Brittany Lane Allen

Colombia River LDS Temple (Commission) - SOLD

2011-12-13T15:21:00.004-07:00

Colombia River LDS Temple

11" X 14"

Soft Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord

There are few buildings on the planet that compare in beauty to LDS temples. Inside and out they are stunning. Some of the older, more ornate temples are grand and majestic, but these smaller temples still hold their own.

Sometimes I shirk when I'm asked to paint a detailed building, like a temple or old house. They certainly require more tedious work and attention to detail. There is just no room for error. It's hard for me to know when to stop and not to get bogged down in the details. This one wasn't too bad. I loved painting the gorgeous fall leaves and flowers. It's such a beautiful building and I enjoyed the play of light on the marble.

My only struggle this time was the drawing surface. I got a total lemon of a Pastelbord. I've had them before, but this one was almost smooth in some spots. It made for some bad bleed through lines in the sky where the softer pastels wouldn't stick over the harder pastel pencil I used for rendering. I had to pull out my spray fix, which I detest. In the end it worked out fine. However, I think I'm finished using Ampersand's Pastelbord. It's just not worth the gamble.

Max (Commission) - SOLD

2011-11-03T13:32:00.006-06:00

Max

11 x 14"

Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord

Max (Detail)

Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord

Figure Drawing Session - Ballerina Part II

2011-10-04T15:22:00.007-06:00

I had another session with my new figure drawing group. I love that they chose to carry on the same pose for another session. Sarah is an awesome model!

I was a little late, so I missed most of the warm-up. Here are two quick gestures I did before starting in on the painting.

I am just loving these long figure sessions! I nearly finished the ballerina this time. I think I'm going to let it "rest" for a few weeks and then come back to work on it later.

You can see I completely changed her face this week. I think I liked the previous pose better, but The model was in a slightly different position, and I just wasn't happy with the head. It was too big, too round, and too dark. The only option was to wipe it out and start over. The face isn't completely finished, but I'm much happier with the way it's turning out.

Here is a four step progress. Kicking myself that I didn't get a picture or two between the gesture and the fully colored painting. Next time.

New Gallery Representation

2011-09-28T11:01:00.007-06:00

I'm starting to get familiar with the art community in my new location. I found a great little gallery with an awesome space for art exhibits. I applied to be a member artist and keep an inventory of paintings to display in the main gallery area, and I was accepted!

I'm hoping to land a show in the next year or two. It's in Richland, WA, right next to a great park by the river. It's called Allied Arts Gallery. Here is the link to their website.

These are the paintings I currently have on inventory with Allied Arts:

Three Low Clouds

11 x 14"

Pastel on Mat Board

$230.00

Tropical Beast of Burden

11 x 14"

Pastel on Mat Board

$230.00

Handsome Harvest

16 x 20"

Pastel on Mat Board

$390.00

Pineapple on Purple

11 x 14"

Pastel on Mat Board

$230.00

Figure Drawing Session - Ballerina part I

2011-09-17T19:25:00.004-06:00

I found a great group of artists that get together to draw/paint almost every Saturday. They do figure drawing about twice a month, and have a beautiful ballerina for three three-hour sessions. Cool!

I haven't done figure drawing for years. And I haven't done it extensively for a very very long time. It it quite a brain workout.

The model was absolutely perfect. I have never had a figure drawing model hold so still for so long. We kept asking her if she wanted a break. I'm fine. Not yet. Five more minutes. She was awesome.

We did some very quick warm up sketches.

And then worked on one pose for about 2 1/2 hours. Next session will continue in the same pose, so this is not finished yet. Here are some progress shots:

About 20 minutes:

About 1 1/2 hours in:

After the session today (about 2 1/2 hour in.)

Another work-in-progress shot.

I still have a lot of work to do. The skin is too dark, the chair has some drawing problems, the hands need a lot of work, the reflection, etc. Hopefully I will finish in the next session. Such a fun day!

Preserves: Healthy Teeth (Commission) - SOLD

2011-09-15T10:14:00.003-06:00

This one got caught up in my big move and ended up taking all summer to complete. Sorry Jess! It's in the mail.

Foggy Goggles

2011-09-12T11:41:00.004-06:00

Foggy Goggles

8 x 10"

Soft Pastel on Mat Board

I might be biased, but I think my kids are hilarious. They were telling me animated stories after swimming lessons one day and I was having a hard time keeping a straight face. They were dripping wet, freezing cold, and their goggles were so fogged up they they couldn't see. Hilarious! I snapped a couple of pictures which were the inspiration for this painting.

Whew!

2011-09-12T11:21:00.003-06:00

Um... I moved!

I have been completely off the map since June. My apologies. You see, my husband found a new job in Washington State, and one consequence was that we had to pack up our four children and vehicles and exactly 12,000 pounds of .. uh... "stuff" and move it all a very long way away to a small rental home while we attempt to sell our Idaho house and ... blah blah blah, I'm back to "normal" life now.

