Reworking and evaluating, Interseeding Clover, 24x24

"Interseeding Clover",  24x24" Pastel

Life at my house is getting less hectic and more routine as we settle into the colder months. For the artist part of me, that means quiet studio time, the occasional show, as well as studying or experimenting on new techniques.  I have a lot of peices I wish to do over again, some of them works that I have stashed away for one reason or another.  My gallery in Tacoma, American Art Company, has requested more 24x24" pieces and I have a couple in stock as well as pieces that I want to paint that are stored in memory.  The piece below is from earlier this year that was created as a warm up for a quick draw event at the Allison.  I finally pulled it out to see if it was gallery ready, and I couldn't believe the difference in what I saw a year ago as compared to what I see now in my own work.  We are always growing with each painting, and with that, our eyes see differently.  Perhaps it's the daily experiences we encounter or from our own growth out in the field as we paint along. So, I reworked the piece below and here is it's facelift, above. (I can't believe I'm comparing painting to vanity, but perhaps it is all in vain, eh?)

 "Crossing Clover" 24x24" Pastel

So "Crossing Clover" is no longer available. "Interceeding Crimson"will be available at American Art Company in the coming months.

Early Harvest, 16x12

"Early Harvest" 16x12" Pastel on sanded paper. ©Brenda Boylan

Here's a plein air piece I created back in early August on Sauvie Island. I had it sitting in the studio for a few weeks now and finally resolved the piece. While painting this, I was stretching my creative juices and 'going graphic' with the field. It had large swipes of red and purple rows, dragged down to the bottom of the panel, and it was COOL. After I returned from my day and took a look at it in the evening, it was like a hangover...or more like the 'morning after' feeling and asking myself "what the heck was I painting?" Maybe I'm getting bored with realism? I really love color and especially the quality of mark making that pastel offers when a broad stroke is swiped across sanded paper. Should there be a day of color play? I'm thinkin' so.

In a couple of weeks I will be teaching my Pastel Punch! workshop and I am really looking forward to it. I have much to share and I'm hoping that I don't overload the group with too much information, so I prepared an outline/syllabus to keep the me on track. But to be honest, I will probably learn more from them than they will from me. Oh, the beauty of teaching. Can't wait!

Also, a little bit of horn tooting here....I received notice a few days back that two pieces accepted in the Visual Arts Showcase, ones I've posted before: "Cafe' Seating" and "Bolts of Lavender". The show will be held for two weeks at the Beaverton City Library, so if you are in the area, come on by on the opening Gala. Info to the right in Upcoming Events----->

Crossing Clover, 24x24

Crossing Clover, 24x24" Pastel on sanded paper. ©2011 Brenda Boylan

In the next few weeks, I will be participating in a few dinner auctions (dates posted in Upcoming Events) that feature artists in a quick draw. In preparation for these events, I usually practice what I'm going to paint. I do this so that I can interact with the attendees and sip some wine all without having to work out the piece, which takes considerable thought.

Detail

Sketch

My photo reference for this piece came from a late spring drive out to the farming area of North Plains, OR. I was out with one of my painting buddies and we have always wanted to paint this glowing field of clover in late spring, but the view is from the driveway of this farmer's field and the main byway. Because of the precarious location, we decided to stop and just take photos. Inso doing, I got my front tires stuck in the moist soil from the recent rains. Digging myself deeper with every turn and using every tactic a blonde driver can think of to release the wheels, the car became very stuck! After a few candid camera moves, a local road angel rescued the car and pulled the car out. Yeah! We were free to roam, but with a very muddied car...and a very perty painting to show for it.

Anyway, here is the announcement of my next engagement (a bit tiny to read, but you get the point).

Challeging paintings, Entering Spring, 24x24

Entering Spring, 24x24" Pastel on sanded paper

I think paintings have their inherent personalities. Sometimes a painting just practically paints itself, while others simply fight the whole way through to the trash. Most are somewhere in the middle. This one painting was just a challenge to paint. I had started this one last year and then put it away after the plein air season hit. I finally decided to pull it out of moth ball storage and finish it because it belongs in a series that will hang in a show this coming May at American Art Co. It originally had a barn in the field, but it looked so contrived, that I just decided to wash it off with a hose. I also believe this one was so difficult to paint because I made no preliminary sketches or value studies and then just hit the easel running. And running I did all the way up hill. Augh!

Anyway, I'm thrilled it's done and I'm actually pleased with the outcome. Next time, break out the sketch book wouldja, Brenda?

