Dusty Fingers: Lessons From the Easel

It's been 2 months since I last posted and I am soooo sorry for not keeping up with you, my dear blogging friends. It seems that there are just not enough hours in the day to keep my schedule flowing smoothly. I have so much to share with you but I just can't carve the time out for writing out my thoughts as frequently as I'd first set out. I have decided that I absolutely must make time for organizing my business matters now so I can blog and be more productive at the easel. I am making a small dent, but the list goes on. Ugh. I just wanna paint!

Well, I have been painting! Here are some demos from my weekly pastel class that I have been teaching at the Oregon Society of Artists. The class has been loads of fun. The students come away learning plenty, making it very rewarding for all of us. The weekly classes run 7 weeks in a series, and we are in the midst of the last series before the plein air season starts back up in earnest. Here are a few demos I painted to illustrate the versatility of pastel. Some demos are very quick, while others take a tad longer.

Limited strokes...

Timed 5 minute paintings...

Underpainting demo...

There is so much to teach when it comes to pastel because it is so incredibly versatile. I do hope to make my workshops available to regions beyond Portland. Perhaps a workshop in a sunny state or another country might be in my future? Where would you like to attend a pastel workshop? Well, anyway, enough about workshopping.

I have also been hunkering down for the last 5 months in my studio painting large with oils for a March show in Palm Springs, CA. at Brian Marki Gallery. The show was inspired from a plein air journey to the Coachella Valley last April, (read Blog post here) and now I have a place to share them. The group show "Portland Paints the Desert" will feature Portland area artists Anton Pavlenko, Thomas Kitts, Michael Orwick, Scott Gellatly, and myself. Honestly, I haven't painted this large since 1988, so it was a stretch for me, especially since oil painting is not my forte', but I did it and am really proud that I stretched a bit. "Desert Wash" was the largest piece I have ever painted, well, if you aren't counting mural work.

Well, there you have 2 months in a nutshell...plus then some. I'm hoping the next time I post that it will be sooner than later so you can follow along in some measure on this artistic journey.

~Brenda