New pastels

Quiet Marsh

15 x 11 soft pastls on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

I was so excited when the honk came announcing the arrival of the mail carrier with my new set of Sennelier landscape half sticks. I chose this set because of the wonderful greys and the lights that I seem to be lacking. The box seemed to be carefully packed, but when I lifted the lid, I was very disappointed. At least 20 of the pastels were cracked, broken, or crumbled. I called and left a message with the place of purchase. Apparently they were not carefully enough packed to make it across the ocean. I know that I can crush each stick, add distilled water, and recreate the shape, but that seems a lot of work when I paid good money already. Hopefully, the place of purchase will find a better solution.

On a more positive note, I have spent a little time taking stock of all the positive things that have happened this year for me and my artistic endeavors. I have sold some paintings, been accepted into a show, then a gallery (for a two month show with my husband), painted almost every day for six months, and started this blog. My plans for 2008 include continuing to be faithful to the painting and blogging, continuing to increase my skills, and work on marketing my paintings.

Today's painting is of a small hidden marsh at Kualoa Beach Park. You have to walk to the east end of the park and climb a small wall to see it. I thought it was quite enchanting.

When Sugar Was King

The Old Sugar Mill

11 x 15 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

I painted this old sugar mill last summer. The sketch was done en plein air, but I did the painting in the studio. I was out on the North Shore of Hawaii with my painting friend when we discovered a wonderful park in Haleiwa. The park is on the water at the west end of town. You can look back toward Haleiwa to the east, out across the vast Pacific to the north, or west toward the mountains. I had always wanted to paint this place, but hadn't seen it from this vantage until that wonderful day. On other days, my friend and I have driven all over the area around the mill taking photos of plantation style houses and buildings. Someday, I will have to get those out to paint.

We just took down our show and this painting is hanging in the living room. I thought it would be fun to share.

Painting Trees

Royal Poinciana

7 x 10 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

We have some great flowering trees in Hawaii. There are golden shower trees, plumeria trees, African tulip trees, and the Royal Poinciana. This list is not complete, but these are the most prominent. My husband took some great photos of a large grouping of these trees, so I thought I would try a very stylized approach to doing a tree portrait. The trunks of the trees are very clunky and hard to represent accurately and believably. When they are in full bloom, there is very little green. Next time I paint this tree, I will put it more in context with its surroundings.

Painting in the Studio

Morning

7 x 10 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

I have to admit that I am basically an indoor person. I prefer the comforts of my studio to fighting the wind, bugs, and occasional rain of the great outdoors. I am, however, getting ready for a great outdoor adventure with my husband as we make our studio portable, and hit the road next summer to paint across America. I have done some pleine air here in the islands, and was rained out only one time. I know the light here and the colors of the water on the different sides of the islands. I also know that no one makes the right greens for this place. I am excited about discovering the way the light glints off the Puget Sound at sunset, or the limestone cliffs in the southwest in the morning. I want to go back to Glacier Park and find that great stream with the old wood bridge where I know I can set my easel for a great painting. I look forward to fields of sunflowers, old barns, snow covered peaks reflected in quiet lakes, rushing rivers, and so much more.

In the meantime, I will paint mostly in my studio, with my running water, full sets of pastels, and windows I can open and shut at will, thereby controlling the climate. Today's painting is from a very old photograph. I don't even remember where this marsh is. Perhaps I will rediscover it as Tom and I explore America.

Color Theory - Analogous Colors

Clapper Bridge - England

7 x 10 soft pastels on Wallis

Miki Willa

Today, I decided to work with seven analogous colors. I started with orange and moved around the color wheel to blue violet. I was able to achieve the "whites" by using a very pale yellow. The greens range from yellow green to blue green. The values on the river don't show up well in the photo, except in the bridge shadow. I did an underpainting using pastels and turpenoid (with the blue label). I thought that since I was working with color, I would also do an underpainting using complementary colors to what I was going to use for the painting. I am still trying to get comfortable with this technique.

