Merry Christmas

Even though it is the day after, I feel it's only the beginning of celebrating the twelve days of Christmas to honor the birth of Jesus.

To me, it's sad to see the lights and decorations disappear so quickly after all the effort in preparing for this celebration.  It should go on until the Feast of the Magi who arrived to pay Him homage, and my lights will remain bright until then.  It's so depressing when taking down the tinsel and lights that warm the cold winter days, and being left with the bleak darkness of the coming winter weeks of hibernation.  I will have to keep myself occupied with my painting and cardmaking until the robins appear once more. 

I know it's been a while since I've added to this blog as it's been such a busy time with all the holidays arriving at the end of the year.  And, for me, it's such a chore to take photos or have something of interest to show on this blog.  But, perhaps now as I hibernate at home during these cold winter weeks, I'll find some time to visit with you.   So today I'll once again share with you some of my paintings of sunny landscapes to warm our winter hearts.

"Taos Mountainside" is a plein aire pastel painting made during a workshop in Taos, NM with Lorenzo Chavez, the noted western pastelist.  It brings fond memories of a beautiful October day on that mountainside.

 "Nature's Paintbox" is another pastel painting done from a photo of this beautiful desert sight in Bakersfield, CA and done as a gift to my sister, Lorraine, who lives in Pittsburgh, PA...my hometown.

"Cannes Sunset" was a pastel painting from a photo taken of this beautiful sight while on a Mediteranian cruise along the coast of Italy, Sicily, Spain and France, a most unforgettable trip.

Just seeing these paintings again makes me feel a bit warmer on this cold winter night with snowshowers outside.

I'll leave you now with these warm sights, until next time...and soon....so do come back!

Best wishes for the approaching new year.

~~Dolores~~

Paintings

If you've been looking for the next edition here, I'm finally getting around to it, and appreciate that you are visiting here again.

As I mentioned before, I've been busy during the day trying to get some paintings done to submit in upcoming shows, and evenings I try to get a few cards made for Operation Write Home.  But it's slow going as this has been a record hot summer in these parts, and seems to make me drag my feet, if you know what I mean.  However, I do want to share with you some good news.  I recently exhibited two paintings with our local art association in the Mary Condon Hodgson Gallery at the community college here, and learned that one of them SOLD! Here's a glimpse of it for you to see.   

Along the Riverbed, a 9x12 pastel.
This scene was painted from a reference photo given to me to use by my artist friend, Gail S., after her trip to Acadia National Park last fall.  The colors were so spectacular and were the only inspiration I needed.
Now if anyone is wondering just what is pastel, I'd like to explain that contrary to what many think, it is
NOT CHALK.  Pastels are a pure pigment hand shaped into sticks, from hard to soft,  for direct application to Canson paper, Wallis or hardboard sanded support that helps to hold many pastel  layers.  Pastels originated many years ago among the master painters and their works have endured over the years as well as any oil painting.  It is a very fragile medium  which  must be framed under glass when completed,  without any fixative as it tends to darken the colors.  It lost its popularity with the advent of newer mediums, but the past few years has found a resurgence among artists.   It is my preferred medium these days.
You can learn more about pastels from a blog by the  renowned pastelist,   Richard McKinley as well as in The Pastel Journal .
Below is the other painting I entered which wasn't sold but I'll show you my abstract side anyway.

Untitled, a 6x6 acrylic abstract. 
This was a fun painting that I did a year or so ago after taking a class with C.Edward Ramsburg, a genius in handling the paint and a great instructor.  I've had several of his sessions now, trying to get myself into this mode of painting to loosen up my realistic painting style. 

As easy as it may seem, it truly is not, and I know that many folks don't like abstracts because some of them are difficult to like or understand.   I had to call this "Untitled" because I'm not sure myself what I see in it other than the colorful shapes that appeared.  Maybe someone here can help me out by telling me what you see or think of it. 
Which brings to mind something I read by Dennis Dulton, a New Zealand philsopher, in his book "The Art Instinct" where he states:  "The most exquisite stuff is what we can't explain,  that's why we call it art."  Not that mine is exquisite, it's just different and unexplainable!  I've done many more since this one which I may share with you at another time.

Again, thank you for visiting and continuing to check on my progress here.

~Dolores