Moving is exhausting. And not so good for the creative process. BUT I have been working on a couple of new paintings and hopefully will post them here in a day or two. I also have a fun project brewing, so stay tuned!

Unknown Montana Mountain

2011-06-27T08:24:00.003-06:00

Unknown Montana Mountain

8"x 10"

Soft Pastel on Mat Board

I painted this in the freezing cold morning wind one morning on the paint-out. Did I mention it was cold? I finished up the last details from the car because I just couldn't take it any more. No one in the group knew what mountain this was. And I don't even know the range. It was near Crystal Mountain, west of Dillon. If anyone recognizes it, I would love to know the name. It was a beautiful place!

More Retreat Photos

2011-06-19T22:19:00.004-06:00

I still haven't photographed the paintings from the retreat, but I'll do that tomorrow when it's light outside.

Here are a few more photos of the beautiful scenery. Who knew that Montana was so beautiful? It was so remote that we could just stop in the middle of the highway and take all the pictures we wanted. There were hardly any cars or people around. Just awesome.

Tons of wildlife everywhere. And not-so-wildlife. Cows, horses, antelope, deer, rabbits, foxes, birds, etc. And surprisingly, no bugs! (At least no mosquitoes. Hooray!)

Some more shots of the ghost town, Bannack:

The thresholds of many of the buildings were so low that I had to duck. I'm 5" 1". My kind of people.

Gas was pricey, but I guess that's what you expect in the middle of nowhere...

Plein Air Painting Retreat

2011-06-14T22:01:00.004-06:00

Wow, has it really been that long since I posted? It's been a bit adjustment having the kids home for the summer.

I just got back from a painting retreat for a few days with the Snake River Plein Air painters. We painted in the middle of nowhere in Montana, and it was GORGEOUS! I finished 5 paintings, but I still need to photograph them. It was a wonderful, relaxing, productive trip.

We went to the ghost town of Bannack for most of the first day. No ghost sightings, but plenty of wild animal sightings. It's a state park now, so all the old buildings are taken care of and somewhat maintained. Most of them are unlocked and you can go inside and look around. It was incredibly interesting. The funky linoleum and wallpaper took me off guard.

We also dug some crystals out of Crystal mountain. Pretty sweet. I think I would have enjoyed being a geologist. Or maybe an archeologist. My kids were WAY more impressed with the crystals than they were with all my paintings.

Here are some shots I took of my paintings in progress on scene. I'll post more after I photograph them.

Roadside Relic

2011-04-28T14:43:00.004-06:00

Roadside Relic

11" X 14

Pastel on Mat Board

This little beauty has been calling to me to be painted for quite some time now.

It taunts me every day as I take the kids to school.

This week I finally got around to painting it. I'm so excited for "nicer" weather.

Now if the wind would only stop blowing...

No Fences Juried Show- SOLD!

2011-04-18T15:16:00.004-06:00

Farm Fresh

Pastel on Mat Board

7" X 13"

I entered this painting into the "No Fences" show at the Art Museum of Eastern Idaho. The show is Juried by the wonderful Ovanes Berberian. I was delighted that my painting was accepted into the show!

If you are in the area, stop by and see the show in person. It runs May 12th through June 18th at the Art Museum of Eastern Idaho 300 S. Capital Ave, Idaho Falls.

Honeybee Home - SOLD

2011-04-08T10:25:00.007-06:00

Honeybee Home

11" X 14"

Soft Pastel on Textured Mat Board

I have a neighbor that is a beekeeper by trade. This cool beehive box was sitting out by the side of their house. I've always been fascinated with the idea of keeping bees. Several years ago I got it into my head that I wanted to have my own hive. I went to the library and checked out a whole stack of books on the subject. About half way through the first book, I was thoroughly convinced that beekeeping was not for me. It still fascinates me though.

This painting was an interesting process. I painted more sanded texture on the mat board than I usually do. It gives the painting a dimension that isn't seen in the photograph. I absolutely loved this one in the looser beginning stages, and fear I might have ruined it with too much precision. I may still make some small adjustments before calling it finished.

My 7 year old daughter wanted to draw a bee as well. She did this completely by herself with with my pastel pencils. I just love it!

Grand Tetons, Summer Snow

2011-03-24T11:42:00.006-06:00

Grand Tetons, Summer Snow

19" X 28"

Soft Pastel on Texturized Mat Board

Finally a big one! I haven't worked this large in pastel for several years. I spent many, many sessions on this one.

This is one of those times where I'm really frustrated that I don't own a nicer camera. The photo absolutely doesn't do this painting justice. If I get the colors right, the texture is blown out and vice-versa. It's a must-see in person. It has tons of texture and tiny details that are completely lost in the photo. But here are some detail shots, to help you get the basic effect:

Grass (detail)
Grass (detail)

Mountain (detail)

Cloud (detail)

I'm entering this in the Idaho Paints Idaho show in May, so it's off to the framer!

