30 in 30: Day 13: Sterling Lagoon

"Sterling Lagoon"

Sandra LaFaut ©

6x9" pastel on Uart sanded paper

This is a reworked pastel from a plein air day this summer. 

You can read about the day and see the original here.

30 in Day 9: Transitions

"Transitions Study"

by Sandra LaFaut ©

9x12", Pastel on sanded board

Driving through the Bighorn Mountains a few years ago, Bob and I came upon the beautiful scene that so clearly shows the changing seasons. It was very late September, a cold, clear, crisp morning. Off to the right far up the hill some horses were playing, chasing and calling out to one another. It was a very memorable moment for both of us. 

Then our brakes on our brand new van glazed over and started smoking - another memorable moment!

I'm calling this one a study because I am already thinking of things I'd like to try to play with the image. I also have this on my wall as a large photograph, but have always wanted to do in in some form of art.

30 in 30, Day 8: Fleeting Brilliance

This one is titled "Fleeting Brilliance" and is 9x12" pastel on sanded paper. I thought it was finished until I looked at it on the computer. It's not for sale yet because I am going to work on it more later today. When I get the final version I'll switch out this image for the new one, keeping it in this same post to keep the days in order. 

The river is our local river, the Raisin River in Monroe County, Michigan. 

It has the distinction of being the world's crookedest river.

30 in 30, Day 6: Pictured Rock Sentinels

"Pictured Rock Sentinels"

9x12"

Pastel on Uart paper

Sandra Lafaut ©

The Pictured Rock National Lakeshore is a magical place of color and textures. We were able to take the boat ride along the shoreline quite a few years back and I have always wanted to do some artwork based on my photos. Here is one of the most colorful. The water there is very cold, deep, clear, and colorful. It is a very beautiful place. It also has many miles of hiking trails, but we didn't do that part. I wanted to see the rock formations from up close at waterlevel. Now to be a kayaker...!

30 in 30, Day 5: Down in the Holler

"Down in the Holler"

by Sandra LaFaut ©

5 1/2 x 6" Pastel on Uart Sanded Paper 400

We went to Kentucky to visit some friends and got lost down in one of the 'hollers' as we drove to their house. The road was deep in the woods, down a valley, with a stream too deep to drive running across it - no cell phone reception to call the. Fortunately a few local kids were hanging out down there and were able to give us directions. Turned out if we had been able to cross the creek we would have been on their property. As it was we had to take about a half hour driving around the other way. 

But is was a really lovely area with some bright yellow summer flowers dotting the hillsides.

30 in 30, Day 3: Meandering Stream

 "Meandering Stream"

by Sandra LaFaut ©

6 x 11" pastel on Uart 400 sanded paper

 This pastel painting was done from one of my reference photos taken in Maine several years ago. I really appreciated the breaks in the forests that opened into these very boggy areas.

I'm a day late on posting this even though I finished the piece on time - internet connection problems. Ick!

30 in 30, Day 2 Under the Apple Tree

Under the Apple Tree

Sandra LaFaut ©

5 1/2 x 6"

Pastel on Sanded UArt paper

For many years I have enjoyed sitting on my patio in the fall as the sun goes down and seeing the edges of the apple leaves turn to gold from the beautiful backlighting. This pastel painting is my impression of the scene.

And Two New Scratchboards

End of Day #1: Great Blue Heron
5x7", scratchboard
by Sandra LaFaut © 2015
from my own photo references

End of Day #2: Trumpeter Swan
6x6", scratchboard
by Sandra LaFaut © 2015
from my own photo references

Crowned with Glory

"Crowned with Glory"
8x10"
Scratchboard
by Sandra LaFaut


For more info or to purchase 
visit My Daily Paintworks

Sunlit Begonia

Sunlit Begonia
5x7" Scratchboard
by Sandra LaFaut
from flowers I grew last summer

For more information or to purchase 
visit My Daily Paintworks

Power at Peace

"Power at Peace"
9x12" on black Scratchbord™
From my own reference photo taken at the Toledo Zoo this past summer.

This artwork won an Honorable Mention award in drawing at the Bedford Arts for Our Future show, Bedford, Michigan.


