Smokestacks

"Smokestacks" Pastel 8" x 4"

Small abstract urban landscape in pastel.  Working with a very limited, neutral palette...the suggestion of smoke or maybe fog inspired the title.

The original artwork is available via auction at Daily Paintworks, matted to fit a standard 14" x 11" frame.  Just pop it in a frame and hang; easy-peasy!

Storefronts

"Storefronts" Pastel 8" x 4"

A small, abstracted urban landscape in pastel.  A non-objective start with some geometric shapes, it began to suggest buildings...

You may purchase the original artwork via Daily Paintworks auction.  Click to bid; starting at $6.  The piece is matted to a standard 14" x 11" for easy framing!

Red Fields

"Red Fields" Pastel 8" x 4"

Considering how difficult is is to accurately capture the reds and oranges in pieces like this and Abstract in Red and Orange, you'd think I'd move away from using those palettes...

This original abstract in pastel is available for purchase at My Etsy shop.  It is conveniently matted to fit a standard 14" x 11" frame: no fuss, no muss!

Patchwork II

"Patchwork II" Pastel 6" x 5"

Another small abstract in pastel.  A little more organic, perhaps, than the last Patchwork piece, and a subtler palette.  Starting to suggest trees, maybe something in the birch or poplar family, with the splashes of white...

This one-of-a-kind, original artwork is available for purchase at my Etsy shop. Thanks for looking!

Fields

"Fields" Pastel 6" x 4"

Small abstract landscape in pastel...thinking about farm fields seen either from a distance on the ground, or perhaps from an airplane.  Who doesn't love that?

This piece started out with a layer of reds, over which I added greens and blues...I like the areas where the red is still peeking through and sets off the compliments.

The original artwork is now available for purchase via my Etsy shop.

Meadow

"Meadow" Pastel

This piece has been lingering in a drawer for a while, one of my very first forays into abstract work, inspired by the colors I found in a pile of pastel dust sitting below my easel.  I sprayed a scrap of black pastel paper (Canson Mi-Tientes, to be exact), with fixative, then pressed it onto the pile of dust to make a sort of monoprint.  After tweaking some of the values and shapes, it became this abstract landscape.

Tree Line

"Tree Line" Charcoal and Pastel 5" x 3.5"

An abstracted landscape piece that began as a non-objective drawing...took some fussing and fighting to get this one to develop.  Very limited palette for this piece...

Mesa

"Mesa" Pastel 6" x 3"

A small abstract landscape in pastel.  This began as a non-objective piece with some random scribbles of charcoal, which I heavily sprayed with fixative to create a wash.  I developed the values a bit more, added some subtle olives, browns, and rusts, and discovered this landscape hiding in the work.

The surface is acid-free foam core board treated with pastel primer to give it some tooth.  I love the textures I get with homemade surfaces...well worth the extra prep time.

The original art is currently up for auction and can be yours for as little as $6!  Click to bid!

Lean-To

"Lean-To" Charcoal and Pastel 3" x 6"

It can be a bit of a challenge to come up with titles for abstract pieces sometimes.  This piece was starting to look a bit forest-y, but not quite...so I guess it started to suggest a primitive structure one might construct in a forest...?  It's mostly done in grays, but there is some subtle brown and sage green in there, too; each monitor is a bit different so hopefully you can see that bit of color in yours...

Geyser

"Geyser" Pastel 3" x 6"

A small abstract landscape in pastel, just sort of playing around with colors and the different results I got as I layered them together on my textured surface.  I like how the little bit of rust color peeks out from the olive areas.

Three Trees

"Three Trees" Pencil 7" x 4"

Something from the sketchbook, random scribbles becoming a misty landscape.

Dead Tree

"Dead Tree" Pastel, 7" x 14"

Deer In A Field

"Deer In A Field" pastel, 7.5" x 15"

Houses From La Belle Park

I used a new paper for this piece, which is a view of some houses from La Belle Park in Columbia Heights, MN.  It's Shizen Pastel Paper, which has a lovely deckle edge, but not much tooth...and it warps quite a bit when you use fixative.  I think I'll use it for colored pencil instead.

"Houses Seen From La Belle Park" pastel, 8.5" x 11"

Trees

Went way more abstract than usual with this one...

"Trees" 12" x 9", Pastel

Distant Pond

"Distant Pond" Pastel, 13.5" x 5.5"

Patch of Flowers

The reference photo for this piece was sort of a mish-mash of different views of a patch of pink flowers.  It's more of an abstract treatment of the the subject; I wanted to focus more on the rhythm of the forms than a true depiction of the scene.  It was pretty fun!

"Patch Of Flowers" Pastel 10" x 10"

Up Ahead

"Up Ahead" Pastel, 10" x 10"

Up Ahead: WIP

The start of my latest landscape, from a photo taken while walking my dogs:

Update: Some refinements made, now I think it's time for some fixative.  I'll go back and bump up the lightest areas, but I think it's close to finished...

Old Barn

"Old Barn"  Pastel, 12" x 9"

Update: This piece has sold to a collector in New Mexico.  (By collector I mean my good buddy that I've known since college...but a collection must start somewhere!)