I began last year with requests from two friends for portraits of their well loved and recently deceased dogs. I was not comfortable but I jumped in, This is Archie the husky doodle in pastels, happy in his favorite meadow.
I call these bird portraits. Each of there birds visited us over the long winter at out birdfeeder. They are available as note cards. My technique was gouache painted over collage and pantone color swatches. Please contact me if you like to purchase cards directly.
We were camped near this lively stream between Hilton Lake 2 and Davis Lake.
Below is Mt Humphreys, plein air pastel.
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One of my favorite places to visit near home is the ancient Bristlecone Pines. In October I went to the Central California coast for a plein air pastel workshop with Lorenzo Chavez. It was a wonderful weekend and I felt like a gained a lot of energy and new techniques.
I decided to try a new medium Gouache, opaque watercolor. My dear friend Susie Johnson is an amazing photographer. She shared some photos of the Peruvian peasants from her trip. I painted these sketches and shared them with her as a set of vicarious vacation postcards.
Autumn is my favorite time to be outside on short hikes and painting plein air. The colors are so vibrant and crisp that I can't resist painting often and with abandon.