Idle Thoughts

Awake early, the day after thanksgiving I have nothing better to do than enjoy my coffee and ruminate about art, inspiration, composition, good stuff like that:) I'm visiting family in Pensacola, which is a 12 hour car trip from Cincinnati, so the bulk of my art materials are in my studio at home. However, I managed to pack a sketch pad and pencils, just in case. This was meant to be a quick turnaround, but my Mom is elderly.  A few more days here won't hurt.  Anyway, it forces me to step out of my get-er-done routine at home and breath.  Later I might walk down to the end of Mom's  street with my sketchpad and sketch a pelican or shrimp boat. That is, if I feel like it.

Stonelick Covered Bridge, Clermont OH, Spring Morning

12x20"Light fast colored pencil on linen mat board.  This piece is created for an exhibition honoring the newly renovated Stonelick Covered Bridge in Clermont County Oh. The references are mine, taken while hiking both sides of the river on a lovely spring morning. I found the shadows and multicolored reflections in the river fantasy-like, the carmine red bridge playfully reflecting itself in the stream. Pure Walt Disney! Using Mineral spirit to  spread color and layer values, I used  q-tips,  cotton balls and an old paint brush. To add detail and sharp contrast, I broke so many pencil points on the textured surface with my tick marks and fine line work, my studio looked like a colored pencil massacre. I often choose linen mat board as my surface because it allows me to add layer upon layer, much like an oil painting, starting with darks and ending with lights.  Look closely and you will see the many colors used to build this river-scape.

Kevin's View

This little 9x19" piece of Bailey's Island Maine (or near there anyway) was painted from one of hundreds of reference photos taken there this summer.  My husband and I were guests of some dear old  friends. They kindly tolerated my habit of banging through the kitchen, making coffee at the crack of dawn, so I could scramble around their property with the camera. Once they arose at the alarmingly late hour of 10:00 am,  they drove me up and down the coast, combed beaches and took me out on their boat to find Harbor Seals.  I didn't waste one second of my time there. I painted this little gem to fit a skinny gold leaf, antique frame given up by its previous owner. (I'll post a photo of the finished version, once the rest of the materials are in. ) It is fun to use the occasional woopsies and discards. I have a strong need to repurpose stuff. Given a predetermined size, color pallet and style, forces me to change up my routine.  It's an interesting exercise.

Margi of Pepper Portraits LLC, doesn't always paint portraits.

Here I am with my Rip Van Winkle Creek  hanging in CPSA District Chapter 119  Exhibition. We have at least 100 colored pencil works exhibited  in this beautiful show. Learn how I painted this piece in my artist demonstration for  Ann Kullburg's CP Magazine, January 2013 issue.