Little Pioneer Girl

12" x 9" Pastel on Colorfix Paper

Utah reveres it's pioneers. Seems like most here have an ancestor or two who rode across the plains in a covered wagon - or walked, pulling a handcart. Mine didn't. My ancestors stayed in Pennsylvania. Instead, I traveled west on a Greyhound Bus.

Still, I benefit from the pioneer attitude and culture here. That attitude and culture continues to be vibrant and becomes even more diverse as time moves on. Now, new kinds of pioneers set out to explore new and different kinds of frontiers with optimism, enthusiasm, and faith. These kinds of pioneers are found not only among descendants of the early white settlers, but also among people of all races and nationalities who have come to this place, and among those whose ancestors were originally here.

The pastel sketch shown above was made a couple years or so ago at the weekly drawing session. The girl in this sketch is the same young woman who modeled for us recently, and was the subject of another post in this blog.

For more about drawing sessions, go to "Labels" on the side bar and click on "sketching" or "drawing."

Happy Thanksgiving!

Young Man in a Chapeau

12" x 9" Charcoal and Charcoal Pencil on Paper

Here's another recent sketch from the weekly drawing session. The model is the brother of the young woman in this sketch.

The commercially available sketchbooks with toned paper don't quite do it for me. An ordinary sketchbook with white paper toned by hand as needed works better. Before each sketch, the side of a stick of charcoal is rubbed all over the paper and then blended to a certain degree with a dry paper towel (obtained from the men's room at the drawing class). That way I can control how dark the tone will be. From the resulting mid-tone darks are built up with charcoal pencil, and lights are made by lifting charcoal off the paper with a kneaded eraser. "White charcoal" might then be used for the brightest highlights.

For more about drawing sessions, go to "Labels" on the side bar and click on "sketching" or "drawing."

Group Show Opening in Salt Lake City Tomorrow

A new group show opens tomorrow night (Friday, Nov. 15) at Evergreen Gallery in Salt Lake City. The exhibit includes eight of my most recent paintings, which were all done "en plein air" and feature local rural and alpine landscapes. I'm excited to be a part of this show! There will be quite a variety of wonderful artwork for sale from four painters and one potter. It's free to visit, so come enjoy the show, and maybe pick up a gift or two for the holidays or just for yourself! Evergreen Gallery is located at 3295 South, 2000 East in Salt Lake City, Utah. For more information, click on the flyer shown above, or on any of the links in the text, including this one.

Cottonwood and Willow Gold

11" x 14"  Oil on Panel

Seasons slide one into another, and time has carried us into another autumn. The fall season  is so brief; there isn't time enough for diving into and limning all the brilliant displays of scarlet and gold. All I can do is go about here and there sampling autumn's brilliance. The rows of willows along ranch roads in Heber Valley provide the first sample shown in this post. These trees have been the subjects for paintings made in summer, fall and winter.

10" x 8" Oil on Panel

The second image is of a cottonwood against a backdrop of the Wasatch Mountains. The leaves have turned, and the mountains are dusted with an early autumn snow. These cottonwoods have also been the subjects of several sketches and paintings made in all seasons. I hope they'll continue to be.

Yesterday's Sketch - Navajo Girl

14" x 11" Charcoal on Toned Paper

Yesterday evening's model for the weekly drawing session was a Navajo girl who's parents are from New Mexico. She wore a traditionally styled black and red dress, leather moccasins and leggings, and some turquoise and silver jewelry. She was an excellent model.

For more about drawing sessions, go to "Labels" on the side bar and click on "sketching" or "drawing."

Great Things Small Packages 2013

Friday, November the first, a new show is opening at the Terra Nova Gallery in Provo, Utah. It's their annual "Great Things Small Packages" show. The show is free and always has a variety of wonderful small works for sale by local artists. I'm happy to once again have a couple pieces in the show - two of the very first paintings out of my new little 5" x 7" pochade box! The day before the opening, I visited Terra Nova and got a sneak preview of the show as the owners worked to get it ready for the monthly "Gallery Stroll." That's where I got these photos of my two paintings, hung and almost ready for the show's opening on Friday.

"Great Things Small Packages 2013" opens November 1st at 6:00 PM and runs through November and December. Terra Nova Gallery is located at 41 West, 300 North in Provo, Utah. Be sure to check with the gallery for their hours, and to find out about upcoming events! For more information, click on their logo below:

A Sketch for Halloween

12" x 9" Charcoal on Paper

Since the usual Thursday evening drawing session is the same day as Halloween this week, there's no class tomorrow. I guess everyone wants to go trick-or-treating or something. Because of that, we had our Halloween model pose for us last week. The model wore a gold-trimmed violet gown with a lace-up bodice, and matching choker with large pointed "wings." Very halloweeny. It was my idea to change from the traditional lighting to a low angled light, illuminating the model from below. I thought that might look a little more "spooky." 

Happy Halloween!

For more about drawing sessions, go to "Labels" on the side bar and click on "sketching" or "drawing."