Sandi's Front Yard

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5"x7" soft pastel on homemade support

I'm still experimenting with the sanded boards I made a couple of weeks ago. I like the texture and it forces me to remain "Impressionistic" with the application of color. I want to have the brush strokes of the support showing thru. I also want to suggest what I see around me instead of details. There are so many values and different colors in nature, it would take a great deal of time to try and capture a fraction of them.

Sandi is a dear friend of mine that lives in Ottumwa, IA. She has flowers, vegetables, trees, and shrubs covering every square inch of her yard. Her statement - she doesn't like to mow. Her plants have gradually spilled over into the yards of her next door neighbors and you can see her influence when driving down the block she lives on. I live several miles away and I have to admit, it's the same in my yard as well. She has sent many a plant start home with me and the ground where we live has become a living canvas.

Thank you Sandi!

Visual Arts Day Demo

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9"x12" soft pastel on le carte paper

I started this landscape as an example of how to work from a photograph during the Visual Arts Day Workshop for high school juniors and seniors April 17th. This was held at our area community college. Because the sessions were short, I wasn't able to complete this piece in front of the students. I finished it this morning in my studio.

Same subject in Oil

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9"x12" Oil on Board

I started this before the pastel I posted yesterday. Having fun seeing what different support surfaces are like. I'm still not doing a very good job at photographing my oil paintings. Get reflection from the shiniest areas of wet paint. I prefer to paint alla prima when using oils.

Painting on Sanded board

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8"x10"- Soft Pastel on homemade sanded board

This surface was a challenge to paint on in that when I applied my grit mixture to my foamcore board, I left brush strokes to create a variety in the texture. I like the affect and I was able to paint in layers without having to spray fixative on each one before continuing. I only sprayed the final painting to keep the pastel dust from smugging.

Field of Dreams 2

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9"x12"
Oil on stretched canvas
Contact me if interested in purchasing. email: ginlammert@yahoo.com

The first painting of this image was done as a 5"x7" soft pastel on paper. I had created it with my left hand during my recovery after surgery on my dominate right hand. It was fun seeing what I could do with my opposite hand since I had never tried that before.

I can't say enough about how nice it is and how happy I am to be able to use my right hand again. I believe you can see the pastel version of this image in the archives link here.

In the Pink

Size: 20"x 10" Oil
I tend to create floral paintings starting now in April. Anxious for planting new things and watching established plants bloom. It's so nice to be back into painting. Haven't been able to do much of this for 2 years. My dominate hand is as good as it's going to get after surgery last August. I've given up doing pencil commissions. They're just too hard to do. My handwriting has changed in that I write smaller and try not to write a great deal.
I think I'd have a very difficult time if I couldn't hold a brush. Even this activity has to be measured. I have to take more breaks then I would've in the past. The upside of this is it forces me to sit back and "study" the direction a work is going. I'm more aware of the colors I use and how they play laying next to each other. What fun it is to create!!!!!!!!!!!

Bloomfield Public Library

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24"x36" Oil

Having trouble getting the reflection out of the wet oil when taking this shot so it's a little out of focus. Donating the work to the public library. Hopefully having prints made so they can use them as a fundraiser. It's been a while since I've worked on a painting with a building being the dominate subject. The challenge here is trying keep a straight line. Even with support, I struggle. So yes, I go for the "painterly" approach.

Would love to hear your comments. Either leave one here or you can email me at ginlammert@yahoo.com