Day 1 — Backlit Bovine

 

Backlit Bovine 7 x 5 pastel

Day 1 — It's that time of year again— 30 Paintings in 30 Days. To my knowledge there is no worldwide challenge, so I decided to do my own. It's a great way to get me to the easel, and it's been a long time.

I decided to start out simple: 20 mins. Stop. Photograph. Continue. I think I finished at 35 mins. 

Here is 20 min. It needed a little tweaking, but I am calling her done. 

Make Way!

Make Way!  5 x 7 pastel

My friend sent me this image of the loons on Lake Dunmore, Vermont and it's been in my "Future Paintings" folder all summer. 

There was big excitement in the lakeside community when the babies arrived. 

Omega 3s

 

Omega 3s  11 x 14 pastel  

Not sure why the first thing I painted after a six month break is a can of sardines. Maybe because I like to paint fish. 

I spent the summer outside—in the garden, playing pickleball and taking drives for photo references. 

New COVID rules in Vermont. It's going to be a long winter. Wondering what my next painting will be, and when...

Kassidy

Kassidy  12 x 16 pastel

It's been a long time... Covid seems to have kept me out of the studio but in the garden. I respect any way one deals with this pandemic, short of violence and not wearing a mask.

I did the underpainting and Kassidy was on the easel April 21. She clung on as long as she could but fell off the easel three times waiting for me to pay attention to her. I'm glad I finally did. 

Good News

A sweet surprise in my email today.  Pastel Journal has used my image for this year's Call for Entry into the Pastel 100. 

Highland Lassie  20 x 23 pastel  SOLD

Also,  "Highland Lassie" has sold to a new collect in Vermont. I was struggling with a title, and offered the new owner the option of titling it. Then I chose "Highland Lassie" and sent them an email. They had just come up with "Highland Lass" — that's kismet!!

Mom's Shadow

Mom's Shadow  8 x 10 pastel

I reused an old wiped out board today. It was fun to let that mess influence the direction of the painting. 

This is Doris and her daughter Daisy, from The Gateway Farm in Bristol VT.

Here is the only progress shot. I really need to remember to take them.

Slow Day at the Office

Slow Day at the Office  10 x 14

I really enjoyed painting this— not my usual style — in fact I even picked up a brush a few times to push the pastel around. 

Again I forgot the progress shots, but here is how it started:

Angie

Angie  12 x 12 pastel

Angie is Amber's daughter, another beautiful bovine from The Gateway Farm in Bristol Vermont. The farm has been a source of inspiration for quite a few paintings this past year. 

Along with raising stunning British White cattle, they are maple syrup producers, tapping over 12,000 trees. It's the height sugaring season so they are going non-stop.

Feeling like some true Vermont maple syrup? Head on over to their website. They ship daily and have lots of yummy items, not just syrup.

thegatewayfarm.com

Quarantini Lamb

Quarantini Lamb  8 x 8 pastel

Back to the easel, finally. Here's a quick sketch.  It's lambing time in Vermont and we have friends who invited us to the barn. 

Here's a little video of the cuteness. Oh and we now have something to do— shovel!!  4" in the last 3 hours!! 

Scottish Highland, for now

Scottish Highland  18 x 24 pastel

First of all— please help me come up with a better title!!

This painting was on my easel longer than most. I soldiered on and got through the ugly stage and a ground fail (read below). 

Here are some progress shots:

The odd patch in the second image in the center of his (her?) forehead was a surface failure! For some reason when I sprayed the 91% alcohol on the underpainting, that one spot dissolved the ground. I find it funny that it happed there, but I reapplied some gesso with pumice and all was good after it dried. 

Rosetta

Rosetta  18 x 24 pastel

Why Rosetta you ask? That was the name on her ear tag. She is from Scholten Farm in Weybridge, VT. They have a large herd of amazing cows, many different breeds. Always fun when they are by the fence near the road.

The block in. I always forget to take more progress shots.

14/30 Challenge

This isn't all the paintings for the month, but the ones I liked best. I hope you enjoyed following along with me. These challenges always inspire and I learn something new every time.

