Blue Flag Iris Abstract, 10 x 10 x 1 inches oil pastels on canvas, unframed.

Spring Garden Mix, 18H x 24 inches oil pastels on 80 lb acid free premium. Framed size 27H x 33 inches.

Blossomania, 12H x 16W inches oil pastels painted with oil blending and glazing medium on 80 lb acid free premium, white mat

I’ve been admiring the round masses clumped on the Plum tree branches in our neighbor’s back yard for a week or so now. Yesterday and today, pink swirls in the wind inspired this kooky poem

Petals are falling, the sky is blue

They cover everything, old and new

If I sit too long, I’ll be covered too!

Larger image shows the finished piece, 12H x 16W inches, which was cropped from the original size, left thumbnail, 18H x 24 inches. Blogging always reveals a different perspective. If I had not re-sized the original  in order to post, I might never have recognized that the cropped portion has a more balanced composition…benefits of blogging!

Celosia, work still in progress, 18H x 24W inches 0il pastels on 100% cotton paper

This piece was tucked away a month ago, planning to continue work in future with new eyes, so with nothing to lose, I jumped back in today and threw more color around. I splurged today and bought about 40 new oil sticks, the “Sennelier” brand. Wow, they are so intensely colorful and creamy-beautiful to work with! There is no contest as far as quality compared to any of the other brands I’ve been using, but they do have a lot of oil content which makes them muddy easily. Looks like it needs to be stored away again to re-work and refineanother day. I don’t like giving up on a piece until it feels absolutely done, or without a doubt done to death!

Left, March 22nd, 2013, Day 4 in progress

Reminiscent of retro sofa fabric, now that I see it on-screen! Usually leaving page space showing through to create light and brightness, this time I colored the entire page yellow before starting. Adding white did not help brighten areas much, but did muddle colors, helping some flowers recede. Much of the pure color as seen in the early versions has been covered up or removed, but will be re-added cautiously. The style has also gradually changed to more of a Representational/Impressionistic one. To finish, there will be more scrutiny, and fewer emotional responses before adding or removing anything else.

March 20th through 22nd; Days 1, 2, and 3

Cedar Branches Abstract, 18H x 24W inches oil pastels on 100% cotton paper, white mat.

…well, just a twist of waxed paper actually. The leaf-shaped cookie dough was laid gently over twisted pieces of waxed paper. After the cookies baked and cooled the waxed paper was removed, so they’re a little more interesting than flat cookies.  The Sugar Cookies recipe is the same as used for Culture Cookies, which is listed at the end of the article. While you’re munching on the cookies you bake, browse back to the top and read the article!

Zinnias, 18H x 24W inches graphite on paper.

Using an eraser just as much as the graphite, the composition is roughed in to fill the page. Smudging creates dark tones – some are removed with different sized erasers, and some areas are detailed. Initial plans were to create a drawing with about 4 inches of grey tones bleeding into a colorful central square to be drawn and painted with watercolor pencils, similar to Chrysanthemums, with borders more defined, but I like this one without colors. Plans always need to change according to what the results are dictating.

Deciduous Forest – Washington State USA – 12H x 16W inches watercolors on paper, sage green mat

Thumbnails below: 1. resist medium applied, dried and first paint application 2. peeling off the dried resist after painting dark hues of sap green 3. stage 02, after peeled off resist medium, before more paint 4. an idea occurred to use the pulled off rubber pieces as 3D effects in future paintings, probably best on canvas.
A while back, I had visitors attending a show of mine peel off the rubberized medium in the same fashion, revealing the flowers on “Flowering Shavingbrush Tree”.

Flamboyant Tree Flowers and Seed Pods – Chapala, Mexico –  9H x 12W inches oil pastels on paper, white mat

Work details: 1. applying resist medium 2. working with the challenge of a limited palette, watercolors were also dripped down the page. Tomball watercolor pen adds more details.

Birch Stand, 12H x 16W inches watercolors on 120 lb cold pressed 100% cotton paper. Framed size 22H x 26W inches.