Little Bird Shaker - SOLD

2011-03-15T09:16:00.004-06:00

Little Bird Shaker

8" X 10"

Pastel on Board

I took another challenge over at Daily Paintworks. This one was to paint a white object on a brightly colored background and attempt to catch the reflected colors in the white. I used a lot of tiny strokes and glazing to noodle in the details. It is a bit tighter than I have worked for a while. I am currently working on a very large, loose landscape and have been "lost in the paint" for a few weeks, so it was nice to have a little change. I really enjoy these little challenges.

Impending Spring

2011-03-07T11:47:00.006-07:00

Impending Spring

11" X 14", Soft Pastel on Texturized Mat Board

We had the most beautiful Saturday afternoon. Temperatures actually reached the mid-30's. It practically felt like summer. My plein air painting group, the SRPAP, had an outing near Deer Park. I didn't dress quite warm enough and nearly froze my face off, but it was wonderfully fun.

I truly enjoyed this painting. The location was so quiet and serene. The geese, birds, and livestock made occasional noises. The pigeons kept peppering the sky above the barn. I spotted a great horned owl, a bald eagle, and several mule deer. In the far distance there were swans on the riverbank. The wind was also minimal, which is a rare treat.

The sheep/goat farmer that works the land stopped by with her boarder collie for a visit, on her way to get the mail. (Just a 1/2 mile walk.) Such a beautiful place. I'm going to try to visit again in the fall and catch the sunflower field she told me about.

The sky was perfectly overcast, which is so wonderful for painting outdoors because your lighting stays practically the same for hours on end! I was nearly three hours into painting when I realized that I couldn't feel my fingers anymore and it was probably time to call it quits. I wore thin disposable plastic gloves over thin knit gloves. It worked well until the texture of my board peeled off the finger tips. Next time a scarf would also be handy.

Another Challenge

2011-02-15T13:31:00.004-07:00

"Valentine Rose"

5" by 6" Pastel on Matboard

I decided to take the next challenge at Daily Paintworks. It was issued from the artist Qiang Huang (pronounced Chong Wong), who is an absolute master at painting roses. Click HERE to see all the entries. The challenge was to paint a single red rose. Sounds easy, right? Not so much. Try it if you don't believe me. I think roses are terribly difficult, especially in pastel. Reds are always tricky, and this was no exception. I love that these challenges really push me as an artist. I'll probably do more of them.

10 Minute Challenge

2011-02-07T16:46:00.009-07:00

I took the painting challenge today at the Daily Paintworks. (Click HERE to see the other entries.) I've never entered these types of challenges before, because I'm usually not inspired by someone's random photograph. But today the challenge piqued my curiosity: Choose an object to paint and set a timer for ten minutes. Paint like crazy until the timer goes off. Stop painting! Then do it again. And again. And again.

I prepped nine 5 X 7 boards before breakfast, and when I put the baby down for his morning nap, I went to work. I chose a slice of cantaloupe we had for breakfast. I always love to paint something bright on a drab winter day. (Today fit that description well enough.)

The first painting I gave myself an extra two minutes to choose my colors and figure out what I was doing. (Is that cheating?) But after that I stuck solidly to the ten minute timer. It was tough! I haven't worked in a short time frame for quite a while, and I found it to be quite freeing.

Here is my reference and palette:

Here are the nine paintings:

I learned a few things by doing this exercise:

- It helps me work a lot faster to have a value scale from my palette out in front of me.

- the Ampersand pastelboards are worth the extra money. (Two of these were on the pastelboards, the rest on mat board painted with texture.)

-I don't need as many colors as I think I do.

-I tend to over-work detailed areas.

-I paint slower when listening to music.

-It makes a world of difference if I clean up and organize my work area and pastels before starting a painting.

I loved this exercise, and hope to repeat it often. Maybe weekly? We'll see how that goes. My nine "ten minute" paintings took nearly all day because of the distractions in-between.

Still Life with Tap Shoes

2011-02-01T10:18:00.003-07:00

11 by 14, pastel on textured board.

Commission - SOLD

October PSNR Newsletter

2010-10-05T10:55:00.003-06:00

I am the writer/compiler/editor of the online quarterly newsletter for the Pastel Society of the Northern Rockies. Click here for the October edition, hot off the press!

You are welcome to view our website as well: www.psnr.net

Enjoy!

SRPAP Show 2010

2010-10-01T09:37:00.004-06:00

Here are some stills from the Iona show last weekend:

This is the one that won the "Viewer's Choice" award. Woot!

And here is the window display in the St. Anthony show. All three are mine. Sorry for the horrible photo.

SRPAP Annual Show

2010-09-19T21:40:00.004-06:00

Thank you to all the friends, family, and fans that attended my show this weekend. It went really well and I had a blast. I made a little slide show of my paintings. I included many of the unframed smaller works I was selling as well. The first 8 images are the ones I had hanging.

We had all of the viewers vote for a "viewer's choice" best in show. And I won this year! Thank you to all that voted for me. The winning painting was the "Cache Valley Sunset". I won a $50 prize, cover image for next year's show, and bragging rights (ha!). I'm honored to have been chosen out of the group. It was a sensational collection of artists and artwork. I'll post more pictures soon!

