Coral Rose

"Coral Rose"
12" x 9"
Oil on wrapped canvas






















I had photographed all of the woman's white roses when she invited me to come to her backyard to see her pride and joy. Sprawled against the backdrop of her painted stucco house grew a bush covered with outrageously beautiful coral roses. I shot one picture and my battery died. This was it. The only one I was able to document.  Sadly, she has since moved and I've not been invited through the gate to see if she took the coral rosebush with her. 

 Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Ornamental Grass

"Ornamental Grass"
5" x 5"
Pastel on gessoed panel
Ornamental grasses waved in front of the blue and red salvia at the Botanic Gardens that day in August last year. A gusty breeze kept tossing them into the shot, so I made sure to include them in this particular composition. 

I'm back to doing a few small pastels while I work on a large oil painting.

Also, I don't believe I mentioned that I'm participating in a "Thirty paintings in Thirty days" event on Leslie Saeta's website. Check it out if you're interested.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Tangled Up In Blue

"Tangled Up In Blue"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas
Miss Rose's rumpled interior indicated that she had unfurled her petals quickly, like an amateur stripper eager for her big reveal. By later in the day when she'd be wrinkle-free, the gorgeous blue of the sky would no longer be interested in tinting her outstretched petals. 

I'm in a Bob Dylan and rose kind of mood.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Stacked, Stem to Stern

"Stacked, Stem to Stern"
6" x 6"
Pastel on hardboard
I was given a pear ... a beautiful one whose blush originated at her stem and traveled across her plump belly, but dissipated by the time it got to her … stern. She was lovely, but not unique, so I sliced her into thirds, on the diagonal and stacked her in a way that she would be. 

It's pear season where I live — at least that's what Harry and David would have us believe.

Carol

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Pond at the Divide

"Pond at the Divide"
6'" x 6"
Pastel on  gessoed canvas panel
I revisited my photos from a trip to the Continental Divide, near Winter Park, Colorado in 2010 and felt the need to paint this familiar little pond again. I liked it as much in this medium as when I've painted it in oil. 

 I was a guest of Winter Park artist, Karen Vance, at Devil's Thumb Resort on that trip. I worked for Karen's father in his art studio back when Karen and I were each looking for new careers. She moved to Colorado, I stayed in Illinois.

Carol

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Fleshy Curves

"Fleshy Curves"
10" x 8"
Oil on wrapped canvas



















I tucked my pastels away and put my rose coloured glasses back on for this one. It had been a while since I slathered oily paint against the even grain of canvas.  My last rose was shades of grey.  The one before her was squiggled with the tips of my pastels. Tonight I wanted to inhale the fragrance of a live rose, feel her supple petals against my lips and enjoy the range of colours as her fleshy curves rounded in and out of the light. 

 I loved painting her.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Sweet Succulent

"Sweet Succulent"
5" x 5"
Pastel 
I found a photo I took of a succulent, you know those reddish ones with magenta and orange tones that make you shake your head in amazement, and decide it would be my next challenge for pastels.  I delighted in matching the colors and defining the edges in the appropriate hues, too.  

The originals of all of my paintings are so much more colorful than the camera picks up. The subtleties are lost here, but they exist. I've said it before, but it's particularly true in this one. 

Carol



Ten Shades of Grey

"Ten Shades of Grey"
6" x 6"
Pastel on sanded paper
I looked at my rose photos today without wearing my rose coloured glasses and chose this one to paint in every one of my ten shades of grey. Ten seemed enough, whatever would I do with, say… fifty?  

I'll be back to painting in oil in a day or so. I finally decided on the subject of a large canvas. It's unlike anything I've painted before, so I'm anticipating a few headaches, especially in the drawing.  Yikes. I must be anticipating time on my hands in the new year.

Carol

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Thaw

"Thaw"
!2" x 12"
Pastel on canvas panel
Remnants of earth poked through the moth-eaten blanket of snow when the temperature lolled above freezing for two consecutive days. 

This scene from near where I live was painted on a black canvas through which the weave and some of the black shone through. I actually forgot to apply clear gesso to the canvas, but I didn't notice any adverse differences until I realized the brush next to the gesso bottle was still pristine. Oops.  My experimentation continues.

Carol

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