Hidden Stream

Another in a series of snow scenes I have decided to paint this almost-winter.  We've had some snow and they're saying we might be up to a foot of snow this coming week - lovely (ugghh).  Yet, even though the process of getting those inches is terrible - when it's finally on the ground and we get to hike to special, quiet places that few people see, it is all worth it.

Another pastel from our favorite hike down near the ski slopes of Gore Mountain.  I hope you "feel" the cold like we did on that hike.  Mounds of snow covered the stream, yet we could hear it gurgling underneath, alive and well and waiting for spring.

12x16 on Ampersand Board

Silent Creek

The Adirondacks......a great place to hike, even on a sunny, cold Sunday afternoon in February.  My husband and I took a hike near Gore Mountain last February and we came upon this lovely spot where the shadows on the creek stood out.  The water was dark, the snow was exceptional - so clean -- and the shadows were incredibly prominent.   Snow can be a challenge to paint - it's certainly not just white.  It reflects all the colors around it and seems alive to me.  Hopefully, we'll get to go back to this same spot this year and maybe we'll get to see a deer enjoying this spot, along with us.

11x14 on Ampersand board

Snow Train

Finally finished the pastel of the train that comes to North Creek NY.  Every winter the train makes trips from New York City and Saratoga Springs, to North Creek, where the skiing is great at Gore Mountain.  The train specializes in a great breakfast before skiers disembark at the North Creek station for a day, or a week, of skiing.  I always love to see these trains stopped in the snow.  I took this photo last year - it was snowing, cold and quiet at the station.  Getting the snow on the pastel board was a challenge.  I tried Liz Haywood Sullivan's method of alcohol on a toothbrush with pastel and it worked up to a point, but I also manually added the flakes.  Between the two techniques, I think it worked!

This pastel is on Ampersand board and is 16x20.

Little Early Christmas Paintings

This past week I've been busy painting tiny acrylic paintings that I'm turning into Christmas tree ornaments for the local Country Christmas Tour, which our town hold every Thanksgiving weekend.  The money raised helps our town Ambulance Corps, Volunteer Fire Dept., and school scholarships.  It's a nice way to help the community and I've enjoyed painting these very small landscapes and animals.   It means simplifying the compositions without loosing the essentials.  Here are a few of my tiny acrylics.

I should say that some are painted on birch bark and all have backing that sparkles......for Christmas!

I'm such a Procrastinator Sometimes.....

I have been working on a portrait for the last couple of weeks, more as a practice than anything else.  Also because the photo my cousin had of her daughter was just so wonderful, I wanted to see if I could create the magic.  Sometimes It's better to put it away for a couple of days and then look and see if there is anything that needs to be changed.  That's what I'm doing now.  It'll go to my cousin when I'm done, so I want it to be right.

So, the other day I went through lots of photos to see what I could start now.  Found one of the train in North Creek, in the snow, it was snowing when I took the photo.  I always thought it would make a great painting, so I had my photo.  I set it up, then the light was awful and I couldn't paint, or so I told myself.  I went on the internet to look at new quilt designs, trucks for my grandson, art supplies, Ava Garner's life, Gina Lollabrigida's life now.....well, you get it.  Yesterday was a day out with my daughter and grandson, which was wonderful, but by the time I got home, the day was done and no pastel ever touched that ampersand board.

This morning, after an hour walk with the dogs, I thought I really should go get that quilting material for my grandson's truck quilt, but maybe I should start that painting, too.  Ok, I started the painting, laid in the composition, started the background.  My husband had to take the car down to Queensbury for a part so I have the entire day to devote to this pastel.  I was pretty satisfied with what I'd started, but my work space was pretty messy, so I cleaned it up a bit.  Then I looked at my living room and the kitchen and realized that I hadn't really cleaned since August.......after my second cup of coffee, I started cleaning the main room.  I'm now almost done, sort of......there are papers on the table that need files,  but here I am on my blog, talking about how I should be painting today.  I'm afraid that I'll not finish the cleaning because from here I might go on Facebook and stay an hour or so.  I have my painting wrapped and ready to go to UPS to the Coutts Museum for that show, but on the bed in the back room, along with the painting, is a commissioned piece that I need to send out, too ( I'm sorry for the delay Carolyn),  the Richeson board that I'm trying to get the dings out with primer (it's working, Marie), a frame that needs to go to the basement - well, you get it - another mess to clean up and another procrastination in the works.........Well, anyway, I did a small 7x5 pastel of the autumn birches the other day, so here's that one!

