CC's pastels on Exhibit at SAG 5 "16

I decided to put some of my Pastel beach scenes on exhibit at

 Seacoast Artists Gallery this month.

Charleston Series on Exhibition 8 '15

Charleston Series

Got my new Charleston Series hung in the SAG gallery today. I am pleased with how it looks.

Lessons learned from St Augustine 12 '13

While my  travel kit worked well for a road trip, it did have some weaknesses that I will need to correct before I  pack to travel again..Here's what worked and what did not:

1.)  The value range for the mid range of my pastel set worked out well, but I really need to pack  a greater range of darkest dark  and very light  pastel colors.  Many of my dark pastels  are very large rolls which take too much space to travel with and don't break apart into smaller chunks easily.  I thought I could compensate by using dark watercolor under-paintings.  I was wrong. Nor could I use just a fine water color wash for the lightest lights.  I really needed some very a light pastels for the highlights.  Before I travel again  I really need to add  five or six small  very dark  sticks in each of the primary and secondary colors.

I really could have used a deep blue green, a  purples and  a deep reds

2)  My choice of  color selection based upon the web cams was fine for most of the local scenes I painted on the trip, but I really needed to have some medium perm green pastels on hand.  This is especially important for my travel set because I tend to stay at resorts on golf course.  No matter what time of year it is, or what color the native foliage is, golf course greens are always the medium to  lite perm green of early summer.   Three out of the eight paintings I did on this past trip were of scenes on golf courses which required these hues.  Since I did not have with me,. I wound up touching up all three paintings when I got home to make them feel like a real golf course.

 I was also woefully under-supplied on the red/brown earth tones range .

3)  I had gessoed 300 lb  5" x  7" ;" watercolor paper for my support.  While it is strong and durable, and the size worked well for the pure landscapes, I felt the deep dimples of the paper detracted from the paintings with architectural subjects.  In the future I will want to have some smoother textured  paper available as well
 

Dimples are clearly visible on the plain paper

became equally obvious on this architectural study.

My  Raphael watercolor set is only 4" in diameter

4)  My miniature Raphael watercolor set was the perfect size for this trip. I found that putting down pastel over a watercolor under-painting is much faster  than attempting to work directly on a pure white support.  While my husband loves my painting of the St Augustine Basilica, I found it took me twice as long to paint as the ones which had a water color  under wash.  This is especially important to remember when time is of the essence.

5)  I need to add an alligator clip to hold the pastel paper to the foam core.  The blue tape kept coming loose from the foam core and I would wind up holding the paper with one hand while trying to paint with the other.

6)  I want a more organized travel pack and  lightweight compact easel if I am to do much plein air work.  The set-up I thew together for this trip worked well for a car trip and for painting at the kitchen table, but was awkward to work with on site.  There were just too many separate containers to try to balance on my lap.  I would really like to get a small easel  with a  built in padded pastel case for the road.

St Augustine, Fl: Swilcan Bridge 12 '13

 This morning, we woke to temperature that were 25 degrees lower than yesterday.  Factor in wind and rain, and golf and out of door site seeing was clearly out of the question.  We decided to explore the World Golf Hall of Fame which is within walking distance of our condo.

The World Golf 's Hall of Fame provides an extensive look at the game of golf through stories, artifacts, videos, art and photography of its members within 75,000 square foot exhibition space. Included in the  museums exhibits is a replica of the famous Swilcan Bridge at St. Andrews.  Of course we had to have our photo taken on the bridge as a souvenir.

Hall of Fame Swilcan Bridge Replica

Needless to say, the Hall of Fame was not going to allow me to set up  inside the museum to paint the bridge, but I did get some photos of the replica to use as the basis for this little study. 

Swilcan Bridge at St Andrews 5"x 7" pastel

 Initially I had painted the background buildings more realistic, but decided that was too much detail for such a small painting.  All I really wanted was  to convey the sense of age and history, so I made the buildings'  shapes more obscure and emphasized the roughness of the bridge.

 

Prepping for painting in St Augustine, Florida 12 '13

As a belated Hanukkah gift to one another, my husband and I are heading to  St Augustine, Florida  tomorrow for a weeks vacation.   Bruce wants to do some golfing at their two famous courses -The Slammer and The Squire, AND The King and the Bear.  I want to find some place warmer than South Carolina and hopefully find something interesting to paint.

Assorted pastels sorted by value and temperature

 I usually bring along  my oil painting equipment on road trips, but often find that it is impossible to fit even a two hour plein air session into our whirl-wind site seeing day schedule,.   So this trip I am taking a cue from the traveling artist guru,  Karen Margulis, on packing light and painting small..

