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At the end of this week, I'll be travelling up to Santa Fe for a group show at a gallery.

it is the 
Pastel Society of New Mexico annual national juried exhibition, and once again I'll have two pieces in the show.

I can't post the works that were juried in yet, to be fair to the judge ahead of time.

So, here is one of  the two works that were in last year.

"Along Cliff Rose Trail", pastel 20x24

This painting was also featured in a recent article for the PastelJournal magazine. 

It looked really nice in the show, and my spot on the wall was near a balcony that was illuminated with farolitas, the paper bags with candles, that are so typical of Sant Fe style. It was a warm, festive night, with a very well attended opening. It was hosted by Sorrel Sky Gallery, a handsome, spacious venue.

The event was catered, and many had on their best western style attire...boots, cowboy hats, and lots of fringe.

 Here I am with the two pieces...in my western suede!

It was great to catch up with fellow painters, and see people that I don't get to very often., like my first pastel teacher, and mentor, Albert Handell as well as other luminaries. Making new friends is always a plus at these events, as well.

It is also a good opportunity to see my work placed amongst that of many talented artists, who work in a variety of genre. So many excellent , inspiring pieces! Very gratifying .

My paintings for this year's event have already  been packed up, and shipped to the agent with care , and so I will say hello to them when I arrive in  New Mexico later this week.

I'll be looking forward to this year's event...and will post the pieces from the show in a future post. 

Because I'll be up there , I'll miss next Sunday's posting...but will catch up in two weeks!

"Rio Verde"

This winter I painted several pastel  pieces, in a row  as I usually do. 

There were a few that were just fits and starts...but as a seasoned painter I know enough to let them go, and start fresh. This is perfectly okay, as I know that if I do so on occasion, I will have the creative energy needed for the ones that I do want to take to completion.  

This was one that I knew would reach a satisfactory conclusion from the start.

It came from a short hike after we had gotten a rare snowfall that lasted for more than a day. As I walked down towards the river bank, I saw that the late afternoon sun was illuminating part of the water. The riffles were catching the light at an angle, and so appeared more green than usual. Quite special! The bare branches of the trees were cast with a rosy glow, which I love in winter pieces.

Some of the branches still had clumps of snow...looking like decorations...and there were sun sparkles on the water.

I watched the effect for a while, and then started the piece in my studio. Often, when I think I want to paint a scene, and will only have photo reference, I will stay and make visual notes. Just watching. One of my favorite quotes is by Yogi Berra..." You can observe a lot by just watching."

When I started the painting , I knew right from the first strokes of charcoal that it would be a good one.

some rare few are like that! 

During the long days of winter, I like to work in a few different ways.

One is to set up fresh flowers, and work from them, and another is to go out and paint en plein air...particularly on warm afternoons. Both of these ways is to keep my work fresh and vibrant.

Another thing that I like to do is to go through my images, and work up pieces that I have been meaning to get to .

Such is the case with " Morning Dazzle", a pastel 12x24.

The painting is actually done from a few different images, gathered during a trip to the heart of the Navajo reservation; near Window Rock.

I did visit the wonderful " window to the sky", and admired the monument to the code talkers.

On this morning, I also took a short hike, and watched how the rising sun illuminated different parts of the landscape. Much of the ground was covered in frost...and I watched it burn off, as the warmth hit the grasses. Where the frost remained, the colors were opalescent.

I wanted to paint the dazzle of the sun just  as it was rising up over the main rock face.

Here is a detail of the upper right area. Notice how the cool blue-greens really contrast with the brilliant bright yellows. The effect is that of a sun flare...and looking in to the rising orb.

The format , which is a double square lends it self to the sweeping quality of the landscape. the dark greens in the middle ground help the back and forth movement across the broad expanse.

It was also nice to paint this bright work on a dreary winter day...kind of a mini-vacation in pastel!

this painting is available from my web site. It is in the "Amazing Arizona "  section .

Recently, I started classes in my studio after a break . I have a lovely, committed group...and talented!

Our first session for this block of classes was about line, and the function in painting.

Line is a series of connected points...and can be a distinct mark, of course. It is the tool used in drawing, and they take many forms. They can be used alone to render understandable shape.

Here, however, I'm writing about how they work in painting.

It can also be about the edges of two shapes abutting, forming a line.

"First Light , New Snow" has sweeping horizontal lines...leading to a feeling of serenity. 

There are lines where the tree tops abut the warm back ground, the top of the band of rust brush, and also where the hillside meets the sky.

there is also line at the bottom of the trees, to lead the eye in to, and around the picture , which is more subtle.

  Line can also indicate texture...in "Autumn Plumes" the pastel strokes very clearly do so.

notice how they also curve up towards the ray of light ...which then leads the eye to the hillside. By making the linear marks distinct, the painting has a sense of raw energy. 

In "Main and Pinal" we have architectural lines...necessary when rendering linear perspective. They, of course, converge at a vanishing point, at my eye level. This may also be considered a " radiating line" picture, as the lines radiate from a central point...and very nicely lead the eye in to the piece. The welcome sign lends a nice counter paint to all of the perspective lines. Without that, and the top of the lamp post, it would not have been as interesting.

Lines serve an important purpose in painting. Used well, the lead the viwer on an interesting journey through the elements of a painting.