Day 3

Alpenglow,  6x8",  oil on board

$100,  unframed,  free shipping

The town of Helena is situated so that most afternoons we are treated to a show of the all the surrounding mountains turning pink.  

Day 2

Montana City,  oil on board, 6 x 6"

$100,  unframed,  free shipping

 Day 2 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.  

20 % of Sales to Benefit Prickly Pear Land Trust

A current project of the Prickly Pear Land Trust is to create a greenway along Prickly Pear Creek from Montana City to the Helena Airport.  This is the view from Helena toward Montana City on a very cold afternoon.  The plume from the cement plant is illuminated by the afternoon sun.  The Elkhorn Mountains provide the backdrop.

30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

   To kick off 2015 I've signed up for the

    30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.

                                        Looking East, 6 x 6", oil on board
                                        $100, unframed, shipping included

                                                                    

                                   
         Over 1200 artists have joined so far. The main purpose is simply to commit to painting every day and have fun doing it.  While I usually do paint every day I don't necessarily do it with a firm focus to produce something I would post online for other eyes to see.  So this ups the ante a bit more.  I'm already behind by two days because I was busy preparing for  the my show at the Lewis and Clark Library that hangs through February, so my 30 days will end February 2nd.

       My intention is to paint 30 small landscapes of the Helena area.  Each will be priced at $100 or auctioned off.

       As a landscape painter I am passionate about preserving the natural landscape. So, for this 30 day challenge I am partnering with Prickly Pear Land Trust here in Helena and will donate 20% of my sales to them.  This deal also applies to any of my Montana paintings that are now on exhibit at the Lewis and Clark Library.  
                          Opening reception is Tuesday, Jan 6th, 6-7pm           
                                 Please come by and say hello!


       
     
     

Making Pastel Sticks

I've been packing for days for my move to Montana.

So I needed a little fun.

While packing I came across the little containers that I pour the dust into that collects at the bottom of my painting.  There were about 9 little tins of various shades of grey.

It was time to turn them into pastel sticks.

All you need is a few tablespoons of pastel dust from your painting process. - the stuff that accumulates at the bottom of your paper

 (or on your shoes if you forgot to put a catcher under it.)

I keep mine in these nifty little containers with see-through lids so I can see what the color is in that tin.

Put the pastel dust in a bowl and stir with a spoon, crushing the solid bits that are not dust yet.

Or you can use a mortar and pestle to grind it up evenly.

Then add about a teaspoon of distilled water and stir.

You want it to be barely wet.

Form it into a ball.  - use gloves for this step.

Then roll it out on a paper towel into a cylinder or chunk.

 Then let it dry.

The resulting sticks are great grayed tones. 

 I can't wait til they're dry to try them out!

                                      
                                      The cigar box that holds my dust collection.  

                                 Have you tried this?  How did they turn out for you?

A Nice Loose Start

 It was a treat recently to paint plein air with my friend Janet Palin out at Connary Cove, one of my favorite places on the island.  Wide meadows,  beaches with great rocks, and nobody there.  












Janet has a lovely loose style of drawing - loose loopy lines exploring her subject.










Here's a page from her sketchbook.

                
  and her ultra loose block in
                 



  






  I'm always trying to paint looser so it was great watching her.

        My  almost finished pastel that morning.
  
          Then we went and ate crab rolls

            and talked for hours.

Last Week's Pastel Workshop

A glorious stretch of weather last week allowed us to paint outside every day. 

 A few photos form the Starting Stronger Paintings workshop in Stonington, Maine.

                                           Sketching Thumbnails

 
                                         Lobster rolls and nap for lunch

 

                                         Painting the yellow house

Heading to California for a Month of Painting

Traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge

It was hard to leave Deer Isle in the height of summer but I could not turn down the opportunity to cat sit for  friends for a month at the Sea Ranch in California.



 I have wanted for a couple of years to spend time on the coast of California painting so their offer was an answered prayer.  

I am drawn to the coastal Oaks.

The foggy, foggy coastal range