001-04:00

These shots convey some of the local flavor: hand-lettered signs; impossibly narrow, winding roads; and a typical one-room Amish schoolhouse. I didn't take any pictures of the ubiquitous Amish buggies because it felt somehow intrusive. Maybe next time I'll get some shots outside one of the stores, with the horses tied to the hitching rail. It was too darn wet this week to do a lot of prowling

A Trip to Amish Country

2006-05-18T11:21:00.001-04:00

Holmes County, Ohio has the world's largest concentration of Amish families, along with Mennonites and other "plain people". I was privileged to spend a few days this week driving around this beautiful area, drinking in the dreamlike pastoral scenery and meeting many of its people.It rained the whole time I was there. While the cold and damp made it hard to enjoy the outdoors as much as I had

Done!

2006-05-12T23:21:00.001-04:00

Big Lemon, 14 x 14 inches, soft pastel on Wallis. Available. Well, mostly done, anyhow. I see some tweaking that needs to occur, but I'll put it away for a week or so before I do it.This one was a lot of fun for me. Thanks for all the support!

work-in-progress recap

2006-05-11T10:25:00.001-04:00

Here they are in sequence. (This saves a lot of scrolling.) This WIP thing is fun--I'll have to do it again. Hopefully tonight I can finish this piece...but I have to work til 8 so it might not happen. While painting this morning, I was listening to Chanticleer's Sound in Spirit. Inspiring! Highly recommended.

work in progress, stage 7

2006-05-11T10:01:00.000-04:00

Okay, I lied. One more work-in-progress photo. Since I'm documenting this painting's progress, I wanted to show how the fabric comes together. I get a real kick out of watching it emerge from the blank page and blobs of color, and I guess I like to share the thrill, LOL. You can see how I layer the different colors to get the effects I want. There's very little finger blending. I do rub the

work in progress, stage 6

2006-05-10T22:13:00.000-04:00

Okay, this is the last update. I promise. The next shot will be of the finished piece--let's hope it's soon! That pattern was just as much fun as I expected. I'm tempted to paint the whole set of china...The color is better in this one. I think I figured out how to set the white balance. Can't wait until I get that guidebook to my wonderful camera!

work in progress, stage 5

2006-05-09T22:35:00.000-04:00

I finished the lemon--do you love that wrinkled tag?--and started on that trippy pattern. The color in this photo is awful. I can't figure out how to set the white balance on this new camera. The manual is nearly useless--I may have to order some kind of guidebook. I'm looking forward to learning to use my wonderful new toy....I thought this was going to be a quick and easy piece....but it's a

work in progress, stage 4

2006-05-08T21:01:00.000-04:00

Worked on the lemon (now I see the shadow side needs to go darker), the saucer, all the shadows on the red fabric, and on the lowest part of the yellow fabric. I really want to get started on the saucer's decorative pattern...just ahve to get the lemon right and then I'll treat myself.

work in progress, stage 3

2006-05-08T18:54:00.000-04:00

It's coming along. I've lost the shape of the decorative edge on the saucer--I'll have to go back in and fix that near the end. I have to take care not to lay the pastel down too thickly on the saucer, so that I can go back in with the willoware pattern it will have. I don't want to sacrifice that blue pattern, as it really works against the yellow. It's going to be a challenge to show the

the HAND

2006-05-06T23:16:00.000-04:00

Just FYI: here's what my right hand looks like after a painting session...especially a red-and-purple intensive session like this evening's! Observe my natural (deathly-white) skin color in the center of the palm.I don't do a lot of blending with my fingers, but pastels are messy things. I won't share a photo of the smudges on my face and yes, in my right ear!

work in progress, stage 2

2006-05-06T22:57:00.000-04:00

I finally got in the groove with this tonight! Thanks to all my readers--just knowing you're there gave me the impetus I needed. Now I want to stay up all night painting....but I'll pay the price for that. It's always good to leave 'em wanting more anyway--even when the one wanting more is me! I'll be excited to get up and tackle this in the morning. ..and I can't wait to get to those other

work in progress

2006-05-06T19:54:00.000-04:00

I really need to put my nose to the grindstone and increase my painting output. I have at least five pieces backed up, waiting to be painted. I think the spring weather has gone to my head!To inspire myself, I'm going to post an image of a work in progress. I hate posting unfinished work, so this will inspire me to FINISH IT! Feel free to crack the whip with your comments!

Revisions

2006-04-24T11:19:00.001-04:00

I put this piece away for a week, then returned to it to make some changes. I brushed out the lemon and started it over, with much happier results. I also corrected the rim of the bowl, although there seems to be a bit of a "twist" to this photo. The colors are more true, however, as I took more care with the lighting.I am endlessly fascinated with the play of light on and through glass (and

International Guild of Realism

2006-04-14T03:01:00.000-04:00

I just received notification that I have been selected for membership in the International Guild of Realism, an organization dedicated to the advancement of realism in fine art. This is an exciting professional opportunity. I'll be joining a select group of artists who make some wonderful art!

a quote

2006-04-07T09:49:00.001-04:00

from Leanne Cadden: Beauty is everywhere, but one may see the beautiful view and the other sees a dirty window. You have the power within you to choose what you see, what you think and what you paint.

inverse-political art

2006-04-07T09:28:00.001-04:00

This is something I wrote in response to today's Robert Genn Twice Weekly Art Letter. He was talking about geopolitical art and its importance in the art world today. As usual, I had an opinion on the topic.I have never agreed that artists should be overtly political, in their artistic expression or in the rest of their lives. I think it's like everything else; statements are made with differing