An Apple a Day

"An Apple a Day" 8 by 10, Pastel Painting

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away," right? I guess I wouldn't know because I don't eat too many apples :). This painting is a little larger than the ones I normally do, it's an 8 by 10. My representation at the gallery begins next Monday and they want to put a painting of mine in the front window. I thought I should have something a little larger than 5 by 7, so here it is. I think this will be perfect.

This painting was completed with a combination of soft pastels and pastel pencils and the surface is Pastelbord.

I hope you all had a relaxing weekend! :)

Tabby Cat

"Tabby Cat" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

I started painting this little kitty yesterday and I couldn't wait to finish it this morning. I completed the painting with pastel pencils and the surface is Pastelbord. Even though finding frames that will hold the pastelbord, is difficult, I love the surface, so I think I'll continue to use it.

I was a little nervous to even attempt this painting, because I've never really painted an animal before, besides a little bird. I kept my expectations low, because I didn't want to be disappointed if it didn't turn out. But I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised by the way it came together, and I had a lot of fun doing it. I'm a big animal lover so I can now see myself painting more of them.

Well I'm off to the pumpkin patch! I hope you have a great Sunday! :)

Custom Flower Portraits in Pastel

I'm starting a new venture, flower portrait commissions. That's right, flower portraits! I've always loved painting flowers and I would like to start painting them for others. I have received several commissions for cigar boxes hand painted with flowers, but this is more of a fine art approach.

What woman doesn't have a favorite flower? Imagine having a painting done of your mother's favorite flower and giving it to her for a gift. Instead of buying real flowers that will only last a few days, give the gift of a flower painting that will last forever.

Maybe you went on vacation to an exotic place and took some pictures of some flowers. You could create a memory of that trip with a painting of those flowers. Or perhaps you planted some flowers in memory of someone (roses for instance). How about creating a permanent memorial in a painting of those roses? Or maybe you just love flowers as much as I do, and your home could use a splash of color. Whatever the case, I would love to paint some flowers for you!

Now for some specifics - I can use photographs that you have taken as references, or you could simply tell me the type of flower that you would like and I can use my own references. As far as composition goes, I would like to keep the painting to one or two blossoms. Anymore than that, and the detail will be lost.

You can be as involved in the process as you would like. If you would like to see updates on the piece, or an original composition idea, that is completely fine. And if you'd just like me to use my own ideas and creativity, that is fine as well.

Your flower will be painted in pastel on acid free and archival paper or board with the finest quality pastels. Pastels on archival surfaces and papers will hold their color for centuries without fading, cracking or yellowing as other mediums do.

To purchase you can either view my Etsy page, or you can contact me personally via e-mail (angela292@hotmail.com).

Prices:

5 by 7 Flower Portrait - $ 75 ($30 non refundable deposit is required, unless purchased through Etsy)

8 by 10 Flower Portrait - $100 ($40 non refundable deposit is required, unless purchased through Etsy)

I will ask for 2 weeks to complete your painting.

You are certainly not obligated to purchase the final painting, if you are unhappy with it (less the deposit).

I also offer custom pet portraits. If you're interested click here to learn more.

"Flowers have spoken to me more than I can tell in written words. They are the hieroglyphics of angels, loved by all men for the beauty of their character, though few can decipher even fragments of their meaning." ~Lydia M. Child

Soaking Up The Sun

"Soaking Up The Sun" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

This painting was again inspired by a photograph by a lovely woman, Altagracia Aristy, who has allowed me to use her photographs as references. It's done on UArt paper and I used mostly pastel pencils, but some pastel sticks as well.

When coming up with a title for this one, it had to have the word "sun" in it. We've had some really warm days here lately and today is just slightly chilly. So, I'm longing for a little more of that warm weather. But I think it's gone for good, and I'll just have to make myself a cup of tea to warm myself up. :)

Purple Water Lily

"Purple Water Lily" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

"Purple Water Lily" is the painting of the day. I completed the drawing for this painting yesterday evening so that I could get started right away this morning on it. This painting is inspired by a photograph by Altagracia Aristy on Flickr. Thank you Altagracia for allowing me to use your photograph!

This painting was done on Wallis, and completed with pastel pencils. All in all, I think it turned out pretty good. I'm still trying to get used to this new painting surface. I'm going to be painting some more flowers, in an effort to possibly start a new venture (more details to come soon).

