On the Other Hand.....

I've been very I've been very remiss in posting for the past few days. This landscape is the result of a class exercise in painting only with our non-dominant hand; in my case, that was with the left hand. It was really difficult not to use the right hand at all, but I did manage to complete the painting without doing so. It was a fun exercise and MAYBE I'll try another one in the future. I've been working on the study of shells off and on for a couple of weeks and completed it this week. The photo was taken on one of Karen's, Holly's and my trips last summer. I'm sooo ready to take another trip to the beach.

Best Friends

I've always loved this photo of my great-nieces and drew it once before in pencil. Today I decided to complete it in pastels. This is my first attempt at painting figures.

The Good Father

Last year this male bluebird and his mate raised three families in a box at the front of my house. They quickly "trained" me by flying up for the mealworms I provided each day. They provided me with many hours of fascinated pleasure. "Daddy Boo" did almost all the feeding of the young after they fledged; "Mommy Boo" seemed to think her job was done at that point. I think the same couple will nest in the same box this year, as they flew up to me a few weeks ago and asked for worms. And who could say "no" to a request from a bluebird?!?

Tuccy Yucca

This one was a learning curve. This close-up of a yucca is on velour matboard. I wasn't very successful in achieving straight lines as a result of the surface nap; I think it would have worked better on Wallis and will probably try it soon, as I like the photo. Oh, well........

Elaine's Storm

My friend Elaine gave me a copy of a photograph she made of a storm at sea. It was a perfect reference on which to try out the new set of Thunderstorm Gray pastels by Mount Vision. The set is wonderful, but I did wish for a darker yellowish green; so, of course, that meant going outside the set. Overall, though, I really like the set. Thanks, Elaine, for the reference photo.

Look both ways before you cross

I just had to try another painting on suede paper. I photographed this rooster in downtown Blue Ridge and love the way he seems to be looking out for the traffic before crossing the street.

Eastern Phoebe

This is the time of year I'm torn between watching the birds migrating through Marietta and painting. Since it's raining today, I'm free to paint and chose this little Phoebe. I took the photo last fall through my living room window. This is my very first painting on suedeboard (Thanks, Holly!); I decided to try it, as it seemed appropriate for this sweet-faced little bird.