Edges and Rows, 24x24"

Edges and Rows, 24 x 24" Pastel on sanded paper ©Brenda Boylan

A while back I was working on a series of work on seasonal paintings of my family farm located in the Eugene area of Oregon. I had worked on this one with the intention of keeping it for my own home so I could enjoy the memories I have from a child. I hadn't finished it until this week, trimming the sides to fit the square format frame. But I have since changed my mind and it is headed up with the other pieces of the series to The American Art Co. in Tacoma, WA.

This is the view facing south just where the trees line the edge of the property. I've never much ventured over there, but the last time I was down at the farm I wandered over there with my dad and discussed all the arrowheads he used to find in the field, the frogs he'd catch from the neighbor's pond on the other side of the trees, and managing the pickers as they harvested the green beans. His life was spent working hard on a farm as a boy as he worked his way through college, but now he is back on the farm, retired and just leases it out to a farmer who keeps things interesting. It's nice to visit. My sense of place puts me at rest when I step onto the property...all worries melt away from my city life in Portland.

When Blues Turn to Reds, 12x9

When Blues Turn to Reds, 12x9" Pastel on sanded paper

Us Portlanders have had the luck of the sun these past two days of fall that makes any plein air artist begin to itch. Out and about, the fields in North Plains, Oregon have a few blueberry fields that have turned to vivid reds and burgundies. In the early hours of the morning, this reddish shrubbery is kissed right on top with the first rays of light, giving it a wonderful glow and making the sky pinkish in color. When I stopped to figure out my "scene" and set up, I discovered I forgot my tripod and had to drive all the way back home and retrieve the darned thing! There seems to be a bit of forgetfulness happening lately. So, here is a 'late'morning piece, in all it's fall glory. (note above: the wires from the tele pole don't show well in the photo.)

Here's a shot of the road leading up to the fields. This may have to be a studio piece come this winter.

From Wheat Grows Crimson, 6x6

"From Wheat Grows Crimson" 6x6" Pastel on sanded paper

Earlier this week I went out with my painting buddy Gretha to find color out in North Plains. We began our journey with the intentions of photographing the yellow canola fields (below). We did our share of catching the color with our cameras and decided it was time to find a place to set up shop. So we found a Century Farm in North Plains, with permission to paint, and so we pushed out a 45 min study each. I love working fast and under pressure because it leaves little time to "noodle" a piece to death, leaving it fresh and uninhibited. Ya gotta love that strong complment of red and green .....and purple and yellow...ooooh!

Canola field located just outside of the sleepy town of Banks, OR. Love the purple and yellow compliments in this scene!

The Marquess Barn, 9x12

"The Marquess Barn" 9x12" Pastel on sanded paper

Last Saturday morning I gave a two hour demo at Amato's Gallery and here is what I came up with. Of course, chatting with visitors is my favorite part, but because of the crowd, I chose to wait to finish it up. So I brought it home to my quiet place in the studio to finish. For me, there is no place like my studio to "contemplate the universe" as I work in quiet solitude. Interestingly enough, today I had a discussion with another artist about what we think about when we create. I have never been able to clearly explain what thoughts go through my mind while I am painting, but I think it is sort of a meditation, or maybe my mind is in complete concentration. Whatever it is, I like it a lot and think that it does a world of good.

This barn is the view from our family's farm house in Creswell, OR. This is the Marquess Barn, just south of our property line. Even though Spring is in full force at the time of this post, the photo reference for this painting is of course during the height of last Fall. There is so much beauty in this area of our nation: quiet, rolling hills with an occasional horse dotting the landscape, a broken down tractor or a winding river that divides a farmers land. This is what I search for as we drive home to the farm.

Clover and Vineyard

"Field of Rubies" 9 x 12" Pastel on sanded paper

The weather has been incredible these past weeks in the Northwest. I was able to go out twice last week with my painting buddie Gretha. There is never enough time to paint it all, and the landscapes out in the rural areas are just spectacular this time of year! Some of the farmers have planted transition crops of red clover to nourish the soil. There are patches of it all down the Sunset Corridor (aka Hwy 26). This clover peaks in color in the morning and then the intensity dulls by mid-day. The sound of the bees working on the clover makes me feel intoxicated. And the hot sun on my skin...I'm feeling like summer is almost here!

"Vineyard Poppies" 9 x 12" Pastel on sanded paper

This vineyard was located in Forest Grove. I think it was Tualatin Valley Estates. I'm not even sure just how we got there. We followed the hills looking for red clover, but this was too beautiful to pass up. Gretha and I stayed for about 2 hours, some of that time was spent figuring out our pochade boxes. Again, I felt rusty, but not for long.

Color Field, 27x27

"Color Field", 27x27" Pastel on sanded board

During this Christmas break of '08 I've had plenty of time to work on a few large pieces that I've been wanting to paint for some time now. The previous post, "Estuary at Dusk" is supposed to be finished, but I still feel that there is something amiss with it. I can feel it--and have set it aside for awhile and will return to it soon....so I guess that means it's really not finished at all!

