Two New Pastels

I just finished two new paintings that will be shown at the St James Court Art Fair this weekend. I really like the pastorial motif and so that was my inspiration. There are many such scenes with farms, pastures and fields here in West Michigan and in the midwest. I try to capture not only the light but the atmophere of the day.

September Sunlight, pastel, 12x18, $900.

Out to Pasture, pastel, 18x24, $1400.

St. James Court Show

More new work that will be featured at the St. James Court Show opening Oct. 1 - 3, 2010.

Lilies and Beebalm, pastel, 18x12, $500.

Grandma's Hollyhocks, pastel, 9x12, $500.

New Pastel Paintings

The St. James Court Show is next week and I have been very busy getting new work ready to exhibit. My goal is to bring at least a dozen new pieces to add to my inventory. I am also bringing a few plein air oils to show on the outside of the booth if the weather is permitting. So the next few days I will be blogging my new work as a preview of what will be at the show. Hope to see you there!

A Country Road, pastel, 6x12

Three Haybales, pastel, 9x12

Flower Fields, pastel, 9x12

All posted paintings are original paintings by artist Kathleen Kalinowski, copyright, 2010.

September Plein Air Paintings

Pumpkins and Apples, oil on linen panel, 9x12, 2010

Painted plein air last week at the Country Basket on Nine Mile. I wanted to paint the pumpkin patch and discovered this view that was unexpected and very delightful. As I was working, a young mother and her children approached the pumpkin patch and the little boy went immediately to the large pumpkin that I was about to paint in. I am glad they did not take it!

Harvest Fields, oil on linen panel, 9x12, 2010

This is another local farm that I have passed by most of my life and decided to stop to ask if I could paint there. A very nice couple by the name of Alt. I went down to the pumpkin fields and discovered this beautiful scene in morning light. I bought some of her beautiful pumpkins, quite a variety to choose from. I will be back to paint here again.

Plein Air Oils by Kathleen Kalinowski
Michigan Landscapes

August plein air paintings

"Pond at Wau-ke-Na", oil on linen, 14x11

I did get a little behind in posting new work. I am going to feature four of my favorite plein air paintings from August. At least one will be used as a study for larger studio paintings. Contact me if you are interested in purchasing any of these works.

"Waiting for Perch", oil on linen, 12x9
Painted at AuTrain Lake in the UP

"Au Train Morning", oil on linen, 8x10

"Almost September" , oil on linen, 10x8

Painted at Wau-ke-na North Tract.



Art Prize painting



My painting for the 2010 Art Prize is "Lake Michigan Dunes", oil on linen, 30x53.



Day 6 - Lake Michigan Dunes

I continued to progress. I basically made adjustment over the entire painting, starting with the sky. I worked on the clouds, adding more variation in the blues. The background trees received the most attention as I thought they looked too flat. I spent a conserable amount of time on the trees, adding more colors in the shadows and highlighting the sunlit tops. The sand on the dunes also needed a little more contrast. All during this final stage I concentrated on repeating colors for harmony, softening edges and making sure there was a good variety of edges throughout the work.

Day six went into day seven and eight as I kept evaluating the work until it came to a point when I knew I was finished because I didn't think there was any more to do!

When the painting is professionally photographed, I will post the finished work.

This painting will be on display at Plaza Tower during ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, MI.

http://www.artprize.org/

Day 5 - Lake Michigan Dunes

This is a detail photo of the work that did on the painting this day. I established more underpainting colors for the grasses on the right side. I needed it to help balance the composition and to help bring the eye back around. I also knew the closest shadow on the bottom should be darker and more complex.

Day 4 - Lake Michigan Dunes

Day four on this large painting (30x53) and it seemed like I was making steady progress. This day I concentrated on the left side. The dune grasses in sun and shade, the shadows from the grasses and the sun on the sand. I had look at the patterns and simplify the masses. The shadow side of the dunes also needed another light layer of color, again not committing yet to the exact value of the shadows until the surrounding sun lit sand was painted in.

Day 3 - Lake Michigan Dunes

After the canvas was covered with thin washes of color, I started with the sky and background trees along the top of the distant dunes. I also put more shades of blue in the water and light green in the distant grasses. I wanted to get a feeling of depth right from the start and so the distant trees changed as I softened edges and lightened the value as it receded.

Day Two - Lake Michigan Dunes

On day two I started to block in the darks and basic values of color to make sure that my design was working as a good composition. I used a large #10 bristle brush and a small amount of turp (I use Gamsol). The brushes that I used are Robert Simmons Signet 42 Filbert. I referred to my three glossy 8x10 photos of the dune, my pastel painting and my memory of this beautiful place as I worked on this painting.

COLOR PALETTE:
Rembrant Titanium White
Rembrant Cad Yellow Lt.
Rembrant Cad. Yellow lemon
Richeson Yellow Ochre
Grumbacher Terra Rosa
Rembrant Transparent Red Oxide
Winsor Newton Cad. Red Lt
Gamblin Alizaron Crimson
Richeson Maganese Violet
Rembrant Ultramarine Blue
Holbien Cerelean Blue
Rembrant Viridian Green
Rembrant Phalo Turquoise Blue (very small amount)

Basic values layed in with thin paint. Transparent Oxide Red and Ultramarine Blue.

A Work in Progress

I am going to be posting the process of a large oil painting (30x53) along with the materials and the approximate time that it took me for each step. The finished painting will be displayed during ArtPrize, a two week art competition in Grand Rapids, MI. This is an international competition and is gaining momentum as the largest cash prize offered in an art competition. The votes are gathered by anyone who wants to participate, register and vote for their favorite works of art. See http://www.artprize.org/ for more information. My painting will be showing at Plaza Towers on the corner of Fulton and Monroe. I will post the voting code with the last post when the painting is finished.
Step 1: I did a pastel painting 12x18, as a warm up and then a sketch on newsprint for the general design so I could order my canvas.

Dunes-Morning Light, pastel, 12x18
This painting will be at Grand Gallery for a group exhibit, opening on September 24.
http://www.grandgallery.com/

I ordered a double primed (13DP) Belgian Claessens linen canvas.This is a very smooth surface which is a delight to work on. After my linen canvas arrived, I drew in the composition with charcoal. You can see the newsprint sketch under the canvas.