This is another reference photo from Wetcanvas! This one is by marie d. I really liked the old bridge made with stone slabs across the top. The photo looks like it was taken on a lightly overcast day. The sky and water were rather dull, but there were distinct shadows. I tried to retain that feeling in the painting.

Color Theory - Split Compliments

English Bridge

11 x 15 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

When I first started taking classes from Helen Iaea, she had me create a small color wheel. To go with the wheel, she gave me many other small circles with areas to cut out. They were each labeled with a different color scheme. I got them out the other day, and decided I would try do do some paintings in the different color schemes. Today's painting is a split compliment scheme using mostly red, yellow, and green. I did throw in the blue for the stream because I liked the way it looked.

I found the reference for this photo at Wetcanvas! in the image gallery. It was posted by impshlady. I normally paint from my own photos, or en pleine air, but I have been feeling a need to paint non-island scenes lately. I am grateful to the artists at WC who have generously shared their photos for the rest of us.

Winter Evergreens and Snow

Evergreen

5 x 7 soft pastels on D. Rowney paper

Miki Willa

I woke up wanting to paint a snow scene today. I was inspired by this post by Michael Chesley Johnson. Follow the link to his video demonstration to see how he handles snow using oils. I was toying with the idea of adding ornaments and a star at the top, but decided to let it rest before making a final decision.

Other Artists Blogs

Ohia Blossom

Christmas preparations are upon me, so I am not sure I will be able to paint much in the next two or three days. I thought I would take the time to send you on to three of my favorite art blogs. First is Painting My World by Karen Margulis. Karen is a pastel artist who does great landscapes and animals. Her marsh and beach scenes are very good, and she paints daily.

The second is Making a Mark written by Katherine Tyrrell. Katherine is a colored pencil artist and she shares her work occasionally on this site. Primarily, she researches and shares information about art, artists, and art blogging. Her daily entries are always informative, and often inspirational.

The third blog I have been enjoying lately is Pastels by Casey Klahn. Casey doesn't post every day, but it is worth subscribing to for his reviews of materials, insights into his art, and introductions to other artists.

White Plains Day

White Plains Day

12 x 15 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Pastel Board

Miki Willa

My husband took a photo at White Plains Beach on Oahu last August that I used for the reference. The clouds were so amazing that day. The clouds here are so interesting. I read somewhere that you should not try to paint strange clouds because no one would believe them. It also said that cloud forms do not have flat bottoms. They do here. In the painting, they are not as flat as they appear in this photo or the reference photo. I used what I learned about cool and warm colors to create more dynamic clouds.

End of Spring

End of Spring

11 x 9 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

Several years ago, I visited Nishiwaki, Japan. Nishiwaki is a small city located about an hour inland from Kobe. There was a park near the home where I stayed that boasted that it was the exact geographical center of Japan. Everywhere we visited in the city and the surrounding mountains was so beautiful. It was nearing the end of spring and cherry blossom time. One Saturday morning, my host drove us up into the mountains to a very old Buddhist temple. Once parked, we grabbed bamboo walking sticks thoughtfully provided by the monks. We climbed steadily up a steep winding path. Around one bend, we were greeted by a grove of very large greenish blue bamboo. Around another, there was a complex of buildings that housed the monks and some worship areas. Further up the path, we came to a very ancient temple. I did not take enough photos of it, but I did get one or two I liked. This painting is from one of those photos. The temple felt ancient, but was in excellent condition. This building is no longer used, but I got the feeling it was very lovingly cared for.

Still Life with Fountains - cool

Still Life with Fountains - cool

9 x 7 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

This was much harder than I thought it would be. I was trying to work with values rather than color, while staying with the cooler colors as I see them. The wood was done with cooler colors than the other one, but they look so warm compared to the rest of the colors. Some of the color pinks show peachy next to cooler purples. This has been a very interesting exercise during which I learned the value of using both cools and warms in a painting. Color temperature can help set a mood if judiciously and thoughtfully placed. I don't think I will be doing this still life again any time soon, but it was a good learning tool.

