Twilight on 33rd, 24x24 (process)

"Twilight on 33rd" 24x24" Pastel

Getting back to my favorite medium, pastel, I have decided to work on furthering my urban series for a Portland gallery that has been wanting to represent my pastels. I currently have only two pieces available and must create more for a nice presentation for this gallery if I wish to show with them. As I was contemplating what to paint, I stumbled upon a photo I had taken last year from the passenger's seat of our car as my husband was driving me out to a special dinner. He had planned a surprise birthday party for me, and I had no clue! But I digress. As we were arriving in the Belmont district of SE Portland, the sun was low and the neon signs and traffic lights were in dire competition for my attention.  The atmosphere was dense for an October evening. It was the perfect photo for my next urban painting.

First things first, I sketch out the idea to check value patterns

Laying out the sketch onto the mounted Wallis sanded paper. 

I do not use any grid system to map out the idea. 

The beginning of a painting is where drawing skills are most important, as the keen sense of dimension, depth, angles and such can be taken off course, making the finished piece impossible to read well.  When that happens, we end up re-rendering and fixing (fighting the work) throughout the piece instead of using our intellect in the beginning process of the work. Once the rendering is set, and all questions of illusion are solved, I can leave the intellect behind and enter into the intuitive part of the painting process. Mapping by grid is a great way to solve complex illustrations and I will use them from time to time, but I haven't mapped since I began painting plein air. (perhaps another blog topic)

I start out with a value driven, monochromatic warm underpainting. 

I chose a warm underpainting because the atmosphere of the day was very warm and muggy. Had I used a cooler, perhaps a blue underpainting, the mood of the work would have been more sombre. 

I blocked in the main colors of most of the structures, asphalt street and sky. 

I then began to layer veils of similar values over one another. Not sure if you can see in this photo, but the sky has about 8 different colors, all pretty close in value and temperature to each other.

 Developing the details and playing with more punches of color here and there.

As I am looking at my resource photo, I notice the play of warmth from the surrounding car lights on the asphalt and so I added some more color to the asphalt. The reflections on the sides of the cars, and slightly suggesting figures and signage are some of the final details to be added.

All lines are drawn in while holding my breath!

Finished!

UPDATE!  This piece was entered into the IAPS (International Association of Pastel Societies) 23rd Juried Online Show. This honor has earned me a total of 2 points towards the 5 needed for "Master Circle" designation. Looks like I am well on my way!

Urban Posts, 16x12

"Urban Posts" 16x12" Oil

You gotta love it! The dry weather was holding for a beautiful fall and the trees have hinted their annual notes of color.  Since the landscape is not in its full foliage, I've been working the streets again with oils and it's been well, rather interesting. Here is a piece I worked on SE Belmont and SE 34th in Portland along with three other plein air artists. I stood in the nook of Stumptown Roasters and surely enough, an hour into my piece, someone asked if we "were in a painting class."  I didn't think to add this one to my list of top 10 most asked Plein Air questions, but I should have because it's asked a lot. I also had the company of a young man, down on his luck, settle two yards from my easel.  He had a sign that read "I need money for food, fuel and ganja". Now, if you don't know what ganja is, then that's a good thing, but I remember a neighbor in college smoked the stuff, and so that was all I needed to know at that point to stay clear. Anyway, I guess I missed the memo to bring my "starving artist" sign, but I digress...  

The rain has begun here in earnest and it's all downhill for the plein air season, so I will be hunkering down in my studio until the spring warmth brings dry skies.

Oh yes, let me resume back to the topic of this post.  Here is a detail of "Urban Posts".  I was trying to come up with some sort of title that had the flyers and the pole as the subject of this painting. Noting how we communicate on many levels, be it through old fashioned telephone lines carrying conversations across a distance, or colorful flyers stapled on a greasy pole shouting about the local band scene.  I've been taking the liberty of a loose, painterly approach with my oil work and I'm really really enjoying my results.  I wonder how it will influence my pastel work as I jump into it this winter. 

"Urban Posts" detail

If you get SouthwestArt magazine, be sure to check out pages 48 and 49.  There is info on the American Impressionist Society 13th Annual Exhibit coming up this November 8~30th at Eckert and Ross Fine Art. I'm thrilled to have my piece "Curbsides" included in this prestigious national show.  Here is the list of work with images of those pieces invited into this show. Indeed, a stunning gathering of work.

I also have an advertisement in SouthwestArt with my gallery American Art Company, in Tacoma, WA.  Currently AAC has 9 of my large pastels proudly displayed for the next few months.  If you are in the area, please stop by and indulge your senses with color, shape and form.