And now the dogs needs to go out.......ah well.......I DO plan on returning to my train today, I really do plan on it........

Two days at the North Creek NY Fall Festival - Painting

It was a beautiful weekend, almost too hot, for Fall in the Adirondacks.  I was asked to bring some framed pastels and my easel and paint at the North Creek Fall Festival.  We had so many people and many questions about "chalk" and "how do you do that"?  I gave out lots of my bookmarks and spent time explaining the process in painting with pastel.  It was lots of fun.  I guess if I didn't enjoy people as much as I do, I might have had a huge headache at the end of the two days, but I felt invigorated and happy to share pastels with so many people who have never seen them in action!  These are the paintings I completed during the festival.

                                                               Fall Colors  9x12

Autumn on the Hudson  9x12

                                                        

Traveling Route 40, West to Albuquerque

We were on the road late last May, trying to make it to Albuquerque, NM before the sun set.  I think I took a photo while my husband was driving at least 75 mph (probably 85 actually.....).  I loved the sky and those clouds.  It's quite amazing how little cars are on Route 40 when you cross the Mississippi - I love the wide open spaces.  A fun painting for me.

16x20 on Richeson Gatorboard, pastel

Weeping Willow

As fall approaches, the parks in our area are especially beautiful.  In the Adirondacks, we can't grow weeping willows, but in Saratoga Springs, just one hour and fifteen minutes away, the parks are full of them.  This park is right near downtown Saratoga Springs, and very close to the carousel for the children.  A gorgeous park in a very vibrant and busy community.

14x11 pastel

Shaded Path to the Lake

I have been so busy this summer with grand kids visiting so painting has been put on the back burner for awhile.  I've missed it, though,  and now that everyone has gone home and the house is quiet, I have started painting again.  This was done a few weeks ago.  We walk down to our lake in the mornings with the dogs and it's always so peaceful.  The quality of the light through the trees just gets more pleasing to me every time we walk there.  And, of course, the lake itself, is the special gift at the end of this shaded path. 

12x9 pastel

Boat House in Old Forge, NY

I'm painting now for a Paint Out at the end of the month at View, in Old Forge, NY.  I enjoy the plein air weekend, and usually have two or three pastels for them to auction off on the last Sunday of the weekend.  It's a fun time, where I meet with other artists and enjoy three full days of painting outdoors - something I don't usually have a lot of time for.  Ok, I said I was now painting for this weekend......we can sell two paintings while there and I usually do two of the surrounding area and bring them with me.  I've been lucky to have all my work sold for the last three years, so, hopefully, this will also sell. 

As you drive into Old Forge from the north, you pass this beautiful boathouse, with an Asian touch.  Last year I painted it plein air, but this time I decided to take photos and do it at home.  It's small, 8x10.   Before I know it, the weekend for this event will be upon me and I need to start another painting asap!

Pastel - 8x10

Sacandaga Falls

When my grandson was about ten, we hiked up to this waterfall.  Actually, there was a trail leading to three waterfalls, off the Sacandaga River, in the Adirondacks of New York.  The photos I took of that day are in my files for potential paintings.  I've used them many times, keying in on the banks along this river. I have one painting with my grandson swimming in the scene and another  painting I did of the rocks along this shore has won a few awards.  I keep coming back to the photos and this special spot for many paintings.  This time I came in close for a painting of the waterfalls themselves.  There's something about rocks, waterfalls, and the light that hits them under a canopy of trees that is so beautiful to me.

$8x10 $145.00

Lake Snow

Finally!  A week ago we had a nice, sunny day!!  My neighbor and I drove down to our Lake Snow and painted for about an hour and a half.  It was so quiet and peaceful, AND very little bugs.  Anyone who knows the Adirondacks, knows that this time of year the black flies can surround you and drive you nuts - also the deer flies.....but not that day.  It's always a good day when I get out to paint!