Still Life Fountains - Warm

Still Life Fountains - Warm

9 x 7 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

I learned many things about myself doing this painting. The most important is that I am more of a cool color person. I think each of the colors I used is yummy as a small part of a mixed temperature piece. I had a hard time resisting the colors in my pallet I think of as cool colors. I did use some in the cast shadows, when I remembered to put them in. There was not a strong light source showing in the reference photo, so I had to select one. I noticed when I looked at the photo that I totally forgot them on the left two pots. I will fix that on the cool color painting. I also want to drive the center piece more into the background. As it is now, my eye is drawn to it as soon as it gets past the green. I decided to leave the green as it was and add some of it into one of the pots. I am not sure it really works, but I still like the green. I also need to work on making the fountains look more like water is coming down the sides from the bubbling top. That will be a real learning experience. I will have to do some research on how that can be done. tomorrow, I am going to work on the cool color painting from the same reference photo. I already know some value adjustments I am going to make so I can develop a clear focal area. I think I will also make the front right pot into a working fountain. I guess tomorrow will tell. What an interesting exercise along the journey.

Warm Still Life

Still Life with Fountains

detail of WIP

Miki Willa

Some days, it is really difficult to get in enough painting time in the morning. I left home at my usual early hour, but the traffic was a bit worse than usual so I got to work later. By the time I got set up to paint, I only had 20 minutes left before our staff Christmas celebration. Fortunately, I did the sketch for one of the paintings yesterday. I should not have taken the time to do the second one before I started painting. When I finally started, I decided to work one element at a time. I don't usually do this, but I am glad this time because I have something to show.

I tried to stick with only warm colors, but sometimes I found I needed something a bit cooler. The lavender I used in a couple of places was the warmest one I found in my pallet. I love the green on the wall. I think this may have been the reason I selected this photo. I does need to be toned down, but it was such fun to paint. I will wait until I have finished the whole painting before I go back to it. I may be able to work a bit of it in somewhere else and see what that does. The other challenge I am finding is creating the rustic look in some of the pieces. I am enjoying working with colors I don't often use. There is a luscious peach in my Great American set I have never used before. It may become one of my new favorites.

Cool or warm colors?

I decided that my next challenge would be color temperature. I hear the terms warm and cool color bandied about in workshops, classes, and in books and blogs. I thought it would be important for me to have a better understanding of what they were in order to further my painting skills. After doing some research, I have discovered that artists and color theorists alike don't agree on what they are, how important knowledge about them is, or whether or not there are hard and fast rules about them.

Do warm colors come forward and cool ones recede? Can a cool yellow be cooler than a warm blue? Does greying a color make it warmer or cooler? I thought I knew some of the answers, but after reading what is out there, I am no longer sure. I am going to try it anyway. This week, I will be painting the same still life in warms colors, as I see them, and cool colors, as I see them. I will also be experimenting with mixing warms and cools for effect in landscapes. I will let you know what I learn along the way.

The photo is of the still life I will do in the warms first, then the cools.

Small Delights

Small Delights
11 x 9 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix
Miki Willa

Another Big Island painting. On the way to Akaka Falls, I came around a bend in the path to discover this wonderful small waterfall. Akaka Falls is pretty spectacular in its drop and splash, but I really liked this small delight better.

Onomea Bay

Onomea Bay

7 x 9 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

Onomea Bay is one of the most beautiful places I saw on the Big Island in October. The day we went was overcast, but the setting was wonderful. This painting is from a composite of two photographs. I have thought it finished several times today, but I just noticed something else I want to fix. The low light colored bushy tree to the right of the palms doesn't read as tree in the photo. I will have to go back to the painting and take a look. It is a strange and unique tree, much like a smoke tree I have seen in the South. I am often tempted by these lush scenes and want to get all the colors and layers in. This may be too fussy in that way. I think this scene will be one of my learning scenes that I go back to as I learn more about composition. Perhaps doing some more pleine air will help me develop a better eye. I do think, however, that the

Kilohana Crater

Kilohana Crater

9 x 11 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

The Kilohana Crater is all that is left of Mt. Kilohana on Kaua'i. Kilohana is one of the newer of the extinct volcanoes on that island being between 3.65 and .65 million years old. You can't get there unless you are on a backroads tour of the island, but it is worth the very bumpy ride along old cane haul roads. During the gradual climb to the rim of the crater, you leave the cane fields to find a wide variety of interesting plants. It was all very green with occasional wild orchids dotting the sides of the road. Tall trees with very wide canopies could be seen dotting the slopes. The most amazing sight for me was when we rounded the last curve and came out on the crater rim. The bottom of the crater will a vast sea of purple. I have since learned that it is a highly invasive species, the malabar melastome, that has destroyed all the native growth at the bottom of the crater. The environmentalist in me wants to help destroy it, but the artist in me was very glad for the vision.