This new one, is like one of the studies I previously posted back in October. "Color Field" is a scene from my Grandparents farm, looking South. This view reminds me of summer visits to the farm catching grasshoppers, swinging on the hammock, playing in the bales of hay, and setting time away to just think. Knowing me, I'll probably revisit this particular painting before getting it recorded and framed. Once I decide it's finished, it has a special place above my hearth in the family room!
The series of steps are posted below...


First I begin with some sort of color wash. Intense red-orange and some basic blocking-in of color will hopefully give this piece a warm July feeling. This time around I created my own sanded board by mixing Golden Acrylic Ground for Pastels with pure red and orange pigment by Createx. Painted on with a fat brush, and left to dry. The sanded ground has the color wash already established within the grit. Hopefully, this will give it an overall warm feeling.


Establishing shape and values.


Developing the clouds and row of trees.


Shaping the clouds with color, adding some touches of the distant field through the tree-line.


Quieting down now, adding the finishing touches. I guess I'm done!

Of Color & Field (study), 6x6

"Of Color & Field" 6x6 Pastel on sanded paper SOLD

This little study is one of my favorites painted over the course of my Open Studio this past October. With the weather going south, it's a wonderful reminder of the warmer temps of August and the heavy frangrance of lavender. Oh, how I long for the summer months! A plein-air trip to the Mountandale area within the Portland, Oregon region, my painting buddy Gretha Lindwood and I go here for our more serious work. The woman with the parasol was delighted to do a few poses for us as reference to future work. Here she is, amongst the summer colors. Available through PayPal, unframed $75.00 (free shipping only to continental US)

Roll Call (study), 6x6

"Roll Call" 6x6", Pastel on sanded paper

Well, I do have another study of a farm, but this one comes from the Image Reference Library on Wetcanvas. As posted below from my Open Studio series, a good number of the previous small studies were images taken from this library. All are copyright-free photos, available to study from. This library is quite the resource for artists. This little barn has seen better days, with it's slumpy roofline. My husband came up with the title "Roll Call" and so it is!
Offered through PayPal, unframed, $75.00.

Color Field II (study), 6x6

"Color Field, study II" 6x6", pastel on sanded paper

This is the last and final study of my small farm studies. This particular one is so colorful! I'm really liking the combination of colors and the warm and cool play of the landscape. I started this one off with a vibrant red underpainting in the field area, and a yellow underpainting in the sky. I'm pretty close to making a LARGE series of these studies. Maybe... we'll see. Anyway, I can't hold myself down to any particular direction now, but maybe that's just what I need. $75.00, unframed.

Color Field I (study), 6x6

"Color Field study", 6x6" Pastel on sanded paper SOLD

Here is the second study of the 3 farm series. I'm really, really liking this one and I have decided that I will keep this one for my own personal reasons. The feelings I get when looking at this painting of my Grandparents' farm are that of my youth and longing to belong, the smell of the cut crops, the colors, and true fondness..... It makes me feel good. Isn't that what art is supposed to do? Having that connection to a piece of art, when it creates a bond, and feeling of great pleasure to the eyes is the reason why I paint. This is what it does for me.

Beyond the Lavender, 15x11

"Beyond the Lavender" 15x11"

Packed my painting bags and went out to Jackson School Lavender farm in the late afternoon to plein-air paint. This was the first for me to paint so late in the day, but what colors there were! As the sun drifted lower and lower, the fields got warmer and warmer. The gravel from which I painted even had a pinkish cast to it. This coming weekend is The lavender festival and many local farmers are hosting artists as well as the general public to come out and enjoy their fields. In this piece, I injected the fields with aqua, rust and yellow ochre to give it some punch, although the colors may seem a bit off due to monitor settings. I spent most of my time on the background this time around, working on the depth of the scene. Enjoy!

Peony View 5.5x11

"Peony View" 5.5x11" Pastel


Here is my work in progress. It looks like a view through a window!


In the element...

Another great day out painting en plein-air at a beautiful peony farm in North Plains, OR. We had 15 artists in all, including Gretha (my painting buddie), Bev, Kathy, Patty, Mary, Phyllis, and of course a few others from our Paint Out Group. This time, I decided to paint sitting, and I found it more relaxing than usual. The only disappointment to sitting while painting is that I can't easily stand back to view my work in progress. In the above shot of me, I'm using my new modified Open M Box which I just love! It carries my pastels with absolutely no breakage! I've put memory foam in it, which is the best thing about it! I may post the modifications some time in the future.