9x12   $125.00

Golden Afternoon

A couple of years ago, we were bored and decided to driving to Lake Placid, from Indian Lake.  If anyone knows the area, it's a good one and a half hour drive along lakes, wilderness, and small towns.  We drove past Tupper Lake and this scene.  How could I not take lots of photos, with the intention of painting it?  Well, two years later, and in anticipation of giving a pastel workshop next week, I finally took the time and effort to paint it.  I did a basic value study, laid in the color, did a mineral spirit wash, and then the final pastel details.  I intend to use this method next week in my demo for the workshop.  Hopefully, it'll be fun for the students to try this method. 

9x12 -  $175.00

Yosemite Meadow

 











 12x18 - $275.00

My last Yosemite pastel.  Not that I don't have plenty more photos to paint, but I think I want to concentrate on my summer in the Adirondacks by painting what's around me - the lakes and forests that are right outside my door.  This meadow was right off the main road - guys were climbing straight up the cliffs on the other side of the meadow, and my dogs were so excited to be out and about in all this space!  A totally lovely place to stop, sit and enjoy the afternoon.

Yosemite

I started this pastel before we left for California and I've been messing with it, before we left, and now, after we've been home!  In the actual photograph I took, the water was running fast and wild, but in the painting, I had to tone it down a bit, quite a bit, actually.  The color value on the bank needed to be adjusted, and I took out a tree in the foreground.  All in all, I think I'm done!  I remember standing above that bank with my grandson, totally in awe of the beauty of Yosemite, and so thankful that we got the chance to visit it with him.

18x12 - $225.00

Silent Giants

I call this painting "Silent Giants" because that's what they seem to me.  As one makes the turn  towards Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Route 40, these giant mountains loom nearby.  I'm always fascinated by the shadows on them, depending on the time of day we happen to be passing through.  On this trip, it was mid-afternoon, and the shadows are clearly on the mountains in the background.  A freight train was heading off to the West as I took the photo.  The color is so amazing!  I love the Adirondacks, for all our green and forests, but there is something so mystical about these silent giants.

19x25 $1,500.00

Plein Air pastels done during IAPS/workshop with Christine Debrosky

IAPS was such a great experience.  This is the third time at this pastel conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico and I'm looking forward to going two years from now.  It's made me want to work harder at my painting, and really dedicate myself to doing more shows and growing as an artist.  The first day there I attended a plein air workshop with Christine Debrosky, who specializes in landscape and florals.  I felt this would be a good experience for me, as I don't often paint flowers outdoors.  We had gorgeous weather, warm but not too warm, sunny and the flowers in the hotel courtyard made it a very special place to set up and paint.  Christine did the start of a very nice demo - an archway with a vine of flowers growing up it.  I decided to concentrate on one corner of the courtyard, doing two paintings of the same scene, from different angles.  I hadn't painted since we'd been traveling and I was hesitant at first, but once those pastels were in my hands, I seem to get into a zone and, good or bad, I feel at home with them.

9x12 - $150.00- Albuquerque Flowers 1

9x12 - $150.00-Albuquerque Flowers 2

IAPS - Thursday - Sunday, a very Creative 5 days!

What a great five days I have just experienced!  The International Association of Pastel Societies held their convention in Albuquerque this  week and I have learned so much, been able to talk art with some of my favorite nationally known artists, and join artist friends who I haven't seen for awhile.  A great experience.  On Thursday I took a plein air floral workshop with Christine Debrosky.  I plan on posting my two paintings at a later date.  On Friday, Richard McKinley filled my head with new ideas and a very planned way to paint outdoors, also on Friday Christine Debrosky had a demo on painting the landscape.  I was surprised that she finished a very large 18x24 in three hours.  It was filled with light and incredibly vibrant.  Saturday I watched Lorenzo Chavez paint snow and streams in Colorado.  He's very personable and, since I live in an area where it snows A LOT, this was a must see for me.  I also sat through a demo Saturday afternoon with Liz Haywood Sullivan.  She uses alcohol to bring her underpainting to life.  She also painted big - an amazing cloud and sea pastel.  I will post some of these at another time.  Below is Frank Federico's demo.  He was so amazing, as he started the initial painting upside down!  He assures us that it will free us to paint a stronger painting, more creative.   He inspired me to try this method, and as soon as I hit my studio at home, I will try this method.  My head is filled with ideas and I have some wonderful photos to paint - now to get home and start!