Hanalei Valley

Hanalei Valley

9 x 11 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

The Hanalei Valley is one of my favorite places in the islands. Located on Kauai near the north shore town of Hanalei, this is a very fertile place that has a long history of farming. This view is from the overlook at the top of the ridge before you follow the highway down to cross the first of the one-lane bridges into Hanalei. If you turn left just past the bridge, you can follow the river past rice patches interspersed with taro patches, or lo'i. The valley has a long and interesting history. It is worth a visit to the Horiguchi Rice Mill, the second building on the right in the painting, to learn about this rich history. Much of the taro for the islands comes from this place.

I also wanted to show off my new portable morning studio. It is a far cry from the several boxes perching on my desk and surrounding surfaces. Bless my wonderful husband for this wonderful gift.

Win some, lose some

Lily Pond

4 x 6 colored pencils on sanded paper

Miki Willa

I know that I said I was going back to pastels, and I tried to this morning. Unfortunately, it was not a good painting day. Time and real life got in the way. I feel certain I will be back to it tomorrow. I did start a painting on my new Heilman box and easel that Tom got me for my birthday. It made quite an improvement in my morning studio. I will finish that painting tomorrow. In the mean time, I thought I would give colored pencils one more try on a sanded surface. I like the look of this one better, but I really don't like the composition. As I said, you win some and you lose some.

In praise of colored pencil artists

sketch for composition

colored pencils on Strathmore sketch paper

Miki Willa

I spent some time looking at the August 2007 CPSA winners this morning, and was in awe of all that talent. It made me go hunt down my old colored pencil set. I had a photo I wanted to sketch for composition before I did it in pastels. I decided to use my colored pencils. By the time I was finished, I was even more impressed with real colored pencil artists. Even in the best circumstances - all the colors you want/need, a good pencil sharpener - it takes patience and perseverance to create a good colored pencil drawing. I learned a lot about the composition I will use for the pastel painting, as well as learning about my lack of patience. I must have had more patience when I was younger and loved using colored pencils. I think, for now at least, I will stick with my pastels. The setting for this drawing is an abandoned sugar and molasses mill on Kaua'i. I just loved the truck.

Small Beach Scene

Small Beach Scene

5 x 8 soft pastels/watercolour underpainting

cold pressed Strathmore watercolor paper

Miki Willa

Every once in a while I have to try something to remind myself of why I don't do this more often. I really don't like to work on watercolor paper with my pastels. I thought that if I did an underpainting, I wouldn't constantly fight the paper. I was wrong, again. Hopefully, I have learned my lesson. I really need some edges to define the sand spit in the distance. I think I will do this scene again on paper I like. I will consider this a practice sketch. I can see things in the composition I will change for the next one, although I like it (the composition) for the most part.

Simultaneous Contrast

A Rose by Any Other Name

7 x 7 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

Believe it or not, the rose is the same in both pictures. In the first one, I took the photo before I put in the light background. Before I took the second photo, I put on a light background because I thought it would work better. I am just amazed at the difference. The photos were taken under the same conditions. The colors of the rose appear totally different, but I can assure you I didn't touch the rose, only the background. The green in the leaves is even different.

Richard McKinley wrote a column here about why this happens. It is called Simultaneous contrast. It is the notion that every color, or value, will respond differently depending on what it is next to. While I have been exploring light values in my paintings, I can see how this works in creating shadows while still using lights. A darker light next to white becomes very dark if there are no other darks around. I am going to have to work to apply that to my landscapes where I do distant mountains or meadows.