Day 29 Miss Amber

Miss Amber  18 x 24 pastel

Day 29 Miss Amber is a British White from The Gateway Farm in Bristol, Vermont. I went with a background color I would not normally use, and she's is one of my larger paintings. 

Day 26 Rodan, Redux

Rodan, Redux  7 x 5 pastel

Day 26 — I found another image of a poult, so we have Rodan in profile. I remember as a kid watching Godzilla movies on Channel 11— WPIX-NY. Rodan was always my favorite so he gets two selfies during this 30/30 Challenge.

Something about this poster feels like the right version of the movie I loved.

Day 25 Loki and Zelma

Loki and Zelma 7 x 5 pastel

Day 25 I think the hardest part about this one was the title. Loki has got the cloak, the spells and Zelma Stanton as his assistant. I'll leave it at that. 

Day 24 Rodan

Rodan 10 x 8 pastel

Day 24 — Another superhero, this time a turkey. He screamed "Rodan" as soon as I saw him.

Day 22 Thor

Thor 10 x 8 pastel

Day 22 – Thor continues the earlier super hero theme for baby chicks. I struggled with the background and finally just had to go with it. Funny how sometimes the background can be the hardest part.

Sorry to all my loyal followers for the lapse in posting. We had dear friends visiting from our past life in Hastings on Hudson. They were treated to the quintessential Vermont snowfall, and Breton dancing at the college, along with deep sleeps and warm fires. 

It was -6° Tuesday morning. I don't know why that matters—I am not painting these chicks en plein aire after all,  but I'm going with it. 

In case you have not see the previous Super Hero line up:

Rambo 10 x 8 pastel SOLD

 Terminator 10 x 8 pastel

Day 16 Gridlock

Gridlock 7 x 9 pastel

Day 16 — This is an older painting trying out abstract. I don't see myself becoming an abstract painter but it was fun to try out this genre. 

Day 15 Fresh Baked

Fresh Baked  8 x 10 pastel

Day 15 — I looked in my folder of "Future Paintings" and this croissant jumped out at me. This was fun to do fast on black Uart paper. Oddly I still had to paint the background black. 

Barns á la Kahn

Barns á la Kahn  5 x 8 pastel

Day 14 — Barns á la Kahn was actually the first painting I did in this challenge. I was channeling Wolf Kahn.

I held it as a back up piece in case I couldn't get to the easel. I didn't get to said easel and my dear friend Amelia walked into my studio today and said she liked it. Good enough for me.

Day 13 Buster

Buster  8 x 10 pastel

Day 13 — Buster was a surprise gift for a friend. She had posted this image on FB. I always loved the image and wanted to paint it, but I was moving to Vermont and didn't get around to it for over a year. 

I finally got to it, sadly after Buster had passed. I took a chance he would be well received and he was. 

Day 12 Whispers

Whispers 10 x 8 pastel

Day 12 These two look like they have many secrets between them. 

Day 11 First Steps

First Steps 8 x 8 pastel

Day 11 Today was a struggle. I found a millions things to do to avoid the studio. The easel was Darth Vader. At 5:30 I said  "do something fast, even if it isn't good, get over it..." 

Here we have a baby duck from a bathtub on the farm where we use to board our dog Ursa. 

This was a blast to paint!! I miss our dog and that wacky farm... 

Day 10 'Shrooms

'Shrooms  8 x 8 pastel

Day 10 This was a struggle. I was waiting for my order from Dick Blick for the black Uart, but I needed to get going so I pulled out a coveted piece of Wallis Belgian Mist, the favorite of pastelists for years. Sadly it is no longer made, but I scored a few sheets recently online. 

That said, this was wiped out twice before I felt I might be getting there. Maybe I will try this again on another surface, or just watch the amazing Jeopardy tournament in front of the fire. 

I think Alex wins... with James, Brad, and Ken. 

Day 9 Toby

Toby 12 x 12 pastel SOLD

Day 9 — I confess, Toby was a commission over the holidays and I have never posted him. I just couldn't get to the easel today so Toby offered to stand in. 