Have a great afternoon!

Quote of the day: "Painting seems to be my obsession. I feel some resentment at all the other things in life that take me away from my studio. This obsession constantly judges all other calls on my time and energy." - Sue Cowan

Holiday Table Runners

I thought I would share some of my holiday quilted table runners with you. Some of you don't even know that I quilt as well as paint. This time of year is a busy one for me, as far as my quilting. Here are a few table runners that I just listed on Etsy:

Woodland Holiday Table Runner
12 Days of Christmas Table Runner
North Woods Botanical Rag Table Runner
Fruitcake Rag Table Runner

There are others listed on my website, and I will be listing more over the next month or so. But if you see something that you like, I wouldn't wait, because these sell quickly.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Green Grapes

"Green Grapes" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

This is my second painting on the Wallis paper. I do love this painting surface. You can blend pastel so nicely on this paper. A fellow blogger told me that she loves Pastel Card by Sennelier. I had a sample of it, and it's really nice too. I may order some bigger sheets to experiment with.

This painting was fun to do. I never would have thought that I'd be painting still lives, but I have to say that I enjoy them. Although I would like to try some different subjects soon including animals and people.

I used all pastel pencils for this little painting.

I hope you all have a great weekend! I plan on making a trip to the pumpkin patch! :)

Single Cherry

"Single Cherry" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

This simple little study was done in an effort to test out a new paper. The painting surface is Wallis. If you're a pastelist, you are familiar with that name for sure. I purchased a few pads of Wallis paper several months ago and never even tried it. After feeling it (it's very sandy and gritty), I thought there was no way I could achieve any kind of detail on it, but I was wrong. This paper is really a dream to paint on. I'm going to begin another painting on it today (something with a little more detail) and we'll see how it goes. :)

Original Artwork by Angela

I just made this short video for YouTube. I thought it would be a fun new way to showcase some of my paintings. :)

Blue Poppy

"Blue Poppy" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

"Blue Poppy" is a soft pastel painting done with pastels and pencils on Bristol board. I did a little experiment with this painting. I've been having some trouble blending pastels on the Bristol board, particually with the backgrounds, so I decided to try applying some Colourfix primer to the background to see if that would help. I drew the flower first, and then went around it with the primer. It actually worked pretty well. I was able to apply more pastel and it was easier to blend. So that worked well, however, this paper presents a whole new problem for me... It doesn't scan or photograph very well. In fact scanning a painting done on this paper is a lost cause. I photographed "Blue Poppy" and tried to correct the color as much as possible.

So anyway, I don't know how much more I will be using Bristol board in the future. I was playing around with some different papers that I have yesterday and I just may have found a winner! I've had it for months and never even tried it. I'm going to play around with it a little more before I reveal which paper it is :).

I really enjoyed painting this poppy. This painting is very sweet. I don't think I've ever used that word to describe a painting before, but the colors are so nice together (the greens and blues). It's so much prettier in person!!

Have a lovely afternoon! :)

Gallery Paintings

Well I finally decided to choose which paintings I'd like to have in the gallery next month. For those of you who don't know, I will be represented by the Stillwater Art Guild Gallery in Stillwater Minnesota as of November 1st. Yay! :) I thought it would be more difficult to choose which paintings I wanted to frame and put in the gallery, but it really wasn't. I wanted to choose a range of works that consisted of different subjects and colors. Here are the ones that I've chosen:

"My Bleeding Heart"
"Sweet Tooth Smile"
"Summer Cherries"

"Shell on the Shore" "Multilayered"

"Heavymetal" "Drizzle"

I'm also going to have many prints available of these paintings and others, including some of my watercolor paintings. I'm just so excited about this and I can't wait to see my paintings on the wall among all the other incredible artists! :)

Poppy

"Poppy" 5 by 7 Pastel Painting

I completed another painting today, and I thought you might like to see my process and also my little painting area.

