Small Pastel, Tree of Life `17 x 14

I wanted to capture the beautiful flow and harmony of this piece of rotting wood on the forest floor.  Another opportunity to find spirituality in the beauty of nature, this time, more microscopically. 

This was an early pastel piece from 2012.  It was a challange to create details and have all the details relate to one another.  Values with pastels are always difficult for me the beginner.  Most of it seems to hang together and I see some small harmony and sound composition in it.


It is about decay and regeneration.  Perhaps how the rot of the past can be built upon for the future.  

Oil Landscape, Barbed Wire in Ice 14 x 11

 

I wanted to depict the cold solitude of the Texas Panhandle.

This piece was completed from a reference picture I took on a car trip to Colorado.  I had supervision from Gloria, an North East Independent School District Adult Ed art instructor.  The perspective lines came from Professor Hua from University of the Incarnate Word, and the deep blue sky came from Janice Hindes, my instructor from the Coppini.  These influences all rattled around as I painted this.

The coldness and the desolation seem to make this a favorite piece of my Texas native friends.  

Landscape Pastel of Ten Mile Range (2011) ~12 x 14

What I hoped to do was to use pastels to capture the south-facing, landscape of Ten Mile Range and Dillon Lake in Summit, Co. CO. 

The method was to apply pastels in considerable detail -- as it was a small canvas.  Mostly this was an early plein air piece, although the morning sun seems to create racing shadows and the clouds too, seem to be coming or going.  Some, for sure, was completed with a reference photograph.

I have been drawn to the beauty and spirituality of nature from my first art efforts.   Enthusiasm.  From the Greek, "filled with God" -- yes, I remain enthusiastic about having fun with pastels and grateful for those who give of their time to give me suggestions.

Great News -- John Stewart Selected for Juried Exhibition

I am very pleased that the John Stewart portrait will be exhibited in Inspire's on Fire Emerging Artists Juried Exhibition and Gala at the Witte Museum 3801 Broadway San Antonio on Friday Sept 16, 2011 from 7 to 10:30 p.m. (see http://www.inspirefineart.org/). It was great to hear from Karen when I turned the piece in to her that it was 1 of 10 selected out of 150 amateur submissions.

Cleaning Gutters in the Rain

It finally rained over an inch here. We have months and months of drought conditions. The day before, knowing we had 40% chance, I made sure all the rainwater collection system valves were in the right place. At 2 a.m., I was awakened by the sound of water falling from the roof to the path outside the bedroom window. I got up and realized a downspout was blocked up. I got the ladder and an umbrella and freed it up. I think I collected several thousand gallons almost topping off the 7,500 gallon system. This is a pencil sketch from the morning.

FtSam Oak

There was a magnificant old oak tree across the parking lot from where I had some time to wait. So I did a pencil sketch of it. The two bushes to the right and down the road are a bit distracting. Perhaps if the road were clearer. I liked how the texture turned out for the leaves.

Santiago de Atitlan Pencil

Feeling a bit of the blah's and thought I would put this on the blog for fun. I created it last Jan perhaps. A mentor said -- keep drawing.