Farmers Market, Part Deux

2010-09-11T19:46:00.006-06:00

I painted at the farmers market again today to promote our show next weekend. It was a gorgeous morning. There was quite a crowd today and lots of fun personalities. I talked to lots of very kind and interesting people.

These two kids were hilarious. They posed for me and wanted to be in the painting. They were too cute.

The painting went as well as can be expected. There were lots of distractions and I kept gabbing instead of painting. The lighting is always tough at that time in the morning because the shadows are completely different every half hour or so. But that's plein air for you.

It was a lot of fun. I really need to paint outside more often. It's good for the soul!

Save the Date

2010-09-09T14:12:00.001-06:00

Farmers Market

2010-08-28T22:34:00.004-06:00

I painted today at the Farmers Market with the Snake River Plein Air Painters. We are "advertising" and handing out flyers for a few weeks before our fall show. It was a fun change of scenery to paint people, booths, and bright colors.

Captive King

2010-08-19T16:44:00.006-06:00

I think I fell off the bus at some point this last year. Maybe it was having my fourth baby, or having all four of my kids home for summer, or getting four hours of sleep on a good night.

Probably all of the above.

But I *finally* finished the lion I started in June after the zoo trip:

16 by 20 inches. Soft Pastel on Texturized Acid Free Mat Board.

It has a lot of thicker layers, and I can't get a very accurate photo of the depth. It looks a whole lot better/richer in person.

This handsome guy lives at the Tautphaus Park Zoo in Idaho Falls. He was posing so regally for me, I got in a few detailed drawings and some photos. It's bigger than I have been working for a while.

Here are the colors I used. It was somewhat of a limited palette:

Thirty one pastels in all, but some are the same color with a different hardness/softness. I used three brownish blacks, one hard, medium, and one super soft. Same with the lights and the greens. I find lately that I reach for colors based more on the texture than the exact color. Interesting. Four brands of pastels are represented here. I'd love to score me a full set of Terry Ludwigs sometime...

My kids have been helping me paint as well...

My 6 year old:

And my 3 year old:

I'm planning to work more regularly now that summer is drawing to a close. But no promises. We'll see how life unfolds.

Restoration

2010-07-23T15:33:00.014-06:00

I have had the wonderful opportunity to restore a priceless artwork from my family history.

Last month I attended a family reunion for my paternal great-grandfather's side of the family. It is known as the Joy O. Clegg family reunion, and is a wonderful annual event. My great-grandfather Joy died before I was born, but his posterity honors his name every year as hundred of his descendants get together in his honor.

My great-uncle Bill was telling me about this old drawing he had given to him by a relative who just showed up on his doorstep. She told him that since his name is William Clegg and that is your name as well, I think you should be the one to have it. Uncle Bill told me that it had a bad rip and some smears and needed to be fixed. I told him I would love to have a look at it, and so he drove home and got it!

To be honest I wasn't expecting anything much. I figured it would be a badly rendered charcoal sketch done by an amateur artist. I was totally stunned when he showed me this:

This is a very fine original charcoal drawing, actually I would call it a painting, of my

Great-Great Grandfather William Jonathan Clegg. He was born in Springville, Utah in 1859, and died in 1927. I have never even seen a picture of him. I don't know if anyone even HAS a picture of him. I can't stop looking at it! So amazing.

My uncle asked me if I would help him restore it, since I have a working knowledge of pastel, charcoal, and artwork in general. I was honored, and told him I would do my best. So here is the record of my work.

.....

First I took pictures of everything, front and back. The back has writing all over it, in pencil. It says the following:

478

9437

(I don't know what these numbers mean. )

Hawke

(I'm assuming the artist's name)

Mr. W.J. Clegg (William Jonathan Clegg)

R.B. # 132

Vineyard near Provo

(Uncle Bill was a Postmaster for a long time and said this is a very old address.

R.B. is Rural Box)

Solid co. 400 (An estimated value? Either $4.00 or $400.00)

paid 1 to 300

Clear trace

Special Work

The frame is beautiful, though in terrible shape. The glass is warped and stained and needs to be replaced. The finish is an old gold spray paint. It has a huge crack on one side, and much of the finish on the corners is missing. The back is full of nails, staples, and duct tape, and there is a make-shift hanger on the top portion. It's been through the ringer.

The painting itself is in great condition for the most part. It has a little sun damage, one rather bad tear where it looks like something went through the back of it, a few smudges and fingerprints, a little water damage, and a partial shoe print. Fortunately, most of the damage is on the outer edges of the painting.

After closer inspection, I believe the painting is a more modern rendering of a photograph rather than a live-sitting type of portrait. It may have been done with a light tracing box or the like. The drawing is quite thin and there is no evidence of an under-drawing, erasing, or sketching of any kind. The board it's drawn on is a little bit rougher than paper and would not tolerate much erasing. It's very precise and in my opinion could not be done in such detail on this particular surface without the aid of a photographic reference.

I'd love to know more about the artist and the process of this artwork. (History detectives anyone?)