When I paint small (which is almost all the time) I just sit at my desk. When I paint larger, I like to use my easel, especially when I’m painting water and skies. I have my pastel pencils off to the right and a small amount of pastel sticks just in case. I also keep my sharpener and baby wipes handy.
I like to stabilize my painting surface, so that it’s not moving all around. I painted on a piece of Bristol board today, and I just used a little piece of tape to stick it down to my clipboard. I fold up a kitchen towel and place it underneath the clip board near the top. This puts my surface at a comfortable angle for painting. You can barely see the drawing here, but I complete my drawing before I adhere the paper to the board.
When I’m painting realistically, I like to outline my main subjects first. I outlined my poppy in green, which will be my background color. I use a very sharp pastel pencil to do this. If I don't outline my subject first, when I take a pastel stick and try to cover the background, I will lose the pencils lines.Then I like to complete the background. Sometimes I use pastel pencils for this and sometimes I use pastel sticks. It just depends on how much paper I have to cover. I had a difficult time with the background for this one because I was using Bristol board again, and you cannot apply as many layers of pastel as I like to. Next, I outlined my poppy to maintain the outline and began painting it piece by piece.
I like to work in one direction and not jump around when working on a piece like this.
Almost done with the petals.
Once I’ve “finished,” or covered all areas of the paper, I will take a little break. When I go back to it, I add highlights and darken darks, and sometimes rework the background if needed.
And the finished product.

This is only the 2nd time I've used Bristol board, and I'm definitley not used to it. I really want it to work for me, so I'm going to keep playing around with it.

I have to thank Pat from Back Porch Musings for allowing me to use her beautiful photograph. Thanks Pat!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Making Prints

This is what my desk looks like right now. I’ve been a busy bee making prints this morning. In exactly a month from today, my representation begins at the gallery, and I still have lots to do in preparation. While making these prints I’ve come to the conclusion that I really need a new printer. I currently have a Canon printer, which prints incredible photos, however the types of paper that I’m able to print on, is limited. So, I’ve begun “Operation New Printer.” :) I know the one that I want and it’s ridiculously expensive, but I think it will be a great investment.

I only have 2 more days off before new classes begin in school, and I’d love to have some more time off. We only get a week and a half off between quarters, and no summer break. But I’m very lucky that I don’t have to work and go to school at the same time. Although, I treat my painting and quilting like a job! :) I spend a lot more time painting and quilting than I do with school, and I’m still managing to maintain a 3.9 GPA. Not bad! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Pink Sky

"Pink Sky" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

Well I'm back to the pastelbord. Didn't take long did it? :) Actually, I think the pastelbord works really well for skies, so I will continue to use it for that.

I have to thank Joey at The Village Voice for allowing me to use her beautiful photograph as a reference for this painting. I just had to paint that striking sky! :) Thanks Joey!

I used all pastel sticks or regular pastels for this painting (Mount Visions).

Just a little side note - If you're interested in a Fall/Autumn table runner, they're going fast! I only have a few left in my Etsy shop.

Have a lovely evening!

Amaryllis

"Amaryllis" 4 by 6, Pastel Painting

Well, I gave the Bristol board a try today and I'm not sure how much luck I had with it. It is so unlike any other pastel surface that I have used before. It certainly was easier to achieve fine lines and details, but it didn't take many layers of pastel. I think if I were to change my usual approach to painting, it just might work. I'm definitely not going to give up on it, because I'd really like it to work for me. The Bristol board is archival and acid free, so it will hold up and last many years.

I used all pastel pencils for this little painting. In fact I used all CarbOthellos. After seeing the scanned painting, I see a couple little tweaks that I need to make.

Thanks to Melissa Clark who allowed me to use her beautiful photograph!

Have a nice afternoon! :)

Marbles

"Marbles" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

Well I finally decided to try a new painting surface. "Marbles" is done on UArt 800. I've had this paper for a while, but I've really been enjoying my pastelbord, so I didn't see much of a reason to try anything else. However, lately I've really been going for more a realistic look with my paintings (at least my still lives) and the pastelbord doesn't suit that style, at least not for me. UArt 800 is a very smooth paper. It was my first time using it, and when switching painting surfaces, there is a learning curve. It was easier to achieve a realistic look with this surface, but it still isn't quite what I'm looking for. Anytime I tried to blend the pastel, the texture of the paper came through. I do like the paper though, and I see myself using it occasionally.

I have some Wallis paper that I was going to try, but for realism, I don't think it will work. A friend of mine paints realistically in pastel and she uses Bristol board, which I never thought of using. But I purchased some, and it's a very smooth surface and you can't really see a texture on the paper. The only concern I have about it is that there really isn't much of a "tooth" to the paper, so I'm not sure how many layers of pastel that I could apply. But I'm excited to give that paper a try.

