Latest Pastel Paintings

"Evening Reflection" 5 by 7

"Purple Twilight" 5 by 7

I was graciously given permission from Sharon (this is link to her blog: http://mynewenglandlife.blogspot.com/) to use her beautiful photographs as references for my paintings. I chose to do this set of paintings from her pictures.

These paintings were done on heavy watercolor paper that has been primed with Colourfix Pastel Primer. They are 5 by 7 and were done with mostly Sennelier's, but some Mount Vision pastels as well.

These two paintings are now for sale on my Etsy page, for $40 each, and they come framed in a beautiful wooden frame.

New Pastels

I finally got my 2nd Dakota Art Pastel box and got all my new Mount Vision pastels organized! I had to tear the paper off of 350 pastels as well as inventory them! Buying a full set of Mount Vision pastels was quite a leap considering I had never even tried them before! I had just heard such good things about them. After receiving them and playing around with them a little bit, I'm slightly disappointed. For a "soft pastel" they're a little harder than I was anticipating. I've been using Sennelier's a lot (but a full set is way out of my price range) and they're very soft compared to the Mount Visions. But I'm sure after I use them more I will just love them. I can adapt to just about anything :). Now I have my heart set on a few sets of Terry Ludwig pastels. I have the Maggie Price Greys set, and love it! They are a very soft pastel and I love that. You can never have too many pastels! Right? :)

Pastel Paintings

"Solitude"
8 x 10 on Pastelbord, using Sennelier pastels

This is a painting that I did for my Grandma. I did one for her a couple weeks ago of this lake and she wanted 2 more to match. She grew up on the lake in Michigan and a painting I did took her back to that. I was happy to do these for her.

"Wispy Clouds Over the Lake"
8 by 10 on Pastelbord, using Sennelier pastels

This was my second time doing this painting, the first time was for myself, and of course this one is for my Grandma. She hasn't seen these yet, and they will be mailed out to her tomorrow. I hope she is pleased with them!

Art Spectrum Colourfix Primer

I recently discovered this amazing product, Art Spectrum Colourfix Primer. I am fairly new to soft pastels (transitioning from watercolor) and I have been using Colourfix pastel paper a lot. I really like how pastel applies to the paper and the fact that you can layer a lot of pastels. When I found the Colourfix Primer, I was so excited. The primer can be applied to almost any clean surface. I have gobs and gobs of watercolor paper and I don't plan on giving up on watercolor completely, but I wanted to use some of the paper up. So, I bought the Colourfix Primer and applied it to my watercolor paper (only the paper that was 140lb and heavier). It dried quite quickly, and it's amazing!! The surface is exactly like the Colourfix paper that you can buy. Let's face it, pastel paper can be quite expensive, especially if you paint a lot or depending on the pastel surface that you like. I bought a small container of the primer (in white) and I applied it to probably 35 pieces of watercolor paper and canvas (of various sizes) and I only used up half of the container. So if you think about it, it's much cheaper than buying sheets or pads of pastel paper. The primer comes in many different colors, including clear. Give it a try!

Wispy Clouds

"Wispy Clouds" is my latest pastel painting. I couldn't seem to get a good scan of it, therefore the colors are not perfect. The colors in the original painting are beautiful. I took this picture at my Great-Grandma's house on the lake in Michigan. I remember spending many summer days there with my Grandma. I used to fantasize about what was on that island (in the painting). As a little girl I used to think there were people living there! I have many other pictures of this house on the lake, and I plan to paint some of those as well.

Tomorrow I am expecting my complete set of Mount Vision pastels! I've never even tried them, so I hope I'm not disappointed. I have been using Sennelier pastels and I love them, but cannot afford an entire set. They're about $3,000! I've heard many good things about Mount Vision so, I'm sure I'll love them!