My Process:

To fix the painting I used compressed charcoal, soft pastel, a goat skin chamois, and a fine fan-shaped paint brush.

I gently rubbed at the the damaged edges with the chamois and blended a little color back into some light spots. I used the brush for finer edges. The spray fixative greatly diminished my options of fixing smudges and blemishes. Some of the outside edges simply couldn't be fixed. My solution was to add a thin, acid free mat around the painting. It crops it nicely and covers the majority of the damage.

The unsightly hole was not covered by the mat, and it was all the way through the thick board. I gently pushed the layers of the board together as much as possible and darkened the edges of the tear with a matching soft pastel. Luckily it was in a dark part of the background and is almost completely unnoticeable now, except under very close inspection.

The sun damage is not really fixable as it is on a portion of the background that has very little charcoal on it. It is not very noticeable unless you know what you are looking for. I blended the areas around it as much as I dared with the fan brush.

It isn't perfect, but it looks much, much better.

After the drawing was finished I started to work on the frame.

First I fixed the cracks with some wood glue and clamps. I filled the cracks and chips with some putty. After everything was all dried and cured I gave it an initial spray and then later, a second coat of spray-on paint. I used a hammered metal silver color.

A few days later I "aged" the frame using some black acrylic paint and a rag.

It's difficult to see what the black did to the frame in a photograph, but it changed the look to more of a metallic pewter, rather than a bright silver. The details also show up a little better.

I had it fitted with a glare-reducing, UV safe glass, and a heavy duty wire hanger. I really like the way it turned out. This was a really neat opportunity. It's such a cool picture. I'm going to be a little bit sad to send back to Uncle Bill.

And here it is all put together:

I took this picture before it was actually framed to avoid the glare from the glass, so you can see that the picture and mat aren't attached yet. But you get the general idea.

Plein Air Outing

2010-07-10T17:52:00.004-06:00

I finally made it out to paint. Sans children. It's terrible that almost a year has passed since the last outing. It was painfully obvious that I am out of practice. Remind me to never let it happen again. Ouch.

It was a beautiful day for pastel painting. A very slight breeze, partly cloudy, and just nice enough to be warm without the melting heat. I went with the Snake River Plein Air Painters, a local art group I belong to. There were six of us in all.

The chosen location was the Botanical Gardens at the University. Gorgeous! I wish I would have taken more photos, but my camera batteries were dead. I got several nice shots though.

There was a cute little mama duck with three tiny ducklings that were hiding in the bushes of the pond I was painting. They were so cute. A little distracting, but cute. It was wonderfully peaceful and relaxing to hear only the rushing of the little waterfall and the quacking of the little duck family. Cheap therapy, I'm telling you. Sometimes I forget why I love to paint outdoors. It was a good reminder.

My reference scene. Sort of.

And my painting.

The lighting changed about every five minutes as the sun went behind clouds, then came back out, over and over again. This was about a 90 minute painting.

And a glamourous shot of me, deep in concentration with my funky painting hat.

Animal Drawing Zoo Trip

2010-06-04T18:30:00.003-06:00

I took a class of young students to the zoo this morning to draw the animals. It was threatening to rain, and it drizzled a little bit, but for the most part was quite pleasant. The cool weather made the animals more active and in some cases, more difficult to draw.

Here are a few shots of them attempting to draw the feeding flamingos. Such crazy birds!

There was the cutest baby zebra that was running all over the place. He wasn't a great subject for life drawing, but he was certainly entertaining.

I managed to squeeze in a few sketches:

My favorite was the grand male lion that was sunbathing on a rock. I just might have to use this drawing as a study for a larger painting of the fellow.

The girls did a great job drawing the moving animals. I was very impressed at their abilities to edit and go with the flow while drawing moving animals. I didn't take any photos of their drawings because my camera batteries died, and frankly, because I forgot. Oops. But take my word for it, they are artists in the making.

SRPAP Show

2010-05-17T22:06:00.003-06:00

The Snake River Plein Air Painters Spring Show runs this Tuesday, May 18th through Saturday July 3rd at the Museum of Eastern Idaho in downtown Idaho Falls.

This is a local, eclectic group of plein air landscape artists I have been lucky enough to rub shoulders with. They employ a broad range of styles and medium, and paint mainly local landscapes and scenes. It looks like it is going to be a very nice show if you happen to be in the neighborhood.

I just delivered these three on Saturday for my contribution:

And some close-ups:

"Mid-Winter Frost"

"Full Moon At Dusk"

"November Sunset"

Hope to see you there!

Commissioned Portrait

2010-04-15T09:14:00.004-06:00

"The Webers"

Pastel on texturized mat board, 9" by 12"

Featured Artist

2010-03-29T09:40:00.004-06:00

No, I have not fallen completely off the face of the planet. It just seems that way.

This is the main reason:

Specifically this one:

And I've been doing a lot of this:

And a little bit of this:

And a whole lot of this:

And I am absolutely dying for some painting time.

The good news is that April 15 is very, very near, and my accountant hubby will soon return to us to give me a very needed break... I'm counting the days.