In the pink

Pua nani

7 x 9 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

Plumeria blossoms come in a variety of colors. Most of them are cream with pale yellow highlights. They also come in pinks with orange and red centers. They have a very strong and sweet fragrance, and are a favorite for making lei. I thought these would be good for my light value work. Today, I really missed not having white in my collection of pastels. There are some edges I wanted more pure white, but I had to make due with my palest cream. Maybe I will break down and get a stick of white for special occasions.

Monstera

Monstera

7 x 10 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

The real flower is larger than the painting. We have these giant leaved plants that grow around tree trunks in the forests here. They are Monstera plants. I have seen them for years, but I had never seen a blossom. A couple of months ago, when I was on the Big Island, I was getting ready to go into Big Island Candies when I spotted this flower in the parking lot. The plant was growing up a light pole and this nearly two feet high blossom was sticking off to one side. When I was looking for something to paint during my study in light values, I came across my photo. My challenge was to turn form on the center part while keeping it as light as it needed to be, without using white. The photo just barely shows it. It works better on the real painting.

Value and Hue

White Hibiscus

7 x 10 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

There is so much to learn, and remember, about color as it applies to painting. I spent a little time doing some research today and discovered some new things, and refreshed my understanding on things I already knew. Here are just a few interesting tidbits from my journey.

Yellow is the first color the eye recognizes. This is important to remember in a painting. Using bright yellow away from the focal area can draw the eye away. Using it in a pattern that leads toward the focal area will bring the eye there. Judicious use is important because yellow is also the most fatiguing color in the spectrum. Statistics show that couples fight more in a yellow kitchen. Check this out at http://www.colormatters.com/optics.html.

Value was at the top of my research list today. As I see it, value has to do with the darkness or lightness of a hue (color). Value defines form and creates spacial illusion in paintings. If values are close, shapes will seem to flatten out and seem closely connected in space. None will stand out from the others. Value is very important in creating aerial perspective.

Tomorrow, I will look more at hue and simultaneous contrast. For more on value and hue, check out http://www.wetcanvas.com/ArtSchool/Hagan/color_psychology2.htm and http://pastel-pointers.pasteljournal.com/default,month,2007-08.aspx.

The painting was done without using white. My goal was to create a white flower using light value pastels that would indicate white.

What's next?

West Maui Hills 2

9 x 12 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

I have painted this scene three times, and I like this one the best. The clouds were very difficult as they really formed an X over the hills. Of course, when you paint clouds in an X formation, no one thinks they look real. I am much happier with the depth in this one, too. I as much freer about color than I usually am. This brings me to what I will do next week.

After doing a week of cloud studies, I find that I really need to do much more work on value and hue. I think I will focus on light values this week and follow up with darks the following week. I am sure the mid-tones will be very present in both, since that seems to be what I use most often. Keeping lights light is a current challenge that I would like to overcome.

Last Cane Field

Last Cane Field

12 x 15 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Pastel board

Miki Willa

I chose this cloud picture because of the drama in the clouds that seem to arise from behind the hill on the right. I also loved the freshly plowed field of our good old red dirt and the stand of unharvested sugar cane in the distance on the right. This is a scene found along the road connecting leeward Oahu and the North Shore. Until recently, all that could be seen was never ending fields of pineapples and sugar cane. It is very different now.

Prairie Sky

Prairie Sky

5 x 9 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Will

My goal for this painting was to show distance in the clouds. The cloud reference photo was taken from the car while driving with my daughter and son-in-law to Eastern Washington. We were passing through winter wheat country when I couldn't resist the wonderful clouds. On the return trip, I asked my son-in-law to pull over so I could get a photo of this barn out there all alone. I realized I had to put the two together some day. Today was the day. The only thing I may change is to lighten the sky near the horizon a bit more. I think that will enhance the illusion.