Yosemite Reflections

Have been traveling the past three weeks.  Actually, we're still on the road, now in Flagstaff, Arizona, on our way to Albuquerque, New Mexico for the pastel convention in a couple of days.  I wanted to post this pastel I did before we left our home in early May.  At the time, I was so into painting from photos I took of Yosemite National Park.  As we travel, I'm just so amazed at the beauty of this country.  I'm eager to start painting on Thursday, as I'm signed up for a plein air workshop -florals.

16x20-$425.00

Two Falls/Yosemite

The second of my Yosemite series.  I remember standing in a meadow, a glorious meadow that I intend to paint later, and looking up at these two falls.  The eye takes in the sights, but it's impossible to gage the enormity of the scene.  The distances between mountains and meadows, the breadth and fierce energy of those falls........it's inspiring, to say the least!

18x12 - $475.00

River View/Yosemite

Since we've had one snow storm after another, I've decided to paint a series of Yosemite pastels.  I'm painting from photos I took a couple of years ago when we decided to take our grandson over a four day weekend.  We've traveled across this country and back many times, but the majesty of Yosemite National Park was beyond words.  This pastel was done on Mi-Tiente Touch paper and is 16x20.

16x20 - $475.00

Terry's Peonies

 12x16 pastel (unavailable)



It seems as if winter is never going away this year.  It has snowed for the past two days with an accumulation of 14 inches.  I went through some photos I took this past summer and found one of my neighbor's peonies, pink, full and beautiful!  Gave me a thrill to ward off the cold and snow and paint them as the snow fell and the wind blew the trees outside.  I labored over the petals on these peonies, not wanting to get too perfect in my execution, wanting a loose rendition.  I don't often get there, and I might alter the stems a bit, but right now, with five feet of snow outside, those peonies are looking pretty good to me......

Glistening Water

 9x12 pastel  $125.00

I'm eager to paint outdoors, but we still have so much snow, so I'm going back to photos I've taken on hikes this year.  We hiked up a mountain in North Creek in early Fall, following this creek until we come upon a reservour high on the mountain.  I remember how the water trickled down the rocks all along the route.  It was another amazing day with the Adirondack Mountain Club.   I wanted to show how slick those rocks seemed and the light as it changed on the water.    Painting from photos is the best I can do right now, but as soon as this snow is gone,  you'll see me along the paths and roads with my easel!

Tex-Mex Night

 12x18 pastel - $375.00

This has been a very busy month.  We had lots of snow and I've been working at Gore Mountain.  A weekend job ended up being a four day a week job.  I took it so I could ski for free, but now that I'm working four days a week, who has the time?  Anyway, I haven't had much time to paint, although this week I was home with a wicked cold and I got to work on this one.  I've been interested in doing some still life.  I had set this up in California, with a piece of my Mexican pottery, shot some photos and decided to try it.  I enjoyed capturing that Chulula hot sauce bottle, but had a difficult time with the onion!  How's that for crazy?  I will probably be working on that onion for awhile, but decided to post it anyway.

Hudson River Respite

 8x12 pastel - $140.00

Last fall we stopped at the Hudson River, where is weaves along Route 28 before North Creek.  There are rest stops along the river, where people can picnic and walk down to the river.  At one of the stops, I found a small tributary off the main part of the river.  Since I had my camera, I took many shots of this lovely little spot.  The sun was shining on the water and rocks, the colors of the leaves, bushes and water was incredibly vibrant.  A true respite from the swift flow of the Hudson and the cars driving by.

Afternoon on the Moose River Plains

I'd like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year.  I hope it will turn out to be a happy and productive one for each and every one of you.   I'm hoping to spend more time painting this year, after a very busy Christmas season working part time at the ski slopes.  I'm also preparing for a solo pastel exhibit at the Widlund Gallery in North Creek, NY from January 26 to February 24.  I'll have approximately 40 paintings on display and will have a reception on February 16th.

 11x14 pastel - $150.00

I painted this a few days ago, from a photo I took late August from my kyack.  I've talked a lot about the Moose River Plains and the Cedar River Flow, of which this is the main body of water.  It's a wonderful place to canoe, picnic or camp.  The area is very large and very wild and, although it's a 20 mile drive to get there, once out in a canoe, you feel as if you are alone with nature.