Juno Beach Ocean, 3:00 PM, December 1, 2009

This drawing was prepared using the layered rub and blend technique that most pastel artists use. It is totally different from my usual mark making technique. Ordinarily I do not allow myself to rub, blend or smear. However, this time I am teaching a course that surveys pastel history and technique. The logical place to start was the standard/norm as opposed to myself. So, I built the layers gradually starting with a light layer of medium color, and I took photographs through the total process so I can make a PowerPoint presentation now that the drawing is complete.

The work went much faster than it normally does, so I'm tempted to do more drawings by rubbing smearing and blending. I couldn't help but make some individual marks at the end of the process in order to create more detail. The texture (tooth) of the paper creates a similar look to the usual work, though the color is a bit more naked/grating than the more subtle gradations created when the pastel marks mix together without rubbing. Also, the final product doesn't have as hyper-realistic an appearance as I normally obtain.

Twelve Koi And One Butterfly

This is the second pastel in the series, KOI, and it is 30 inches by 44 inches. There are four digital photographs worked together in order to create the image. I’ve taken many photographs of Koi at Butterfly World near Fort Lauderdale, Florida during the past 3 years, and I plan to go back again this year. Not only are the Koi pond and waterfall fantastic, but the butterflies, parrots, and bromeliads are incredible as well. My partner and I have taken just about everyone who has come to visit us to Butterfly World, but our friend Jane was the most appreciative. She said that the hundreds of butterflies, flying free in the jungle-like habitat made her feel as though she had achieved nirvana.

The drawing “Twelve Koi and One Butterfly” took a month to complete because both the pastel, and my need to create an image that is photo-like despite the technique of making thousands of individual marks conspire to slow the process. Sometimes I wish I could force myself to work in a looser manner in order to finish more of these painterly pastels. However, I doubt I’d get the same satisfaction out of extremely abstracted Koi that I get out of these images. Besides, I’ve played with the distortions the water creates, which brings me to the following question. Is it possible for anyone but me to find all twelve Koi in the drawing?

Koi Fish Pastel Painting

Fort Miles

New Work Spring 2009

Look at Light Moods Photography Website for great photographs of Florida Ocean and Marshes.

Ocean and Marsh

Ocean and Marsh

One day this past March the Atlantic Ocean at Juno Beach glowed like the Caribbean Sea, electric blues seemingly lit from within. There was no wind, and the ocean was crystal clear with gentle rollers, The water was extremely warm for that time of year, upper seventies. I walked and waded through the gentle surf for miles out past the exposed ancient reef and past some of the mansions on the stretch of beach that ultimately becomes Singer Island. I felt transported by the weather and magnificent colors, totally at peace with myself, the world and the universe/God. That just doesn’t happen to me. I’m not one of those who gets to speak with God when he prays, as President Bush claims he does in his own religious practice. So that day was extremely important in my spiritual life, and I’ve tried to invest my feelings about the day in this drawing titled “The perfect Day.”

The second drawing is one of the series of small drawings I’m making of the saltwater marshes here in Delaware. I’m working small, and fast, with broader strokes of the pastels in order to complete the drawing during one session. I am still not allowing myself the luxury of rubbing and blending the colors together except as the colors smear together when I stroke a pastel back and forth. I’m pleased with the intensity of the color in this drawing, and I look forward to tracking the changes in the flora of the marshes as the season advances.