Tranquility

Tranquility

7 x 13 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

My friend Nancy paints the most exciting and vibrant skies. She uses colors I would never think to use. When I was looking at the reference photo for this painting, I wanted to see if I could get that kind of excitement. The colors in the photo are very subtle, so I had to push them. When I was done, I realized that I had kept my hands away from the daring colors that Nancy might have used, but I was pleased with the overall results. When I was done with the sky, I knew I had to put the waves in, but I was very hesitant. My experience with waves has not always been that positive. I thought about all the things Maggie Price said in her workshop, and all the wonderful waves my husband, Tom, has painted, and I plunged ahead. I had a very good reference photo, and I paid attention. I think I may actually learn to do waves after all.

During this season when we think about giving, here is something you can do that will help a great deal with little effort. Go to http://www.freerice.com and challenge your vocabulary knowledge while you help feed the world.

Buttermilk Sunset

Buttermilk Sunset

7 x 9 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

When I was growing up, my father and I loved to drink buttermilk. I loved the patterns the milk made on the sides of the glass as the cool drink disappeared. We used to see the same pattern in the sky on high cloudy days. I haven't seen that kind of sky for many years. That is, until I moved to the islands. One late afternoon, on my way home, I rounded the corner of my street to be greeted by a wonderfully vivid buttermilk sky sunset. That, I had never seen before. I had my new camera with me and hurridly found the right setting before taking several shots as the sky faded. I decided to paint this as my second cloud study.

Clouds, clouds, clouds

Kaua'i Sunset

8 x 10 soft pastels on Canson

Miki Willa

I have decided to focus on sky paintings for a time. More specifically, I want to work on clouds. I have selected some photographs we have taken over the last couple of years in case we needed cloud references. Some are sunsets, like this one. This was taken from the beach at Barking Sands on the west end of Kaua'i, in August of this year. I kept taking pictures, waiting for the brilliant pinks and oranges that I knew would come. I gave up before that happened, but I was very happy with this shot, even though there are few pinks. While I was painting this, I wanted to get the feeling of the underside of the big cloud on the right. I also wanted to show the glow of the sun behind this group of clouds. I almost left off the small island on the horizon, but decided it made sense in the composition, so left it in.

The perfect studio

Tom and I have had many discussions about where to set up a studio in the house. This is what evolved. In what was designed as a dining area part of the great room, we discovered a workable area. The kitchen portion of the room is just behind the photographer, giving us a sink and all the snacks we want. Tom has his French easel standing near the back wall, and I use the old dining table, covered with what I hope is a protective cloth. Of course, there is not enough room to put our pastels, so we move them around as we use them. We have a table for still lifes, a lamp we share, an overhead lamp and fan, and the kitchen lamp for lightening. I would love to have better lighting some day. I think we both dream of having a studio that is dedicated solely to painting in the future, but this space has done well for us for the past five years. The best part is it is big enough for both of us to paint at once.

Wai'ale'ale

Wai'ale'ale

12 x 16 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

This is another painting done from a photo I took on our September trip to Kauai. We were standing on the rim of Kilohana Crater looking out at Wai'ale'ale, the distant mountain. This is said to be the wettest spot on earth. It is a bit over 5100 feet above sea level, but there is a huge mountain swamp that backs up to it on the other side from where we were looking. That, apparently, has something to do with the moisture. The nearest mountain, Kawaikini, is some 200 feet taller, but has less rain. The grasses in the foreground were quite wonderful and were plentiful at the crater rim, along with tiny orchids, and other wonderful treats. I would like to go back there to paint, but it would be difficult to get permission since it is on private land. I am must glad we got to visit briefly.

Victoria in Kaua'i

Queen Victoria's Profile

12 x 16 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix board

Miki Willa

When Tom and I went to Kaua'i in September, we went on a backroads adventure that took us to a rocky outcrop looking back toward the Ha'upu Mountains. We didn't know it at the time, but we were looking directly at a little known tourist attraction: a mountain peak in the shape of Queen Victoria's profile. It is so named on tourist maps. Our guide didn't point this feature out to us until we were driving parallel to the range on the other side. It wasn't until I was trying to locate this bay on a map that I realized what the peak was. So much for my imagination.

