Day 720 "Bare Trees" 9 x 11 ink with pastel

Exploring shapes from the local trees at night.  I painted a rectangle of ink, then applied pastel on top leaving the tree shapes behind.  I added the moon, and some moonlight in the sky radiating out; then softened the edge of the trees.
I am interested in these beautiful shapes.  As always, thank you for looking. You know I love your comments.

Day 519 "End of Day" pastel on black ink

What an interesting weekend!  Yesterday morning provided a sunny gleam on top of the few inches of snow we received Friday night.  Then, clouds rolled in and the pre-snow heaviness was followed by rapid snow beginning around 10pm last night.  We wound up with about a foot of heavy snow greeting us this morning, and no school.  It was fun to shovel... great exercise and clean air.  This afternoon we did some errands, then drove home along the coast at dusk.  I saw this over my shoulder while looking east.  The sun was almost gone, and it lit the sky, pushing against the heavy, dark clouds that were moving out over the ocean to the east.  So many colors, so much beauty.  Great day with lots of outdoor time.  I even made a snow angel, because... otherwise I'll wait until next year, and I believe this is the first one I've ever made in March.  
This is my five hundred nineteenth daily drawing.  Thank you for your interest and your comments.  I appreciate every one.

Day 329 "Morning Space" 12 x 9 pen, ink, watercolor, pastel

This summer, we spent time every morning on our farmer's porch, drinking coffee, watching the birds, chipmunks, and squirrels move from feeder to feeder in the yard.  It is a wonderful space.  Now that school has begun, I am finding about 10 minutes each morning to sit on the porch and collect my thoughts before heading off to my day.  I made sure to grab some time out there this weekend despite it being moving weekend for our daughter into Boston.  I love the reflections of the yard into the vintage mirror hanging on the wall above our daughter's succulent collection, which will follow her into town within the month.  
This is my three hundred twenty-ninth daily drawing.  Thank you so much for your continued interest.  I began a brand new sketchbook with this drawing, and labeled the inside cover with my name, and "September - ".  Both my husband and daughter wondered aloud about the year, and the rest of the date.  I will fill it in when I finish the book.  It has 60 pages.  Sometimes I put more than one drawing on a page, so we'll see how long this book lasts.  

Day 309 "South River" 6 x 9 pastel over ink

Our beautiful town has many gorgeous vistas, views of the South River included.  The river and its tributaries create silvery ribbons that narrow in the distance.  In this drawing, I laid down a field of black ink, and applied layers of pastel over it.  I like some of the effect.  This is my three hundred ninth daily drawing.  Thank you for your continued interest and comments. 

Day 261 "Dusk Over Commercial" 9 x 6 ink with pastel

Yesterday I posted a pen and ink drawing of Provincetown's Commercial Street at dusk, taken by my daughter a few days ago.  Today, I looked at the same image, in reverse, laying down a rectangle of ink, and adding color on top of it with pastel to convey the dusk.  You can see the two drawings side by side, below.  
This is my two hundred sixty-first daily drawing.  Thank you for your continued interest.   

Day 238 "Tree Patterns Complete" 12 x 9 mixed

The other day, I tried a new drawing technique I found in Moira Huntly's book, and I posted the result as my daily drawing number 236.  I liked the result, but after wiping out the charcoal to reveal the watercolor beneath, I felt the remaining black was too stark and even sinister.  For today's daily drawing, I took "Tree Patterns" and brightened the yellow coming from behind using soft pastel and I softened the hard edges of the black using some warm sienna pastel along a few of the edges, and a little cool pastel in the areas most removed from the bright morning light.  I think the overall effect is much more successful, and a good way to build on the wipe away technique.  
What do you think?
This is my two hundred thirty-eighth daily drawing.  Thanks for joining me on the journey.   

Day 113 "Brattle Lights" pastel on ink 6 x 9

Last night I was in Cambridge to take my daughter and her best pal to dinner.  Her friend just passed her teacher licensure tests and found a student teacher placement for her last semester of college.  Very exciting.  She's going to make a great teacher.  We had a lovely dinner, than drove back through Harvard Square.  Since I was a kid, I have loved the mesh lights-hanging-above-the-streets look, first remembering it from Boston's Downtown Crossing.  Here's a quick sketch.  I laid down a rectangle of ink, then used some pastel over it to create the feel of the lights at the street.  
 This is my hundred thirteenth daily drawing... I'm exploring and using some materials I never use, and enjoying the exploration.

"Saint James" 9 x 6 pastel over ink

I used last night's image of St. James Street and rendered it in some pastel on a ground of india ink.  The original scene caught my eye because of the light on the side of the Boston Public Library coming in between the buildings.  I certainly need a few more pastels, and some practice, but I like it as a study.  
This is my forty-ninth daily drawing.  I appreciate your thoughts and attention.

