The Marsh

We have so many marshes here in the north country of New York that on every hike I find another place to paint!  This pastel is of a march in Tupper Lake, on the way to Lake Placid.  Pastel on a 6x18 board gives this piece a long format in which to view the distant hills.  It seems a peaceful place.

6x18 pastel on pastelbord

Twilight

My reference photo for this pastel was taken one evening on our way home from Lake Placid, New York.  We were crossing Tupper Lake and I stopped to take many photos.  The sunset was magnificent, going from pink, violet, red to yellow.  In painting this landscape, I scumbled the pastel all over, then dripped alcohol down it, deciding to leave the drips on the surface as I put the final pastel on the paper.  It was not a totally planned painting, I just went where the drips went and had fun.  I enjoyed the long format - 10x20.

10x20

Ice Dreams

Before going to Florida for the holidays to visit family, I started this pastel.  We were getting ice and cold, but nothing like is depicted in this pastel.  The photo came from a friend who does get this kind of ice and snow in Syracuse, NY.  The original photo has a large tree branch filled with snow in the leff hand corner.  In order to show the shadows I wanted to show, I eliminated that tree and the branches.  It is a beautiful photo, but I think, as a painting, I needed to put that large block of shadow in, falling off the page.  I hope it shows the movement I felt in those tree shadows.

pastel 11x14 on board

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

                                                        

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

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

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

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

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

Morning Mist

With all the rain we've been getting here in the Adirondacks, we've had some mornings where the mist has lingered over the mountains and lakes, creating lovely fall mosaics.  Last Tuesday,  I drove to Adirondack Lake and took some photos of that fog lingering over the water and trees on the shores of the lake.  It begged to be painted.

 16x20 pastel - $675.00

A week later, it's still raining, and only things that are begging are the dogs, who need their walk in the rain!  At least we don't have to worry about forest fires now.

Summer Chickadee

 11x14 pastel  $145.00

This summer we had so many chickadees at the feeder, in competition with the squirrels, I might add, and the nuthatches.  The chickadees are friendly little birds, chicka-dee-dee-deeing away.  They are not afraid of anyone or anything, as far as I can see, and will eat out of your hand if you're very still and very quiet.

Along the Grassy Pond

 8x10 pastel - $125.00

Kayaking last week,  I hugged the shore near a friend's house.  The light was brilliant behind the trees and lit up their entire lawn, stretching down to the water.  This is a very grassy pond and as I was quietly enjoying the scene, a family of geese swam by.   Could life be better than this?

Resting Place

18x24 image, framed to 24x30
 $675.00

I just took this pastel out, after having put it away for a couple of years.  I painted it after a visit to the Adirondack Camp, The Hedges.  It shows their dock and the boats and kayaks available for the guests.  I do love this place, on Blue Mountain Lake.  I hope it conveys the feeling of a resting place, where one can relax, commune with nature and enjoy the quiet.

Along Lake Durant

 12x18 pastel on Wallis matboard
 $225.00

There are so many hiking areas in the Adirondacks that it's hard to pick one to spend an afternoon.  The Northville Placid trail is one that we go back to again and again, mainly because, in the early spring, late fall and winter, we can be alone with nature.  It is right off the main road, and in five minutes, one is totally in wilderness, on the banks of Lake Durant, with Blue Mountain across the lake.  I love to paint here.   This was done with an underpainting of mineral spirits, mixed with pastel.

Afternoon on Abanakee

 12x16 Pastel on Richeson Gater Board - $175.00 (sold)

What a beautiful day it was yesterday - 70 degrees, sunny, slight breeze.  I started a painting in my studio, did an underpainting with mineral spirits and just couldn't wait for it to dry.  I was inpatient to start painting, so I put my portable easel and supplies in the car and headed to the back of Abanakee Lake, about three miles away from my home.  People were kayaking and swimming, the loons were vocal,  cars drove by and slowed down to watch my progress.  Two hours later I needed to pack up and head for home, very happy and content.

Hollyhocks

 16x12 pastel on pastelmat  $150.00

Summer in the Adirondacks.....filled with flowers.  Whether wild or planted, they are everywhere we look.  I loved these hollyhocks planted at the Adirondack Museum, in front of some steps leading to an exhibit.  I took the photo about two weeks ago, and when I went back to the Museum last week, they were already fading.  I'm glad I caught them at the exact right time for a pastel.

Adirondack Flow

9x12 - $250.00 +s&h
Giclees available - $55.00

I was asked to do a demo for the pastel society in Lake Forest last month and decided to use mineral spirits as an underpainting with the pastel. I hadn't used this method for awhile so set one up the day before and started it - just in case, and also because I wasn't sure how fast the mineral spirits would dry. The session went well, I think and I even finished rather earlier than expected. I like the finished painting. Someone at the session said they liked the cool colors I used. When I think about it, I realize I don't think about it.....it's more intuitive for me. Sometimes I wish I was more planned when I paint. I wonder what's better - planning or just doing. When I look at Sally Strand's paintings, I see planning, beautiful planning......oh boy...Anyway, this pastel is 11x14.

Adirondack Road

12x18 

The weather has been very cool and so I've been relegated to painting on my patio, and running in to warm my hands every now and then! Needless to say, I've been painting from my photos and this is one done from a photo taken this January in Indian Lake, New York. This road is Route 28, going into Indian Lake, past the barn that I painted plein air last summer. It's a tranquil and beautiful spot, for a main road!