Early Morning on Buck Pond

Early Morning on Buck Pond      9x12   SOLD

This studio piece was commissioned by a dear friend of mine for her mom.  Her mom had recently settled into an assisted living facility. My friend thought it would be nice for her mom to have an original piece of art depicting a favorite place of hers - "up along the ponds".  I am very familiar with the area, as it's one of my favorite places to paint.  In preparation, I took tons of reference photos and walked around the area looking for inspiration at different times of day. I also did 3 other studies before I sat down to do this final version. .

I think due to all of the prep work done ahead of time, this painting came together very smoothly.  I am very happy with the results and hope my friend's mom will enjoy the scene in her new home.

pastel, 9x12"  sold

Honeoye Lake Heat

"Honeoye Lake Heat" - 12"x 18"  pastel

One super hot day this summer, I found this beautiful little park at the northern end of Honeoye Lake in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate NY.  There is an absolutely spectacular view straight down the lake.  When I painted this in August, I knew I wanted to enhance the intensity of the color in the sky.  It was a hot, humid day with loads of haze and some of the color was lost. Today was the day to take care of that issue!  Punched up the color and now it's finished.

Pastel Demonstration

I was very inspired by Wednesday’s demo by Liz Haywood Sullivan.  So much so, that I immediately went to work painting.  I had wanted to paint all week anyway, but finding time is always a problem in my world.  Finding inspiration is not. Luckily, my granddaughter spent some time at the babysitter’s and with her grandfather, allowing me some uninterrupted time to complete this painting and to photograph it as I went.

First, I decided to reuse a piece of Wallis paper which I had painted on a few years ago, with less than mediocre results. 

I brushed it off, leaving a ghost image on it.

Using a sketch done from a photo I took last spring, I blocked in the basic shapes.

I laid down the darkest and lightest areas first.

Then, using alcohol and a brush, I liquefied the pastel in those areas, making large areas of solid color.

From there, I began to actually paint, putting down many light layers of pastel.

And after some tweaking, the finished product. 

"The Last of the Snow" 

12" x 18"

It felt wonderful to get something accomplished and I have to admit, I think it came out pretty well.

Fields of Green

 Sometimes I just can't get out to paint due to a lack of time.  So this time instead of just ruminating about it, I looked over a bunch of photos I'd taking during my daily travels to find some inspiration.  I did this little one based on several of those photos.  You can see the unfinished edges on this one.  Ordinarily, these are covered by the mat.  Just something a bit different.  SOLD

5"x7" currently unframed and unmatted

for more information about this painting, please click on

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ColetteSavage 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/112550073/original-pastel-landscape-painting

Clouds Over Canandaigua Lake

Clouds Over Canandaigua Lake - available 

This has been a tough summer for painting for me. Rainy, over-cast weather is not conducive to working in pastels. Even this particular day, which started out sunny, changed into one with tons of clouds and a very brisk wind blowing across the lake at me. I really loved the pattern of the cloud shadows across the hills in the distance, however.  And yes, the color of the water really was pale green!

Can be viewed at the Pat Rini Rohrer Gallery in Canandaigua, NY.

Size: 12"x18"

Smooth As Glass

This was painted along one of the lakes in Durand Eastman Park on an unusually warm day in early November. Because the hills surrounding the lake blocked the breeze, the water was completely still, reflecting the side of the hill which was in the sun. As the morning passed, the sun eventually burned off the haze which hung in the air. SOLD