 

"Saint Sulpice, Montreal" pastel & ink 18 x 12

Back in March, we had a whirlwind weekend in Montreal to listen to our daughter speak at a linguistics conference at McGill University.  The city is lovely, and sparkling, and accessible, and we stayed at the beautiful hotel Le Saint Sulpice under the shadow of Notre Dame Cathedral, courtesy of a friend. The narrow cobbled streets are filled with beautiful buildings, each with interesting moldings, details, doors, windows... sumptuous.  Here is a view of the street where we stayed.  You can see it in progress in this post.  

"Saint Sulpice, Montreal" pastel and ink 18 x 12

A couple of weeks ago, we spent a quick couple of days in Montreal to listen to our daughter speak at a linguistics conference.  We hadn't been there in years, so it was a treat to get back, albeit quickly.  The weather was gorgeous, sunny, crisp, beautiful, creating great contrast in the streets of Old Town including this view up Saint Sulpice Street to Notre Dame.
I don't work in pastel,  but decided to give it a shot.  I drew the image using a bamboo stick dipped in black ink, and am in the process of painting in pastel.. sort of an exploration.  It's a bit of a mind bender for me because I usually work with a limited palette whether in watercolor or oil and create the colors I need.  This is a different process, and I'm trying to find my way... so exciting!  The painting is in process.  I chose toned paper that matches the undertones of the old town granite buildings.  We'll see where it goes from here.  Thanks for looking.

"Majestic" two ways...

I inherited a lot of art supplies when Mom passed away 9 years ago.  Mom was a prolific painter, accomplished in oils, watercolor, and pastel. I have been using her brushes, oil paints, easels, paint panels, sketchbooks, pencils, charcoal, taboret, and a library filled with art books.  However, I have never used her pastels, though I have inherited a lifetime's supply, and loads of pastel paper in a variety of shades.  So, I brought two small sets of pastels to Monhegan for the week, and began to explore today.  I reproduced a small watercolor in pastel, laying in darks first and using some alcohol to set them.. then layering on top.  It was fascinating, and a brain bender, and good grief, I have a lot to learn so please excuse my heavy-handed start... I am intrigued!!!  

Stay posted for some more experiments here on my blog... this week.

Thanks for looking!!!  

Side by Side Over the Years

My brother Kevin is (was) is three years younger than I am. When my parents moved from New York to Massachusetts, I had three brothers.  (The fourth came along a few years later.)  I have marveled at many aspects of my parents' lives over the years.  The fact that they moved into a big Victorian house my mother had not even seen, when we were ages three, two, one and three months old... astounding.  The house had beautiful end-to-end living rooms, each with a marble fireplace, one a little more ornate than the other. 

It was also astounding that my Mom found the time to paint portraits of us, from life.  Lots of portraits.  These pastel portraits of me at about 8 years old, and Kevin at about 5 years old, hung over the less formal living room's fireplace for years and years.  Mom picked up these vintage gold leaf frames at her favorite framer somewhere in Back Bay when I was a little girl. I think the building is long gone, having succumbed to the Copley development years ago.  I remember her framer's  giant jumbled space of antique sculptures and frames and mirrors.  It was the kind of organized chaos I have grown to love.  

Kevin died eighteen years ago, of an undiagnosed enlarged heart.  He was only 36 years old, when his heart just clicked off in his sleep.  Today is his 54th birthday. 

After Mom passed away, my living brothers and I spent a long time cleaning out her home.  We took turns choosing her artwork, a lengthy process.  She was prolific!  I used my very first pick to dig Kevin's portrait out from under the attic eaves where it had been carefully wrapped and tucked away.  He was perpetual motion as a little boy.  I love every pastel mark Mom used in his portrait. Each is confident, urgent, accurate, as if she knew each stroke might be the last before he bolted from view.  The likeness is spot on.  And, Kevin and I are side by side again here in my home.  

Nana and me with Kevin, a few days old

"Bathscape" oil 12" x 9"

I have a lot of favorite things that I use as props, and have built shelves into every nook of my cozy studio to hold many of them, always making room for the next consignment shop find.  We are exploring color this term in my painting class.  I have carried bags of rich chroma props, then neutral props, then props primarily red, blue, or yellow (pun intended), then colored glass props... all to the art center where I teach.  Soon, we'll be able to bring class outside to revel in the colors nature provides, but not yet. 

 Sometimes the props in my studio, even coupled with flowers or produce, just aren't doing it for me so I look elsewhere.  For this painting, I just opened the linen closet shelves for all those bath products that don't get used often.  Their pastel palette is very appealing, along with transparency, interesting labels, and bottle shapes provided a great bag of variety to take to class.  Rather than replacing them all on the shelves when I returned home, I recycled the older bottles.  Great still life props, some clean out accomplished, and shelf space gained.  Win, win, and win!