From Above 11 1/2X11 1/2 Acrylic on Watercolor Paper SOLD

I have no idea what kind of a flower this is.   I think it's THAT kind.  It was fun and distracting to do this.  enjoyed it.

The sun is shining and we are happy again.

Bente

Light 10X10 Mixed Media on Watercolor paper  $100

This painting is done on watercolor paper that was covered in gesso.  From there I added acrylic paint and then covered with Golden's pastel ground. which allowed me to put pastels on this surface.  I also scribbled some acrylic on top of the pastel which you can see on the detail below.

Travel Sketch 9X12 Watercolor and Pastel

This sketch was done on paper treated with pumice and acrylic.
One of the challenges when painting and travelling is not having the right color or material and then getting creative about how to achieve what you want.

I don't feel this one was successful and at the same time I know that my brain took in the info that I was seeking and it will help me down the road.

Bente

Travelling 12"X6" Watercolor on Paper

Victoria and I are at Whistler getting caught up.  Talking, comparing this and that, Victoria sleeping (jet lag) and I am sitting on the deck painting.  The light changes every 5 minutes.  The mountains have been fascinating.  Learned quite a few lessons.  One being that not all watercolor paper accepts pastels.  Maybe I will show that tomorrow.

Aside from the lake and mountains I have a view of the garden here.  There is a small area where there is one purple flower, a few daisies that look like there is pink in them and then a few other flowers that I couldn't tell you what they are.

My apologies for the quality of the photo.

Happy weekend everyone.

Bente

"Series 2" 10X10 Pastel on treated Panel  $100

This is really the start of a series I plan on doing in between other activities. I like this rendition in that it is warm and inviting.  The ground is gesso and pumice and makes for some interesting texture. I did draw on the panel first with charcoal and then painted over that with Golden acrylic ground for pastel which has pumice in it.  I think for the next one I should put twice as much pumice in it as there were areas that it was difficult to get the pastel to stick.

I am heading out to Whistler for a couple of days so we will see what happens with that.

CIAO

"Series 1" 10"x10" Pastel on board  $100

I am told there is a lot of value in working in a series.  This first one is fairly traditional. It is from a park not far from home.  When I first started plein air painting I was at this park early in the morning painting as the Canada Geese were waking up.  They actually move, en mass as the shade moves.  Almost like zombies.

I will work on the series in between whatever else I am working on.  My hope in doing this is to find a simplicity that leads to abstraction.  It will give me an opportunity to try many different techniques and color schemes.

Bente

 

Another Story to Tell

I have many stories to tell of painting outdoors.  They vary from being butted by a goat or having my whole easel knocked over by the wind.  This story is a new one.

There I am in Manning Park looking at the trees and stream as posted below.

 

I have my easel set up and watercolors and pastels all laid out on the picnic table.  What intrigued me about this scene was the small patch of dead trees shown middle left.  So I started with a very quick watercolor sketch in my sketchbook.  I just wanted to see if the general composition would work.  Everything is green, green, green. I was trying to figure out what to do about that.  The first sketch is below.

 

Then I thought I would start the pastel painting on treated pastel paper.  I started with a watercolor background and put in the dark pine trees in a Viridian type green.  I took a big brush and swept some of the dark green around.  I had also put in the patch of blue sky and white clouds which don't show in this photo.

 

Then there was a definite change in plans as shown below. There was at least 1/2 an inch of rain in about 5 minutes.

 

With the mad scramble to get out of the rain there was water all over the painting, sand all over me and the painting from the back splash.  Truly a mess all around.

The end result was the first photo.  I took some bright color representing the happenings of the day and called it another story to tell.

Oh the joys of being an artist!  Happy Painting, Bente

NO DP

Poppies 8x10 Pastel on treated pastel board $40

Poppy Grouping 8X10 Pastel on Pastel Board treated with pastel ground  $40

I thought I would try doing a few small pastels to try my hand on doing some flowers. I treated the pastel board with Golden Pastel Ground.  I think more pumice would make this process easier.  I enjoyed the color scheme and the challenge of making a red flower without making it too pink to show the value difference.

Energy 16X20 Pastel on Pastel board that is treated with Pastel ground

I am playing with different materials to see what might be a good fit for me.  I had
some 16X20 pastel boards that I treated with pastel ground and then painted over
with acrylic.  The pumice in the ground could still be felt through the acrylic paint.
Some of the painted area is quite raised and I could wiped the pastel off of the acrylic
and get through to the bright turquoise blue acrylic paint.

The sun is shining here.  I hope you have a great weekend.

Bente

Storm Clouds 9X9 Acrylic and Pastel on Paper  $75

What I did here was I took a painting that wasn't finished that I really like the "feel" of
design wise and painted a coat of pastel ground over the existing acrylic.  So there would
be a gesso ground, a layer of acrylic and then a layer of pastel ground prior to me
adding the pastel.  There is a fair amount of texture from the painting underneath which
created some interesting design elements when it came to adding the pastel. You can't see
that in this photo but you would be able to see it if you bought it!

I think I will continue on this vein for a while.  It allows me to work on completing a
painting where I had become uncertain.  It also allows me some freedom to do a
painting where a lot of the work part of it has already been done.  Like the others, some
will work and some won't.

Let me know what you think.

cheers

Bente

 

At The Fair 14X18 Pastel on Paper $252

I painted this one at the Canada Festival yesterday.  The day started out pouring with rain but we were under cover in a large tent.  I wanted a tent with walls so I was in a back corner (there is always a lesson to be learned in what we ask for.) I had planned on doing this painting while there so I knew it wouldn't be time wasted.  I have included a photo of a kleenex box that I particularly like.  I had looked at the box prior to leaving and thought it would be fun to do a heron in that color scheme. I think it was an exercise worth doing and I will do it again.

Happy Canada Day and 4th of July!

Bente