Some more good news: I'm the featured artist for April on the Snake River Plein Air Painters Website. Check it out.

http://www.snakeriverpleinair.com/

I'm looking forward to doing more shows and events with this group in the near future. We have an exhibit at the Museum of Eastern Idaho in May-June. I'm slowly waking from the baby coma. New paintings to come soon!

Snake River Plein Air Show

2009-10-18T21:19:00.005-06:00

This weekend was the 16th annual Plein Air show for the Snake River Plein Air Painters. (Plein Aire is a French term meaning "out of doors". It was first used by the French Impressionists to describe paintings completed outside on location)

They are a fantastic group of local artists I just joined up with this year. Such a fun and lively group of painters. The show is held each year in an old rock church in a tiny town outside of Idaho Falls. It's a fantastic building, but a bit off the beaten path which makes it difficult to get a big turn out. Not a lot of paintings sell here, but it's still a good experience. You can check out the group's web page HERE.

It was a lot of fun for me to spent the weekend getting to know some of these local artists, look at plein air paintings, eat great refreshments, and to talk art. I have a fresh dose of inspiration...

My little corner. (Check out that baby belly!)

A shot of the main floor

And the balcony.

Rusty

2009-09-14T16:06:00.002-06:00

There is a fantastic automobile graveyard in town. The caretaker/owner just happened to be there as I was driving by one day and I asked permission to take some photos of the cars. He was hesitant for some reason, but gave me the okay. His wife, and subsequently, gigantic junk yard guard dog did NOT get the memo. She released the beast in my direction, and I nearly escaped to my vehicle. Not a nice puppy. (Or a nice person if you want my vote...)

So I guess I risked life and limb for this one. I have a few more to come hopefully.

A Few Holdups...

2009-08-10T15:05:00.005-06:00

Did you think I fell off the planet? I can't believe it has been over a month since my last post and since my last PAINTING! After all the craziness of the Hawaii trip and the art festival I was totally burned out. Not to mention summer vacations and madness. I am also expecting a baby in January and in the first trimester of pregnancy all I can think about is SLEEP. I actually never put away my pastels from the art festival. I went downstairs this morning and there they were in their tin, dirty and all mixed up.

This week I feel like I finally woke up out of my sleep cocoon have enough energy to somewhat function. We'll see how it lasts. So this morning I got out my beautiful unused Cherry Pastel Cleaner machine and tried it out.

It works wonderfully! So all my pastels are clean and somewhat organized, and now I have no excuses!

I had one other small hitch. I realized this morning that my children *accidentally* erased/moved/deleted a folder I had on the computer containing all my references and ideas for future projects. Gone. Who knows where. I recovered a few of the files, but since I haven't looked at it for over a month I don't completely recall what I'm missing. Oh well. Back to the sketchbooks. I have a lot of new ideas swimming around in my head, so stay tuned.

River Rocks "Quick Paint"

2009-06-18T22:42:00.005-06:00

The folks that were in charge of the "quick paint" didn't communicate well to those of us participating in the event. I was about ten minutes late, so my hour painting was more like 50 minutes. I was a little intimidated to do a figure painting in public since it has been a while since I have done any figure drawing or painting. But I dug in and got 'er done... Unfortunately I was not informed that the paintings needed to be framed upon completion, so my beautiful assistant (A.K.A. Mom) ran to the store to grab a couple of frames. A very nice gentleman was there with framing wire, and we made it work. I didn't take any pictures before it was under glass, so this is as good as it gets:You can see the actual colors a little better here:

And for round two, Landscape painting. I went a ways down the road, so again it was about a 50 minute painting. It didn't start until 8:00 at night, and the lighting was changing FAST. Totally different reference about every fifteen minutes. It was a challenge.

This isn't a very accurate photograph either. The colors are quite a bit brighter. But you get the idea...

It was a really fun evening. I haven't done anything like this for a long time. It was a beautiful night, everyone was very friendly, and as it turns out, I still remember how to paint plein air.

River Rock Festival, Day Two

2009-06-18T22:16:00.005-06:00

The skies cooperated for a few hours this morning and I was able to squeeze in this plein air painting. This is an 8 by 10, soft pastel on texturized mat board, and took just over two hours.

River Rock Art Festival, Day One

2009-06-17T16:31:00.003-06:00

Today was the first leg of the annual River Rock Art Festival in Idaho Falls. It snuck right up on me! I found myself this morning with an itinerary of painting and artsy stuff, and no babysitter for my three little stinkers. Oops. So we loaded the car to the hilt with snacks, toys, entertainment, laptop with DVD's, all the goods, and my art supplies too. I located a suitable painting site on the map and we made camp. The kids watched two full movies while I painted. They had a super time, and so did I. Here is my first painting. I have to turn in three by Friday morning. Hopefully I can squeeze in another tonight after the Mister gets home from work...