Aceo size, 5" x 7" and 8" x 10" home made pastel paper

After studying  some web cams in the St Augustine area for their current local colors, I chose a small assortment of  pastels that seemed to fit the area.  I snugged the pastels between some foam pads in a cardboard box.  I also took a tiny watercolor kit to use for quick studies or to use as a ground beneath the pastels.  I then cut up some water color paper into 5" x 7" sheets then brushed several coats of clear gesso on the paper  The clear gesso stiffens and waterproofs the paper, while adding some tooth for pastels to grip.  Add a couple of water color brushes, a sheet of foam core and a small role of painters tape ( to attach the  pastel paper to the foam core while painting), a pack of hand wipes, some paper towels and a canvas bag to carry it  all, and I am ready to go.

Keep it Simple 10 '13

Pawleys Island Marsh 7" x 5"

I love this this little  gem I purchased from Karen Margulis.  I have it hanging in a simple white frame ,on the white wall over the pastel workstation in my studio to remind me to keep it simple.

Creating your own sanded surfaces for pastel paintings. 10 '13

  I spent my scraps free time today creating my own home made pastel surfaces using  recycled 300 lb watercolor paper and Liquitex  Clear Gesso... and I love the results.

I had some partially painted water color paper practice sheets that had been sitting around for years.  I cut them into smaller pastel sizes (9x12, 8x10, 5x7 and aceo).  I used a 4" wide  foam brush to  put one coat of the gesso on  unpainted side of the paper, let it dry  ( about 10 minutes) then came back and added a second coat of gesso atop the first. The gesso stiffened the paper making it even stronger for pastel application, and the grit in the gesso gave just the right amount of  tooth to the surface for the way I apply pastel. I was so please with the results that I repeated the process over the colored side of some acrylic beach washed watercolor scraps.  Again.  It worked beautifully, allowing me to see through the grit to the colored paper.

I can't imagine why I didn't try this sooner

Liquitex Clear Gesso over unpainted watercolor paper

Well actually,  I do know why.  I love working on textured surfaces. ..  the more texture the better,  and have tried applying grounds etc. to make my own.   I usually find it all too messy and time consuming, so I wind up opting for more the convenient, albeit smoother, manufactures brands of sanded papers .  This is a classic example of what I meant when I confessed, in yesterdays post, that I tend to put off  all but the painting until later. I read first read about the Liquitex process over a year ago in Karen Margulis 9/12/12 blog post.  And I  heard about it again this summer  from another pastel artist in the Charleston art Guild.  Both said that it was a fast, easy, and inexpensive way to create one's own textured surfaces.  Even with those voices to recommend the process, I  took no action beyond purchasing the Clear Gesso .  I have been on a roll with my painting this year, and I wasn't about to let anything like the possibility of a better surface get in the way of expressing  my vision.

Liquitex Clear Gesso over recycled  beach wash watercolor paper

 Fortunately the universe has intervened with a mandate that I put off painting  for a short while... just long enough to force me to think through what supplies I will  need for my painting a day project I will begin next month.  In less than the time that it took me to write this post,  I was able to create all the  pastel paper I will need for  next month, and saved a lot of money in the process.   Sometimes you don't know what you're missing until it arrives on your door step.

Art Party on Pawleys 10 '13

 

From left to right: Ann McLaurin, Annette, Karen

Spent an inspiring afternoon visiting with artist  friends Karen Margulis, Annette Going and Anne McLaurin  on the Pawleys Island Creek.
 

Anne, CC, Karen

 Sometimes hanging out on-site with other artists can be as motivating  (or more so)  than the scene we are looking at . All three  of these artists are incredibly giving generous when it comes to sharing their expertise.  

Karen discussing first strokes with Annette

 Karen  showed us her new travel equipment and volunteered to give us a painting demo

The cool thing about committed artists is that they can find inspiration even on a moody,   rainy day. Look at how much color, Karen is finding in the scene above.. I was impressed.

You can see more of Karen's beautiful work on her blog at   Painting My World

Master Pastel Artists at the 14th Annual AIS Exhhibition

Congratulations to Clive Tyler and Aaron Schuerr for winning awards in the 14th  Annual AIS Exhibition..  I have seen time and again how  outstanding pastel paintings are often overlooked  when hung in exhibition with oils.  I paint in both oil and pastel, so am always thrilled when I see pastel paintings getting their fair share of  recognition when being judged against masterful oils.

To see all the paintings in this wonderful show go to:
http://www.americanimpressionistsociety.org/show2013/

My Wall at CAG Nov.'12

I have three of my pastels of the local dunes up in the Charleston Artist Guild

Street art at the Pawleys Island Art Festival 9 '10

Once a year, the Georgetown Cultural Council sponsors a series of events which include drama,  music, dance, literature,  and of course visual arts. This year's series included a mini workshop on how to do chalk painting.

The event was held on the grounds of the historic Litchfield Plantation.

Some of the results were spectacular.

(Above) A Picasso like abstract 

(Below)  A photo realistic portrait

And of course some beach scenes