Still in Florida, at least on the Easel

Instead of consigning this plein air sketch to the scrap heap, I decided to redo it.  It's the first one done on my recent trip. It's hard to strike the right palette and light the first day out.  I especially like the violet reflected light on the receding wave.  Low tide leaves pools of many shapes and depths on the beach.

As the Waves Recede
Pastel 5 x 8

Beaches, Beaches, Beaches

Never imaging it would take this long to put the finishing touches on the Spring beach pastel work, I am still working away.  Not sure this is a good process, maybe too much fussing, I think I am learning to see the subtler modifications that improve the work.  However, I've also learned that the truth takes its own time to reveal itself.

On the Move
Pastel 6 x 8

Florida Revisited

Putting finishing touches on plein air pastels.   Done at sunrise I was interested in the atmospheric effects of the light through the clouds, as well as depicting the dazzling sun.

Maybe Rain
Pastel 6 x  8

It's difficult working at sunrise, conditions are changing rapidly and starting in the half-dark makes seeing colors difficult.  Returning to the same location many days in a row is helpful.

Quiet Light
Pastel 5 x 7

I wanted to experiment with showing the afterimage of the sun, as I sometimes see it after looking directly at it.

Another Asheville Urban Landscape Project Work

This pastel was started in last April from a location overlooking Asheville.  Never having done a painting with this much aerial perspective it took an afternoon of color and value adjustment in the studio.

The site is the parking lot of Zealandia Castle which is a great old building which would have made an equally interesting subject.

Shambhala 

Pastel 6 x 8

Asheville Urban Landscape Project

From time to time I have been lucky enough to paint with a group in Asheville.   Lisa Blackshear has organized the Asheville Urban Landscape Project which met last year and again this spring.  There is a schedule for this fall at http://www.wncpap.com/avl-urban-landscape-project-2014.

Meanwhile other painters in this group organized events this summer, the next:

 Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary June 24

Contact Araya Hansen araya-sol@charter.net

This is a pastel from the last spring event at the French Broad River Park.

Hanging On 

Pastel 6 x 7

Plein Air Day

After a long hiatus, got outside today.  A local group, the Blue Ridge Fine Arts Guild is preparing for a show next year.  It's about the new crops, livestock, and farmers reinventing agriculture in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina.  The show's title is "New Pioneers of the Blue Ridge: the Renaissance of the Family Farm".  Today we had our first outing at Mountain Farm which cultivates several breeds of goats and lavender.  Their store sells soaps, lavender teas, goat cheese.

There were more than a dozen painters and photographers at work.

Here's a small pastel sketch, before the wind forced the umbrellas closed.

Running in Place

Here is a series of pink beads made at the Penland Flamework Studio.

Pink and Amber

This is an usual color combination.  I would like to make several more, possibly for earrings.

Below a series of discs made from every pink colored glass that could be found.  Figuring out how to link and arrange them in a necklace is a challenge.

Pink Discs

A Big Pink Honker of a Bead

This one is suitable for a pendant.    Would be great with some more pink pieces on the chain.