Hawaii, Plein Air

2009-06-17T16:16:00.004-06:00

I was planning on finishing dozens and dozens of paintings in Hawaii. Well, it turns out that Hawaii is this really tropical, amazing, relaxing, breathtaking place, and I wanted to enjoy it! I ended up sight-seeing and playing on the beaches much more than painting. But since I did lug all my cumbersome painting supplies 3000 miles across the ocean, I figured it would be quite a waste not to paint ANYTHING. The first day I forgot all my boards, so I just did a sketch on paper:

I was so amazed by all the different colors of turquoise! My palette was not completely decked out for all the tropical hues.

I only managed to paint twice more, once on Waikiki, such a beautiful place. This cute old Chinese woman kept coming to check on my progress. She didn't really speak English, but seemed to approve. She kept pointing to my painting and then to the water saying, "Same, same!" Too bad I didn't know how to say "You want to buy it?" in Chinese...

and one last painting on another beach which I do not remember the name. (Sunset Beach maybe?) It was in the upper 90's this day, and the sand was totally burning my feet. One arm got sunburned. It was really windy too. Not ideal painting conditions.

I took hundreds of photos which may or may not make their way into future paintings...

My Website

2009-06-02T22:18:00.003-06:00

Still in progress, but here it is...

http://brittanylane.webs.com/

Off to Paint...

2009-05-31T23:31:00.002-06:00

I've been neglecting my paintings in getting ready for my upcoming trip to Hawaii. I have my art equipment pretty much packed up, so I'm not going to get much accomplished before I leave on Wednesday. Expect lots and lots of tropical plein air landscapes upon my return... I've researched out some great sites and I'm so excited to get painting! ALOHA!!

Thank You Mrs. C.

2009-05-22T20:40:00.006-06:00

This is of course a painting for a "thank you" to my son's 1st grade teacher. She has been so awesome this year! I completely admire her dedication and patience. My son has improved a great deal in many ways under her watchful eye. I hope he is lucky enough to have great teachers like Mrs. C. throughout his life.

My son chose the objects for the still life, and insisted that it had a flower because, "They are Mrs. C.'s favorite!" This painting is 10 by 10 inches, soft pastel and pastel pencil on texturized mat board. (And is not for sale.)

Tropical Beast of Burden

2009-05-19T14:40:00.003-06:00

Soft Pastel on Texturized Matboard, 9 by 11 inches

Lower Eagle

2009-05-16T19:58:00.002-06:00

In the North-Northwest they have these really cool trees that look like evergreens most of the year, but are actually deciduous and turn bright yellow and drop their needles in the autumn. They are so striking! My husband goes on a manly-man motorcycle/camping trip with the guys every fall and this is one of the gorgeous places they go. It's pretty remote and hard to access, so not a lot of people get to see it. A rich guy flew to the lake in a helicopter one year while they were there. Ruined the fishing for a couple of hours I guess. I'd love to see it for myself someday, but on horseback, not motorbike.

I painted this roughly based on a photograph my brother-in-law took. It's soft pastel on texturized mat board, 12 by 15 inches.

Just Passing Through

2009-05-11T14:58:00.001-06:00

Soft Pastel on Texturized Mat Board, 7.5 by 8 inches

Teton Overlook

2009-05-11T14:52:00.001-06:00

Soft Pastel on Texturized Mat Board, 6 by 8 inches

Plum and Pussy Willow

2009-05-06T09:05:00.001-06:00

Soft Pastel on Texturized Mat Board, 7 by 10 inches

Factory Window, Spring

2009-05-04T11:53:00.004-06:00

Soft Pastel on Texturized Mat Board, 9 by 11 inches

Whew. I've been busy. I neglected my painting a little bit last month. (And I had such great intentions....) There are a few in the works. I've been drawing and scheming, but most of that isn't blogworthy. Here is the fruit of last weeks labor. We went to SLC and I was enchanted by all the windows. I have one more. Maybe spring will decide to come HERE one of these days.

Cold again today.

Stumbled across my painting online...

2009-04-28T14:51:00.003-06:00

My painting is on the front of the arts council web page. Cool. Gotta love any "face" time I can get. Check it out here. Scroll down a bit to the art show info.

Emerging Tetons

2009-04-22T12:16:00.003-06:00

8" X 8" Soft Pastel on Texturized Mat Board

Warming Up

2009-04-08T18:57:00.006-06:00

Soft Pastel on Texturized Mat Board, 11" by 14"

Three Low Clouds

2009-04-07T12:57:00.000-06:00

Soft Pastel on Texturized Mat Board, 9" by 12"

Little Bird Shakers

2009-04-05T17:51:00.001-06:00

Soft Pastel on Texturized Mat Board, 8" by 8"

Between Storms

2009-04-04T13:11:00.001-06:00

Soft Pastel on Texturized Mat Board, 14" by 18"

Lemons and Sunshine

2009-04-02T19:47:00.002-06:00

Snowing again today. I'm craving just a little bit of sunshine...

