Little Italy...finished

Little Italy, Cleveland OH...Started  plein air with a group from The Art Studio under the direction of Susie Porges. Soft pastel on Wallis paper.  

Plein air painting in Little Italy

A beautiful summer afternoon in Little Italy by Presti's bakery.  People walked by our easels and you could hear them say, "I feel like I'm in France."

My Plein Air palette, in my new Heilman Box.  The most wonderful box...worth every penny.

Chagrin Falls, Ohio

This is my first Plein Air painting...at least it started plein air.  I finished it in the studio.  I went with a class from The Art Studio under the direction of Susie Porges.  This church was on a corner in the center of the charming town of Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

Stormy Skies

I love red barns.  This is another red barn in Medina County,   caught on a rainy day.  Pastel on peach colored Canson MI Teintes paper.

10 minute painting exercises

I'm still collecting plein air equipment.  I have the box, but sent back an easel that came damaged.  Trying to figure out what I want to do.  These pictures are from our perennial gardens last year.  Soon they will be in full bloom again and I can paint from them outside.  I'm challenging myself to do some 10 minute studies...but I confess, these both took from 20-30 minutes each. 

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A little lunch companion in Nevis

A curious little lunch companion in Nevis on a "blue sky day" this past February.

Sydney in Central Park

Sydney in Central Park 

May 2013

This is the progression of my painting; Sydney in Central Park.  (Yes she is adorable and one of five of our beautiful grandchildren).  After a rough sketch, I laid in complementary colors to give depth to the final painting.  I then washed them leaving drips here and there.  Then I began layering the pastel to get my final work.  The nice thing about the wash is that when you scrub off the layered pastel, the washed in complimentary colors are set and allow you to let them shine through or reapply over them.