This is my second painting on the new Art Spectrum Colourfix board, or plein air board. The same gritty surface has been sprayed onto 550 lb watercolor paper to create a lightweight board that is pretty sturdy for taking outdoors. I am not so sure it will hold up well in a wind, but it will probably do as well as paper mounted on foam core. I like working on it, so far, but I can see it may warp if not matted and framed right away. I do like working on the colourfix surface, and am glad the Art Spectrum people have stayed with that. I haven't tried the supertooth paper they have out yet. Someday, perhaps.

Two Date Palms

Two Date Palms

7 x 10 soft pastels on Unison sanded paper

Miki Willa

I took the reference photo for this last summer at the bottom of the road up to Waimea Falls. I was so entranced by the tropical feel of this scene. I have put off painting it because I thought it was too complicated. I posted it as a reference when I hosted the landscape challenge on WC in October and have the advantage of seeing how several other people treated it. I was working on an unfamiliar surface, using a sample collected at a PAH meeting. The surface reminded me of Wallis, which I am not terribly fond of. It does hold quite a bit of pastel, but you have to put quite a bit on to cover the surface enough to blend colors the way I like. I really don't know why the date palms feel tropical to me, since they often grow in desert areas. It is probably just that they are palms.

Ketchikan reflections

Ketchikan Reflections
8 x 10 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix
Miki Willa

Practicing perspective

Ketchikan

8 x 10 WIP

Miki Willa

This morning, I decided to work on perspective. I selected a photo I took a long time ago while I was on an Alaskan cruise. I have always liked the photo, but it is small and presents quite a challenge. The most obvious is that the boardwalk on the water side of the buildings is not in a straight line leading to a distant point on the horizon. I can see in the photo, I still have some alignment work to do before I go much further. I haven't even started on the water. Each and every piling and building has a wonderful reflection on the fairly still water. I have to figure out how to convey watery reflections without making them muddy. I also need to pay some attention to the sizes of the pilings. Right now, they all look the same width. I wish I had better light to paint by.

I paint at my desk in my library very early in the morning. I go to work very early because I want to miss the dreadful traffic. When I get there, the first thing I do is set up my portable studio on my desk. My space is very limited, but I make due. The lighting is the most difficult thing to overcome. It is still dark when I begin to paint, so I rely on the standard overhead recessed bar lights covered in nice plastic protectors. As the day dawns, I am often surprised at my hues and values. As my scheduled starting time approaches, I hurry to put everything safely away, stand the painting in the window behind my desk (facing away from the light, of course), open the doors and start my day. On Friday, I pack all my pastels and paintings into my studio on wheels, and head home for the weekend painting in my studio. I am glad I am able to paint every day, but I would love more time each morning in my studio. Some day, that will happen.

Wai'anae Ridge

Wai'anae Ridge

12.5 x 15.5 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix board

Miki Willa

Two of my favorite things about Oahu are the two mountain ranges that are remants of the two main shield volcanoes that make up the island. The Ko'olau Range is best viewed from the Windward side of the island. The wind and rain have deeply eroded this range, and it is painted often. Tom and I have both done several paintings from different view points. The Wai'anae Range can be seen from the Leeward side and the North Shore, and is less often found in local paintings. We live on the lower slopes of the leeward side of the Ko'olau Range. From our house, we can see the Wai'anae Range. Last weekend, it was so clear, we had to take a drive up our hill to get fuller views of the mountains so I could paint this. Most of the time, there is a bit of a haze and the ridges and valleys are not very clear. This tree is a mystery to us. We have them all over our neighborhood. The leaves are deep burgundy and dark green. In the spring, they are tinged golds, rusts, and oranges. We had a good laugh our first spring up here about the "fall" colors.

Looking back, a little

Orange and Blue

11 x 14 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

When I first started using pastels, I tried valiantly to teach myself with my husband's helpful hints. For a Christmas gift, Tom signed me up for a series of classes taught by Helen Iaea. Until that time, I had been copying other people's work. In Helen's classes, we painted still lifes she set up for us each week. After several months, we started to work on glass. For me, this was quite a challenge, but I was fascinated with the process. I finally got to where I really enjoyed it and looked forward to my Saturday classes. Once I finished each of these paintings, I dutifully took a photo, and put them back in the storage area for paintings done in class. Today, I spent some time on the computer trying to find all the photos of Tom's and my paintings to put in one folder to create a back-up disc. When I came across this one, I was reminded how much I liked it when it was first finished. I may have to dig this one out and take another look.

