A new project for April!

It's really late on Easter Sunday; I hope yours was a peaceful day, mine was great!   Spent it with my family and close friends, good food, sunshine and horses!   

I am pretty excited about an art project I've given myself--a 30-30.   That is, 30 paintings in 30 days.  And just so happens in a few short days, just such a month is coming up.   So I've spent some time getting ready.  

I have wanted to try this for some time, but geeze, it's scary to commit like this!  and now its even public!  eek!   So to stack the odds in my favor, I have done some prepping to secure success.

First, I considered what I'd actually paint, and what size to work.  I am going small sized, from 5x7 up to 10x10 to make it do-able even on a busy day.  Most is uart 500, but there are a few Richardsons (red).   One is toned but I plan to tone more as I go.    

I am not going to limit my subject, but most will be landscapes, and I may toss in a couple other things.   I have gone thru tons of files on my computer, and put about 50-60 in one new folder on my desktop--no wasting time searching when I am ready to paint! 

I hope to post them each few days at least, and that you'll help cheer me on!   Or even join me! 

How many does it take?

When I first started getting serious with pastel, I bought a set of 45 sticks, landscape set of Rembrant pastels.  Oh boy, I thought I had so many!   Oh boy, was I wrong!    I really couldn't tell you how many I actually have now, but its several hundred for sure.

So why would I ever buy more at this point?   Its kinda like spices--you might have several in your kitchen, but there might be a dish you wish to make, and need yet another spice.   That's like pastels, some are harder, some soft as butter, some brands have better greens, some have better darks.   And, its just kinda the way a pastelist is, we must have them allll! 

But how many does it take to make a painting?  Really very few.   Most paintings have a gamut of colors that are within a certain range.   I often take note of colors in things like flower arrangements, home decor books and the like, looking for color ideas I could use in a painting.   Recently I wanted to paint a white horse in blues with white. 

I also wanted to do something special for a lady who'd been very generous with me in the past.   So I went on her facebook page and snagged a photo of her very favorite horse, Seth.   Now, I normally wouldn't suggest using photos from someone without permission, but since this was to be sent to her as a gift, I didn't think she'd mind.

The top tray is the limited selection I used to paint Seth;
mostly the blues, greys, purples and a few peachy and pale yellow tones.
I added some darks from another brand, and a few pastel pencils for detail.

HeARTS in Healing

On February 6th I attended a benefit in Sioux Falls for the Avera HeARTS in Healing.   It was an interesting day for me, a homebody happy in sweats or jeans.  Stableboy and I had to dress up, he even wore a tie!  *gasp*.  Too bad we didnt' get a photo of it for proof!

 Held in the Behavioral Health Building, it was to help those in need of their special sort of services.   A woman gave a short talk, which I found to be extremely moving, about her son, about being his mom and what that center did to help them.   

 Miss South Dakota also spoke, as she had been a patient there once.   She spoke of how the stigma of using services of such a place was ok, nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed of.   I heard a lot of that sort of talk that evening, and I couldn't agree more.   

The evening also had food, oh my, the food!   They called them hors d'oeuvres, but that seems a bit of a loose term for such a nice feast.   Stableboy was especially fond of the nice girls who kept coming by our table with trays of meat!   And the dessert table was so very pretty....

I donated an 18x24 landscape I created just for the event.   The center deals often with loss, something I know far too much about, so I did this as a sort of personal art therapy.   My piece was done for my Cheyenne, whom I lost almost 3 years ago.   Titled In Her Honor, its a portrait of her of sorts, as it exemplifies who she was...sunshine, flowers, nature and beauty.

I am happy and honored that it went extremely well, a very nice man bought it for his newly remodeled room.  We had a bit of a chat, and I walked away feeling very positive about the whole thing. 

That's a wrap!

Ebay can be a source for low cost pastels.   I bought this little set well over a year ago and haven't used them much at all, due to that irritating wrapper.  

So I put on a movie and went about stripping them.   Using a razor blade, I sliced the wrapper enough to peel it off.   These pastels are pretty old, this brand now is a larger sized stick, and this set probably has been banged around some.   Due to this, when the wrapper came off, some of the sticks crumbled. 

