Ruddy Wheat

"Ruddy Wheat"
4" x 5"
Pastel on sanded paper
The field of wheat had taken on the complexion of a roasted chicken, or a marshmallow on a stick before it bursts into flame. I knew it would not be waving in this field the next week when I drove past.

It was fun to depict the different areas of colour in the field on this small painting. Nearly as fun as making the thin line of fence with my stick of pastel. I love this crazy medium.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Straight From The Heart

"Straight From The Heart"
6" x 6"
Ink on paper 
I used mostly straight lines in my heart this week. I also used an ink pen with graphite for shadows. The problem with ink is there's no fixing a wiggle, or a momentary lapse of memory when using permanent black on pristine paper. So here's my offering, in keeping with my Saturday heart gig. 

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Icy

"Icy"
9.5" x 6.5"
Pastel on sanded paper



















It's cold where I live, but not this cold, nor is it this barren. There's ice on the puddles, but they're not this expansive, nor this deep. Snow has fallen, but it won't still be here come spring. I'm thankful to live where it's appropriately wintery — not outrageous.  

The way I first finished this painting was to perfectly reflect the mountains in water with dry rocks on the shore of a body of water. It was boring. I was ready to fling it into the trash when a voice said, "Keep the mountains, blur the rest."  I did that and instead of tossing this sheet of watercolor paper, which is what I paint on, I'm pleased with its frigid iciness. 

Carol

Colorado Moose Calf

"Colorado Moose Calf"
7" x 8.5"
Pastel on sanded paper
We had driven for two days without seeing any wildlife, then critters began appearing out of nowhere, or maybe we finally acclimated to our surroundings and could see the forest for the trees.  

This calf was on one side of the meandering stream and the cow was on the other.  Thankfully, I was not between them when the opportunity to photograph them came.

Carol

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Rock Pile

"Rock Pile"
4.5" x 5"
Pastel on sanded paper
The sky, trees, rocks and weeds intrigue me when I visit my friends in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.  The shapes and colors are so different from what we see here on the suburban prairie. 

 As I have mentioned before, I am repainting some of the subject matter I've painted in oil and acrylic in pastel. I find it very satisfying.

Carol

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Prickly II

"Prickly II"
6" x 8"
Pastel on sanded paper



















In the desert building of the Chicago Botanic Gardens are some nifty cacti. Well, for a midwestern gal, they're pretty impressive. And I'm privy to them in a greenhouse setting, not out in the wild where I'd LOVE to see them, photograph and study them. This was fun to do, as it was my own photo, but I'd love to see them growing naturally.  

 My experience is that the magenta and orange pastels photograph much differently than the greens and yellows as seen on the cacti. The background is intense, but not quite the way it appears here. It is about four layers of my scribbly marks, not a solid mass at all.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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You Gotta Have Heart

"You Gotta Have Heart"
6" x 6"
Graphite on paper
In keeping with my other two Zentangle drawings, here is another heart. I've used different patterns to fill in the same basic shape. I have nothing in mind when I begin, except that it will be drawn in a square format, a heart and done in a soft graphite pencil so I can smear shadows where I want them. 

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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