Barns and kahili

The Barn

2.5 x 3.5 soft pastels on drawing paper

Miki Willa

I decided to try one more of the miniatures. I like the concept, and am impressed by the ones I have seen, but I think it is better suited to other medium. I think it would be easier for me in watercolour or oil, even though they are not my medium of choice. As I said in the beginning, this is a learning journey and this is just another marker along the way.

On a completely different note, my kumu, Namahana, showed me how to make a small kahili. The kahili was, and is, a symbol of the Hawaiian ali'i, or royalty. It is made with feathers and a long staff. The one I made is a very small version, only 12 inches. I thought I would share it with you.

Christmas Croton

Christmas Croton

2.5 x 3.5 Pastel pencil on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

I thought I would try my hand at the ATC, or artist trading card. Tom took a photo of a wonderful green, red, pink croton. Most of these plants here have oranges and browns. I decided this would make an interesting Christmas card since it resembles the poinsettia. Working that small is quite a challenge, and I stuck with my pastel pencils. In my travels through WC, I have been really impressed with some of these miniature paintings, or ATCs. Some of the artists do complete and wonderful landscapes in that size. I also understand that there is an Ebay community where artists sell these cards. There are quite a few collectors out there. I am not sure I will do many this size, but I may try a few more since I have the cards already cut.

Late Autumn

I think I have finished this one. I think it is a 9 x 12, but I haven't measured it. I wish the photo was better. Next time, I will work it in Photoshop until the brights are the way they are in the actual painting. I am happy with the sagging roof and the leaning bell tower.

Old Schoolhouse II

Here is what I was able to do this morning. I am having fun with this painting. The photo shows the golds as brighter than they are in the real painting. I still have to put in the sky and work on the tree. I may try a fall look, since the photo reminds me of late summer, or fall. I am hoping to finish this tomorrow morning. It is not big, so I should be able to. I want to mention that jemgold is the photographer and the original photograph can be found in the WC RIL.

Drawing for detail

Abandoned School

Miki Willa

After a few weeks of painting without doing the drawing first, I decided to go back to putting in my charcoal sketch before adding color. This is the only way I painted before trying the Secor challenge. I enjoyed the freedom that gave me, but I love drawing and wanted to get back to it for a while. I may not have a lot of time to paint this week, so this may appear in different stages over the next couple of days. Right now, I have the sketch done with vine charcoal and some charcoal pencil to set up the lightest lights and the bones of the tree. This photo of an old schoolhouse was in the RIL on WC. Ordinarily, I don't like to work from other people's photos, but there are times I just can't resist. If you are wondering if the bell tower is supposed to be so crooked, it is. That distant tree, however, may be a bit too big. I look forward to working more on this tomorrow.

Using an underpainting

Today, I decided to try another painting with a brilliant underpainting on Wallis paper. I chose a reference photo of the Koolau mountains taken from Bellows Beach. I drew in the major shapes with vine charcoal. I then used Nupastels in the colors you see above. I used the blue label turpenoid to melt the pastels into the paper. Then I let it dry for quite a while.

After the underpainting dried, I started with the sky. I put in patches of colors that I saw in the photo of the clouds and sky. After getting what I wanted on the paper, I used my fingers to blend. I added more color until I got what I wanted. From there, I moved to the mountians, dark coastal trees, and finally the water. The water on the east side of Oahu is this brilliant turquoise. I wanted to capture that. I also wanted to get the ridges and eroded valleys in the mountains. There is no clear focal area.

I worked on the water meeting the closer shoreline where there was a very small shore break. I darkened the valleys near the focal area and worked the mountains more. This painting, when it is finished, will be 12 x 20. It is done in Nupastels, Terry Ludwig Iaea Tropical set, and Great American McDaniel set, on Wallis professional white. The working title is Koolau Mountains in Waimanalo.