Dried Sunflowers

Dried Sunflowers I, 6.5 x 6.5"

Dried Sunflowers II, 6.5 x 6.5"

  Well, I have been having so much fun rediscovering oils that I haven't had the time to finish the last pastel done en plein air. So this is what I consider a cheating post since these pastels were painted last year.

   I had bought the flowers with the intention of creating a large painting, but as often happens, other things got in the way. The poor things were languishing in the studio making me feel bad for having wasted money on them so, in the spur of the moment, they were painted one on top of the other, on  a leftover piece of Pastelmat mounted on foamcore.  I love the looseness in the second one and I wonder if that was the result of not taking too seriously what I was doing.

Bouquet, 9 1/2 x 7 1/2

I feel so bad for not having been updating my blog. April and May are the busiest times of the year for me with so many shows to apply to, prepare for and submit artwork to, and on top of that, framing, working, and trying to get some plein air done when the weather is nice... you get the picture.

I did this painting over a month ago. It was the third one that day, and surprisingly, it worked.
Canson is the simplest of papers there is to work in pastels, and although it was the only paper I used when I started in pastels 10 years ago, nowadays I rarely do so. Being used to working on sanded surfaces, switching to Canson requires a much softer touch and more planing, as it cannot take many layers.

This piece will be for sale at the Onondaga Art Guild Spring Sale on April 24th (10-4) and April 25th (noon-5). If you live in the area, I hope to see you there!