Julie's Painting a Day

I decided to ‘clean house’ this month and am having a virtual studio sale on eBay – first time I’ve ever tried this but so far it’s been great!  Here’s the link to my items – all are unframed for less expensive shipping, all are originals and most are matted to a standard frame size:

http://shop.ebay.com/beachrose56/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=

11″ x 14″
Pastel on pumiced Gatorboard

The texture of this painting surface was very rough and grooved, and after trying to fight it I just decided to go along with it.  I first built up layers of color using a Styrofoam peanut to blend hard pastel in different areas, and then lightly grazed soft pastels over the grooves to create the highlights.  The end result is very impressionistic – close up, you can see all the bumps and ridges, but from a slight distance the lights and darks pretty much morph together to form a representational-style painting with soft edges.

I was fooling around with watercolor underpaintings today – the painting on the right was first, with watercolor washes put in and then dark and warm areas highlighted with pastel pencils.  I decided it was too linear and harsh-looking so I put the whole thing in the sink and washed it off, letting the color flow wherever.  The underpainting on the left is the final one.  I like the softness of the edges and will try to keep that feeling in my pastel layering.  I might even let the composition morph into something non-representational.

16″ x 20″
Pastel on pumiced Gatorboard

As promised, here’s the final version of the work in progress shown a few posts below.

This is a 16″ x 20″ version of the same Swamp River scene (see below), with just the acrylic underwash done.  I really pushed the bright colors in this one, but will tone it all down with the pastel layers once I resurface the board.  Since getting laid off from my day job in February (!!!!) I’ve been able to throw myself into working on my painting skills – including speed, which I need to do in order to improve my plein air work – and have also experimented more with surfaces, underpainting techniques, etc.  So there’s the silver lining to being unemployed!

16″ x 22″
Pastel on Wallis paper

I love painting koi, and this is my third painting of them.  This is the largest so far – framed, it’s 24″ x 30″.

11″ X 14″
Pastel on pumiced Gatorboard

Here’s another scene from my recent trip to Vero Beach.  I’ve been working with acrylic underwashes since the weather turned a little warmer and I can work out on my deck (it gets pretty messy).  I like the brightness the acrylic wash makes come thru the pastel layer in the lightly painted areas.

16″ x 20″
Pastel on pumiced Gatorboard

I’m trying to keep the energy going in this larger version of the painting study below.  I really liked the brightness of the magenta in the original, so have upped it a little here.  The surface I’m working on is kinda rough, though, so I have had to work it harder than with the study.  I’ll keep this version up and will post the final once done.

18″ x 24″
Pastel on pumiced canvas board

This scene is of a vehicle path behind the dunes in the Fire Island National Seashore.  Fire Island is a natural barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great South Bay on the south shore of Long Island, NY.  Since no cars are allowed on Fire Island except for maintenance and park ranger vehicles, these tracks in the sand are the only trace left by humans – the rest is natural coastal scrub and pure glistening sand.  Very peaceful.

The painting “Tranquility on the Burma Road” is also a scene behind the dunes, done at the different time of day and year.

9″ x 12″
Pastel on pumiced board

A few weeks ago a few painter friends and I were able to visit another painter down in Vero Beach, FL.  This painting was done onsite in the late afternoon on a dock overlooking the Indian River.  I am working on a larger version, but like the energy this study has.