I used all pastel pencils for this painting (CarbOthellos mostly but some Faber-Castell's as well). I also got a new electric sharpener which I'm excited about. Ha-ha.. I know it sounds silly but to achieve any kind of realism, it's essential to get the sharpest point possible on your pencils.

I hope you all had a great weekend! :)

Boat Reflection

"Boat Reflection" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

I have to start by thanking Kathleen Young for allowing me to use her photograph as a reference for this painting. Thank you Kathleen! I can't tell you how long I've been wanting to paint this picture. Those reflections are so intriguing! I used to be so intimidated to even try to paint reflections, but I've been finding that I really enjoy painting them. I like the challenge.

I have to also say that I've been lacking confidence in my painting abilities lately and I think I've figured out why. I've been going weeks at a time without painting because of school and other obligations. By the time I get back into the studio, I feel like I've completely lost it. So, I've decided that I have to paint everyday or at least every other day to keep the creativity going. Even, if it's just for a few minutes. And honestly I feel the most like my authentic self when I'm painting. There's nothing I would rather be doing! :)

So anyway, I hope you're all keeping dry. We've gotten several inches of rain in the past couple of days and they're calling for more! Great weather for painting! :)

Reflections of Night

"Reflections of Night" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

I was in the mood for a sunset this morning. Steve at Shooting My Universe has graciously allowed me to use his photographs as references for my paintings (thank you Steve!). I recently came across this one and knew I had to paint it.

I scanned this painting and for some reason my scanner always makes blues appear more green than they actually are. The blue is more of a real blue, and the streak of pink and orange in the middle is a little more subdued than it appears. But you get the point anyway. :)

It was done on pastelbord and completed with soft pastels. I used a few Mount Visions and Senneliers for this little painting. This is the first time that I've done a scene like this in a 5 by 7. Usually when I do water and skies I like to work big, but I felt like recreating this in a smaller size today.

Have a great afternoon! :)

My Bleeding Heart

"My Bleeding Heart" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

Oh how I've missed painting! I completed this painting titled, "My Bleeding Heart," this afternoon. This was inspired by a photograph I took this Spring at a local park. I've been wanting to paint it for a long time, and today it was just calling out to me. It's done on pastelbord with soft pastel and pastel pencils, and is 5 by 7.

I am now officially on a break from school. For those of you who don't know, I'm currently in my 3rd year of college and working on a degree in law. I've spent the past two weeks working on final projects and studying for exams. I am so relieved to have that done and finally have some time to paint. I'm going to fit in as much painting as possible in these two weeks, but I'm not going to put any in my Etsy shop. I'm still deciding which paintings that I want to frame and put up in the gallery, so until I decide on that, I'm going to hold on to all my new paintings.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Puppies and Update

I thought maybe you were all missing the puppies, so I thought I would put up some pictures of them and update you on what has been going on with me.

Bentley posing nicely for the camera.
Cooper says, "Bentley, do you want to come down here and play with me?" Bentley says, "Can't you see I'm being photographed?"

Cooper has no idea why Mom is running around taking pictures of them.

" Mom, I don't know what you find so difficult about Biology, I find it rather stimulating."

I wish I had a new painting to share with you today, but I'm afraid I don't. I really haven't had any time to paint lately, and it's been frustrating. I'm at the end of another quarter in school, so I have final projects and finals due by the end of next week. I'm also trying to get a jump on my Fall and Winter quilts for Etsy. I made out pretty well the last holiday season with my quilted table runners, so I thought I would give it another try this year. Although, I'd much rather be painting than sewing right now.

As far as my painting goes.. I'm still getting everything ready for my gallery representation. Little did I know, this incredible opportunity was going to turn into phone calls to the IRS and appointments with an accountant to try and figure all the legal stuff out. So, I'm officially a small business owner, or self-employed according to the government. I'm excited about being able to write off my art supplies and all my other "business related expenses." Ha-ha... it just seems funny to say that.

Anyway, I hope to finish up these classes, get ahead with my quilting and finally have some time to paint. I'm gathering many beautiful reference photos for future paintings!

I hope you all enjoy what's left of Summer!