Back to an impression of the landscape



"The Day before Spring"  5x7 Pastel Painting



My first love in paintings has always been Impressionism.  This past week was my turn to submit a photo for the Weekly Art Challenge.  I took the opportunity to go back to my favorite style with a photo of Curt Goudy Park showing the lake frozen in early spring.  When taking the photo I was impressed by the sparking colors of the snow and ice  helping me to visualize a soft atmospheric painting with just a hint of the impression of  reflections of a winter wonderland.  The photo could not capture the true beauty of the day or the way the light would show through the haze  letting me know spring would  soon be here and that the pristine winter landscape would soon be full of the warm glow of life's new season.  Fortunately, the photo was enough to jog my memory of the beauty of Curt Goudy Park that early spring day,  renewing my enthusiasm to paint the scene.  I hope my painting can jog your memory of such a time and place.

An Exercise in Color

THE RED PEPPER

You may think I have gone totally crazy with my colors this week,  but there is a reason for the madness as they say.....  I didn't go into this painting expecting the brightness but kept thinking about a group of artists that came after the Impressionists, they painted with wild abandon  and vivid colors. They were called the Fauves or "wild beasts".  In this painting I wanted  to get away from tightness in style, color and work toward a using just a few strokes to get across the idea.  My painting is done on 9 x12" Wallis paper, using primarily Nu Pastels and a few Rembrandts.  So till next week... I'm turning it in and letting the results of the experience gel on my shelf for a while, calling it quits from this "beastly" painting!

Wow, what an exciting weekend at the Western Spirit Art Show!

Yes, I had a exciting weekend! Friday evening, we artists and the sponsors met at the Holiday Inn to  visit with  friends old and new.  While we were visiting slides of our art were projected on a big screen, making an exciting 1st glimpse of Saturdays unveiling!  The next day during the artist's seminar we  were glued to our seats absorbing invaluable knowledge relayed to us by various speakers among which were the judges, Jerry Palen, Matt Flint and Sarah Woods.  Also speaking was Cheyenne's own Mike Beeman, discussing the importance of simplifying subject matter.  After an information packed day  and a couple of hours of rest, we met that evening for the opening of the 2011 exhibit.  The Old Fort Museum was jam packed with wonderful art, a huge crowd, and plenty of food, drink and music.  A fantastic party was had by all that attended.  So if you didn't make it out Saturday evening, drop by the museum sometime before April 17th and check out the great art from around the country!




Reflections on the Lake, one of my pastel paintings jured into this show.

 

Western Spirit Art Show

It's almost time for the Old West Museum to present the annual  Western Spirit Art Show and Sale with all its  informative fun festivities and also showcasing the works of over 130 artists!  I am excited and proud to be one of the artist which had been juried into this premier exhibit! You can come out and see my 6 pastel  pieces of art on display from March 5- April 17, 2011. The exhibit kicks off On March 5th at 8 am with an artist seminar on Saturday.  In the evening the opening night reception, will be an exciting Cheyenne event with food, music and at 7:30 a quick draw by some of the participating artists! Their work will  then be auctioned.  For more information on attending this Cheyenne event check out the link at the Old West Museum.

Here are two of my pastel paintings that will  be shown  during this  exhibit. 




Cheyenne Iris

 


Trout Pond