I like doing pet portraits if I get a good image or am able to meet the pet and take the pictures myself. My "rules" are I will paint the pet twice. If it still doesn't speak to the owner, I admit defeat and we all move on.

Toby was a winner and I have heard a room is being designed around his portrait!

Day 8 Teal Rocker

Teal Rocker  10 x 8 pastel

Day 8 — After a failed attempt at another subject, I went back to the chairs. Rust speaks to me. I really like painting on Uart black paper and trying to keep the background untouched, and I have found the perfect eraser for this purpose. 

I also purchased Artist Archive, an online data base for inventory (and so much more). That has been sucking up a lot on time. I decided to start from today and work backward to input data. Fortunately the company was able to take an Excel spread sheet of my paintings 1-399 and merge it, albeit without images, but I am slowly adding them and any other details I feel are important. I actually like this kind of work. 

I realized I have not left the house in 2 days, except to walk the dog. So at 5:30 I went to the Coop (Co-Op, not chicken coop) and got some provisions, but told myself "no treats" until I did something worthy of posting.

Enjoying a nice Gruner Veltliner now. Cheers.

Day 7 On the Ball

On the Ball  7 x 5 pastel

Day 7 On the Ball  — I love old Ball jars. Here is a handy little chart to help you date your collection. 

I was once at a party and every step going up to the upstairs had a Ball jar filled with little battery operated Christmas lights — a charming idea to guide the way. 

Day 6 Rusty Rocker

Rusty Rocker 10 x 8 pastel

Day 6 — Found this gem in a great thrift shop in Burlington. I have decided I love rust. It speaks to me. There are so many colors in that decay. 

The shop was divided into themed sections: Christmas had old reindeer sweaters, wood skis and tartan blankets; the cocktail area with 50s glasses and shakers, and the medical area with vintage dentistry equipment — don't ask. 

I think my favorite was the heavy wood steel top dissection table with a hole for drainage near the check out area. Two buttons on the side said "Head" and "Tail" with an outlet to plug the whole table in. I can only imagine what happened if it was "on".  I look forward to going back when the seasons change and sorry I missed Halloween.  

Day 5 Loose Chicken

Loose Chicken 12 x 12 pastel

Day 5 — Not sure where this chicken is from because I did this a while ago but never posted it. Found it in a drawer and touched it up a bit. 

Day 4 Crushed Velvet

Crushed 8 x10 pastel

Day 4 — There are days when they paint themselves, albeit rare. I'm on the fence about the unfinished edges left/right, but I think it adds to the distressed quality of this roadside find. Thoughts?

I spent most of the day researching a new system for keeping my inventory. I liked the old one that lumbered along for 7+ years, probably written for PCs, but it has been discontinued and no updates for current Mac OS. I found something and will start the new year, and painting #400, with a new "toy". 

I am thinking of a series of chairs. Let's see what tomorrow brings. 

Day 3 Oh My Darlin'

Oh My Darlin'  8 x 10 pastel 

Day 3  Back to realism. It might be my comfort zone. This is a second attempt at this bowl of winter comfort. There is something about these tertiary colors that is electric. 

Day 2 Spring Tulips

Tulips  8 x 8 pastel  $250

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

Day 2 — After some studio updates (see below) I finally got down to painting. I really like Uart 400 black paper and I like to paint on it without touching the background, leaving a chiaroscuro effect. It's not easy with pastel to keep if off the background, but I have the perfect eraser for those errant smudges. 

I was also hoping to come up with a better title and went down the online rabbit hole of tulip varieties. Let's just say I got lost. There are thousands of tulips and these were either here when we moved here or I got them at the supermarket (I doubt it). This fall I planted 120 tulips and kept a record so in the spring I will know what I am painting.

New year, new back board. It was an agonizing decision because I had my old board for over 7 years. I found it in a dumpster at the Hastings Fire Dept. It has special meaning because one of the men made a fuss over cutting it just the right size for me.  It's 2020 and I thought I needed a fresh start. I think artists really get attached to certain supplies/tools. They become friends in a way, sharing joys and frustrations but always with you. The jury is still out, we'll see how long this one lasts.