 As you can see in the first photo, I put the bits into piles of like-colors, then I crushed them up, added distilled water, and made new, whole pastels.   I added other pieces to change the color as well.   Then formed them into shapes I like and let dry.  

Now this set is fully usable, and after all this time, its almost like having a new set!   Although not original to the set, it came to me in this sweet little wooden box, which I will more than likely make into a pochade box at another time. 

A-sketching I will go

I know I should sketch more, and have no real excuse why I don't.   When I do, its a wonderful experience, whether it was 5 minutes or 50.   I especially like sketching outside.   So when I found I had a bit of time yesterday, I took my super cool journal book and sketch kit to town with the idea to head to the local public lake area.

Its been to icy and/or muddy to walk at home, so Arty and I really enjoyed the cleared off roadway to get in a brisk walk. 

 Late in the day, we were treated to a sunset, altho it didn't sport wild  colors, the serenity of it was awesome.    






 After the walk, I found this little spot, with a log to sit on, for a little sketch.    Arty stood watch so I could lose myself in my journal book.








 This little journal book is pretty cool, with the leather cover, and stitched in pages.   I've not used it yet tho, even having owned it for a couple years.  It was a gift from a friend, and I guess I avoided it because I didn't want to 'ruin it'.  Sound familiar?   I bet so!   But, she gave it to me to use, and its so cool I just can't let it collect dust, I want to use it!    It currently has lined pages, but since I dont' write much, I am using it for sketching.   The lines are handy tho, as I am liking to have a place to write a few words about the sketch or the day.


I knew I didn't have much time before it was too dark, so I opted for walnut ink and pen.   Quick and simple was all I was after.   

Its not a masterpiece by any means, but so what?  I enjoyed it, this sort of thing is more about the experience than the product, made even better since I got to use my super cool journal book.    And it was a very sweet experience!   

Tax Time.

Yup, its that time of year again.   I doubt there is a single one of you out there that rejoice over this!   But I have a couple tips that might make it a bit easier for you.

First, its the very start of the year, get a plan started today!   I use an accordion folder, with a space for each month, to contain my receipts and statements.   This alone is a huge upgrade from the box or manila envelope I used to use.  

I am now keeping all my part of the white/yellow statements in the book--then only removing them at this time of year, so I start fresh each January.   All the papers from this year go into a big envelope marked with the year and filed away.  Less get lost this way.

 In years past, I have found these statements with things like "to pay later".  um, did they get paid?  to whom?  when??   So I make sure my statements have all the information on them even if I think I'll remember later.  I won't. 

I made my own artwork statements, so when finished with a commission or framing job, I staple a photo of the work to the statement, with as many details as possible--I can't tell you how many times someone came back to me 10 years or more later, and want to match what they have.   Details, I need details!   These go into the alphabetized files in the cabinet.  

I print out receipts as I purchase online, and check it against my online accounts.   

Altho I still do not possess fine accounting skills, I'm getting better each year, and its getting easier with just these few tips.   

And as a reward for doing such icky work, I went for a ride, dashing thru the snow and all!

and since Arty the Studio Dog was so patient in waiting for me to do all this boring work instead of a nonstop game of fetch, he got to come along too!

Changes

This time of year, lots of people are thinking of what changes they want to see in the coming new year.   I just don't put a lot of stock in resolutions, but I have made some changes, to my studio!
My dear Stableboy built me a wall, where some very ugly curtains once hung, to separate the storage room of our home, from my painting area. 

I used closet doors to keep as much space as possible in both rooms, and used branches for handles as I like natural elements. 

I painted it a cream color as I wanted to keep it fairly neutral but warm, so not to confuse my color choices since this wall is directly behind my easel.   Trim is all dove grey.

  I put a picture rail up to the left of the doors, as I need a place to leave works to 'simmer' a while before I am sure its done.

And for fun, I used a vintage enamel pot as a pendant light shade over my seating areas, so I can read all my art books!

I love this change, and am itching to get back to the easel, bring on 2016!