I love working with pastels but find the cost of preparing a lot of pieces for a show very expensive.  Wanting to find an alternative I came up with my glazed pastel method.  I mount the paper to a panel and then work the painting as usual.  When I’m finished I seal the pastel to the paper and board by spraying it with several coats of clear varnish.  I’m sure many pastel purists are horrified but I usually do this on smaller pieces.  I have several in my studio that I did many years ago and find they retain their brilliant color.  Here are a few I’ve recently completed.

Three Amigos - original pastel 8 x 8 inches. Mounted to cradled panel and sealed with acrylic spray.

Red Onion - Original pastel mounted to panel and sealed. 6 x 6 inches.

Pearly Hanging By a String - Pastel on panel

I have been accepted to the Oklahoma City Community College Arts Festival which will be on September 3rd, 4th and 5th.  Their address is 7777 S. May Ave, Oklahoma City.  There is a $5.00 parking fee to enter.  The thing is, I entered primarily as a pastel artist which is fine, I’ve worked in pastel for many years and found it a joyous medium with gorgeous pure pigments and pure colours.  For the last 6 months or so I’ve been working mainly in oils and seem to have lost my pastel touch.  There is definitely a specific set of skills and technique to be applied when using pastels.  Anyway, I’ve produced a few lemons lately and just wasn’t feeling it.

Looking for inspiration, I turned to my daughter’s photos of her son and dog.  I saw this photo of my Grandson Calan and it hit me like a ton of bricks.  I didn’t just see Calan, I saw something else.  It was in the way his little right hand was up in the air.  At first glance we would assume it was for balance as he was just beginning to walk when this photo was taken about a month or so ago.  Or was it?

Calan was born in June 2010.  I lost my Father to cancer in August and Calan’s Daddy lost his Grandfather in December of the same year.  So you see, Calan has two truly wonderful men as his guardian Angels.  It’s hard to put into words the emotion that swept over me once I saw the image of the man standing next to Calan helping him on his journey.

The Guardian

My new 12 x 9 pastel painting today is titled “The Guardian.”  We all have them, even if we don’t see them.

This new pastel piece is painted on linen panel and measures 6 x 8 inches.  Email if interested.

This new work today is 8 x 8 inches and is pastel on canvas.  The red ceramic pot is a gorgeous piece created by Lincoln Nebraska Artist Willie Sapp.

This piece is framed in a black and silver square frame.  It is available for sale, so contact me if interested.

These three small 5 x 5 inch pastel pieces are of my daughter’s favourite flower the Gerbera.

These are framed in square gold frames and will be available at a very reasonable price for original artwork – $60.00 each.  If you are interested in one of these or a different colour combination just email me.

Finished this piece this morning already.  20 x 8 inches pastel on suede.  As yet unnamed.. suggestions always welcome.

Awesome!  NOW titled “Where’s the Cream?” by my art buddy Theo Raymond!  Thanks Theo!  See his work at his blog Theo Raymond Art.

The Kiss - Original Pastel 12 x 9

Today’s artwork is (was – read below!) a 12 x 9 pastel piece.  Yes, more pears but you already know about my love affair (obsession) with pears.  This is the third time I’ve tried to make a good painting using this composition but I’ll just call the first two times practice pieces since they are hidden away in the dark depths of a drawer somewhere never to see daylight again for a very long time.  All artists have those types of pieces where it just doesn’t look right to us… If they say they don’t then they aren’t very prolific or are just too perfect… LOL

This piece will be added to Etsy for sale and also to Fine Art America for prints.  Hope you are all enjoying your weekend!

The Kiss - cropped to 9 x 9?

***Ok, when I uploaded this picture it looks square so I cropped the photo I took and have decided it’s a much stronger piece cropped to be 9 x 9 square, so what do you think?  Would love some feedback from you all on if you like it 12 x 9 or 9 x 9… at least before I get out the scissors!

Just a quick note to catch you all up.  My art show at The Red Z Gallery

Colleen Brown Artist opening at The Red Z Gallery, Mt. Vernon Ohio

in Mt. Vernon, Ohio was a great success.  I had sold quite a few paintings and garnered a new commission before the show ever opened on July 1st.  I then spent a glorious couple of weeks working in the gallery studio and producing some new pieces a few of which sold immediately.  An artist can’t ask for more than that and my thanks goes out the the wonderful people I met at the gallery and from the surrounding town.  I even made contact with some people who live right near me in Oklahoma while I was there!

Saffron Splendour - Pastel by Colleen Brown - SOLD

Peach 'n Cherries - Original oil painting

Today’s painting is of some luscious red summer cherries (even at $8,99 a pound!!) and a sweet smelling peach.  I’m glad this painting is finished because those cherries look like afternoon tea to me!

This painting is oil on panel and measures 7 x 5 inches.

You can bid on this painting at the Daily Paintworks!

Lemon & Lavender ~ Oil on panel 6 x 6 inches.

I am of course scrambling to complete some more works for my July 1st show in Ohio.  While working on a large 24 x 30 painting featuring lemons and lavender, I completed this smaller painting using the same set up and of course palette.  This is a way to be more productive with your artwork.

I needed to give my background layers on the larger painting some drying time which allowed me the time needed to complete this smaller 6 x 6 inch piece.

If you are interested in purchasing this painting be sure to visit my Etsy Store!

Thanks for dropping by!  Colleen