Mixed Media, PanPastels and Zinnias

 There is a farmer not too far from my house growing zinnias!  You can pick your own at $4 for a dozen!  So beautiful, so I just had to pick a couple of dozen.  I brought them back to my studio to study and make drawings.

I just finished participating in PASTEL LIVE so I decided to try my hand at my pastels again.  Debora Stewart gave an interesting demo using acrylic paint, charcoal and pastels painting flowers in an abstract way.  So, with my zinnias as inspiration, I tried my hand at it.  What fun!!  Watch my progress below. 

So pretty!

   

Blind Contour drawings of the flowers.

 

Using Golden Fluid Acrylics, I created some washes on matboard.

Working from my drawings, I used charcoal and created a composition.  Then I brushed a coat of clear gesso on top of everything.  This will darken the charcoal and set the ground for the pastels.

Making drawings from the flowers

  

I thought I would try a new twist with Debora's technique.  I love gelli plate printing and using stencils as well as PanPastels.  So I thought why not combine the two.  I added a layer of thin blue PanPastel to the background around the flowers.  Then using one of Elizabeth St. Hilaire's wonderful stencils, I pounced pastel into the background before I started working the flowers.

Adding blues to the background

Pouncing the PanPastel through the stencil

Makes an interesting effect in the background.

After working the flowers. 
Now deciding if I am finished with it.

Close up.

What do you think?  Am I finished?  Did I create a new technique?

Let me know what you think via my website:

RhettsStudio.com

PASTEL: Calla Lilies in Pacific Grove

Calla Lilies in Pacific Grove  pastels  22" x 26

Calla Lilies on the Coast  8" x 10"  oil 

My friend and I decided to paint along the coast in Pacific Grove, CA in Monterey County.  It was such a beautiful day and we were delighted to find a big stand of calla lilies which someone had planted near the water.  We set up our easels and painted. 

< Here is my plein air painting / study from that day.  The calla lilies were thick and in full bloom as was the purple Pride of Maderia.  The sea was brilliant blue and there were large black cormants sunning themselves on the rocks.

It was a lovely day and I never forgot those pretty white calla lilies on the coast.

So when a pastel show was announced at our Carnegie Arts Center, I thought I might try working from my plein air study and create a new painting from that day.  The finished painting is above and below you can see a few shots I took in progress as I worked on this pastel painting.

Study for the final painting

 

< Here is a small study I worked up to get ready for the larger pastel painting.   Now for sale on Daily Paintworks.  

 9" x 10"   Callas and Butterflies in Pacific Grove

Pacific Grove is famous for its Monarch Butterflies so I added butterfly stamps around the border and colored them with the Pan Pastels.  

I have been wanting to try out my new Pan Pastels so here was my chance!  I bought a large sheet of Uart sanded pastel paper and cut it to fit a frame I already
 had.  

My idea was to have a painting within a painting.  Like you might look out a window to the scene.  I wanted to try some mixed media techniques as well  using stamps and a Versa stamp pad with the pan pastels.  

I wanted the area around the central square to be soft and dreamy, mystical and magical surrounding the more in-focus center.  So I began by taping around the central square to form a frame.

<  This photo shows the beginning stages of working the outer frame with the soft pan pastels and the sofft sponges.  Sofft sponges are specially designed to use with the pan pastels.  They are in the shape of standard artist's paint brushes so are so nice to work with. 

< Here I am starting to work the central section.  I wanted some of the leaves and lilies to overlap into the border for added interest, so I needed to plan it out a bit.

Close up.  Working with large sofft sponges

Let me know how you like my pastel painting and wish me luck getting into the pastel show!

My painting was accepted to this National Juried Competition along with a 2nd pastel painting.

On display at the 
THE FINE ART OF PASTELS
March 28 - May 26, 2019
Carnegie Arts Center
250 N. Broadway, Turlock, CA  95380

Also accepted is my pastel
"Carmel Mission Sanctuary"
Which won an award in another
show (shown in photo)

Art Show in Pacific Grove

 AUGUST 28 - OCTOBER 27 - 2017

They even installed new track lighting for me!

I have a display of a few of my small paintings at the Sally Griffin Active Living Center in Pacific Grove, 700 Jewel Ave.  The center is only a block from Lovers Point, so you can enjoy the beautiful coast before you drop by the show.   

RECEPTION - SEPT. 8th 5 - 7 pm
Please join me and the three other artists in this show, Harry Wareham, Laura Lockett, and Tamara Keiper, for our reception on Sept. 8th, 5 - 7 pm. 
Come and enjoy live music and refreshments. 

10% of all sales donated to the Sally Griffin Center to help Meals on Wheels. In conjunction with the Central Coast Art Association.

Three pastels.

A painted lady in Pacific Grove.
This pretty house is near the park in Pacific Grove.