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 Paintings in 30 Days, Round 2

Leslie Saeta, from Slices of Life hosts a challenge every now and then for artists to join her in doing 30 paintings in 30 days. I tried this early in the year and stopped after a week or so. Now I'm trying it again starting today. The challenge runs through September so I'm catching it on Day 1.

I'm planning on doing mostly pastels because I could use the practice. My goal will be to focus more on large shapes and impressions and less on details.
This one is a sunset from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, one of my own photo references from a few years ago. It is a 5x7" pastel using soft pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord ™. It's not a surface I have used much. I have several pieces of it, but I'm finding I like working on sanded paper better.

Traveling around Petoskey

Bob and I went on a short trip to Petoskey, Charlevoix, and Harbor Springs a few weeks ago. It was a very pleasant time with good weather. One highlight of the trip for me was photographing a Common Merganser with chicks resting on a rock along Lake Erie. We saw them at Fisherman's Island State Park.

 The scenery was very peaceful and the towns very clean and inviting for tourists. The area also boasts many, many miles of biking trails.

I spent a bit of time on a small watercolor study at a roadside park just north of Petoskey.