The photo session that day had a memorable moment. I was standing inside the 3 sided glass viewing area with my back against the glass as I waited, camera up, for one of the tigers to walk towards me as he paced his enclosure. I heard a thump behind me and when I turned around a minute or so later there was a muddy foot print smeared down the glass beginning right where the back of my head was. One of the other tigers had hoped for lunch - me!

Double Dogs

Lucy and Strider finished. Both 5x7" on black Ampersand scratchboard colored in a few places with FW Acrylic inks. These are not sprayed yet, which will enrich the blacks and even out the colors.

Tiger: Power and Peace

This fellow is from one of my zoo photos this spring. I really love the pose and the way his head is resting on his paw. It is a 9x12" scratchboard on black Ampersand board. My largest one so far. It went along very well for a bigger board and I really enjoyed doing it.
Right now I'm working in color on the Amazon set, but I'm looking forward to doing more black and white. I can't even imagine adding color to this one.

A Grey and Grizzly Day

A Grey and Grizzly Day

by Sandra LaFaut © 2014

9x12" on white Claybord

colored with Ampersand inks

My husband and I watched this bear amble along the beach at Yellowstone Lake a few years ago. We were up on a small bluff about 15 feet above the beach. The bear was not paying any attention to us until some crazy lady next to me yelled "Hey Bear!" very loudly. He looked up and I snapped the photo - then I took off for the car. Good thing he didn't follow - I didn't have the keys. But I got a nice photo.

Keeping Watch Over Sparrows #1: Finished

The subject matter for this is from my own photos manipulated in Photoshop to get a digital image to work from. The sparrows are regulars at my feeder and from a big series of photos I took over a few winter days of strong backlighting. The eye is my own from a selfie I took last year for another project.

My heart has always been in art that portrays spiritual subjects based on Christian themes. This one is based on the theme of God's care for us in Luke 12: 6-7 "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

I see 3 levels of meaning in this as I worked on it:

1. It is God's eye:  God watching over sparrows, and yet the eye is not focused on the birds before him, but on the viewer. He watches over us: we are his precious sparrows.
2. It is a person's eye:  God is outside the image watching the birds, but looking beyond the birds to the person who he dearly loves and cares for.
3. It is your eye or my eye:  As we become more like Jesus in our values, we do as he does and watch over his 'sparrows'.

It's titled #1 because I may do a few more in a series.

Northern Flicker - Finished

"Northern Flicker" 2014

6x8" 

scratchboard on black Ampersand board

Done with #11 scalpel 

Reference photo from Rodney Campbell on Paint My Photo

There was a previous post about this one and the process. I used a board that had previously been scratched and scraped off. It was an interesting experiment but I won't be doing that again. Every little mark in the board became highlighted when I sprayed the finish coats on it. It's not totally horrible, but the board doesn't have the beautiful pristine black that is normally a scratchboard characteristic. 

In this image I heavily retouched it using Photoshop to get the rich blacks again. I would probably sell the image, but at a discounted price. With the retouching though I can still offer this as a print. 

So, lesson learned - don't reuse boards in this way.

Holding Court

"Holding Court" 2014
7x5" scratchboard on black Ampersand board
Colored with Ampersand inks
From my own reference photo
Done mostly with a #11 scalpel blade and light use of a fiberglass brush to soften fur in some places.

Barely Awake

"Barely Awake" 2014
5x7" Scratchboard on black Ampersand board
From my own reference photo
Scratched mostly with #11 scalpel and #11 Exacto blades. Highlights in white with a scoop shaped scratchboard tool.

Mesmerized

"Mesmerized" 2014

Scratchboard

9x12" on black Ampersand board

From my own reference photo of my backyard fish

done mostly with a #11 scalpel and a #11 exacto blade

Freckles

"Freckles"
Scratchboard on white Ampersand Claybord
colored with Ampersand inks
6x8"
From my own reference photo
Done mostly with a #11 scalpel and fiberglass brush

Freckles belongs to my granddaughter and is a Golden Retriever. She's adorable and about 4 months old now. She was about 2 1/2 months for this photo.


This still needs to be sprayed with the varnish to protect the surface and it will look a bit different then.