Grandmother's House- (Commission)

2009-04-01T18:51:00.004-06:00

Pineapple on Purple

2009-03-28T19:02:00.002-06:00

9" by 12" Soft Pastel on Texturized Mat Board

Royal De Lux - SOLD

2009-03-24T13:12:00.009-06:00

I have become involved with a really interesting project. There is a lady in Idaho Falls that came into the possession of over 700 original photographs taken by Rulon Perkins in the 1930's. They are beautiful! She will be holding an art show in October of paintings inspired by these photographs. Perkins has a huge variety of subjects in his photos: Automobiles, buildings, children, workers, store fronts, parades, dancers, houses, etc...

I received a disk with all 700+ images to choose from! Wow. I want to do about ten of them, but we'll see what I get around to finishing. This is the first one. It is a Royal "De Lux" professional typewriter from between 1932-1935. I couldn't find the exact year of this model, so if anyone knows, I'd love to hear...

(I had a really difficult time getting an accurate photograph of this one. The greens I used are a bit transparent, so it looks quite a lot better in person. I'll have to try to photograph it again in different lighting.)

My reference:

Carr Gallery Reception

2009-03-21T22:01:00.003-06:00

I had two pieces accepted in the Idaho Falls Arts Council Annual Juried show. Tonight was the gallery reception and awards ceremony. Fun, fun. I love watching people look at art.

Museum Show

2009-03-11T21:43:00.003-06:00

I delivered two paintings to a gallery for an upcoming show downtown today and thought I'd stop by the museum to see how the "Snake River Plein Air Painters" show looked, and say hello to my painting... It's called Fall Colors in Sardine Canyon.

I'm usually really good about photographing my artwork before framing. This one I was in a rush to get framed at the time, and then I was too busy (lazy?) to un/re frame, and so this is the best it's gonna get. At least I remembered to sign it.

Feel free to pay it a visit if you are in downtown Idaho Falls in the next few weeks... There are some breath-taking exhibits there right now. One in particular, Carla Jimison. I want to own every one of them. I seriously think I need to go back and stare at them some more. Her paintings and prints are equally gorgeous. I was so inspired! I came home and started sketching up some new ideas. I'm thinking I need to do some bigger pieces.

Farm Fresh - SOLD

2009-03-10T16:56:00.006-06:00

These eggs were so lovely, I couldn't help but paint them. My husband's co-worker gave them to us. Rainbow eggs! I love them. I can't wait to have chickens someday.

Sometimes I need a break from the ultra-realistic. I was completely bogged down in the hard and soft edges of the eggs and finally decided to bag it. They were just looking way too stiff. I loosened up some of the edges and added some shots of color and suddenly I liked it much better. It was a fun change. (I'm hoping this is looking stylized and not like hairy easter eggs.)

Full Moon at Dusk

2009-03-03T12:40:00.003-07:00

Jelly-Filled with Sprinkles

2009-02-27T09:42:00.002-07:00

Soft Pastel on Texturized Mat board, 7" X 8"

Irresistible

2009-02-26T14:59:00.006-07:00

Soft Pastel on Textured Mat Board, 8" X 7"

Tempting Choices

2009-02-23T15:43:00.001-07:00

The Pastel Journal also posted my painting "Broken" on their blog today. HERE is the link. (yay!)

Good Things

2009-02-20T18:19:00.002-07:00

I'm so excited! I just got an email from the Pastel Journal. Here is what it said:

"Dear Brittany -

Congratulations! We selected your pastel, Broken, as an honorable mention in
our latest Creative Spark contest. We'll announce the honor and post the
image on our website and blog within the next few days.

Thanks for sharing your work with us!

All best,

Sarah
--
Sarah A. Strickley
Features Editor
The Pastel Journal"

Yay! I'm so excited. I don't know if it will be in the magazine, or just the online journal, but I'm honored to have recognition of any kind.

Also, two of my paintings this one and this one were accepted into a juried show at the Carr Gallery in Idaho Falls. The show opens March 10th. I have a few other local shows coming up. More info to follow...

Blood Orange Slices

2009-02-20T18:09:00.005-07:00

Soft Pastel on Texturized Mat board, 8" X 10" inches

I found these "blood" oranges at the store and was fascinated by them. They taste really good, like a orange/grapefruit mix almost. The juice is dark red so they are a bit messy for the kids. They make great still life models though.

Untitled Sunset

2009-02-18T08:46:00.003-07:00

Better Half - SOLD

2009-02-14T10:47:00.007-07:00

5X7 inches, Soft Pastel on Texturized Mat board

Cozy

2009-02-06T16:52:00.006-07:00

I started this one Wednesday night, worked on it a little bit yesterday, and finally got down to business today. It still needs some touch-ups, but I'm finished for tonight. I'm pretty happy with how it's coming. It was inspired by a national call for entries I found, subject matter: bedding and pillows (figures welcome).

Slice of Blackberry Peach

2009-02-02T14:18:00.006-07:00

Perhaps this is an ode to the cancelled "Pushing Daisies" and the beloved "Pie Hole". You will be missed... (And thanks, Mom, for the beautiful pie...)

Also, I took a picture of the pastels I used in this painting. More for my own reference if (when) I come back to it for touch-ups. I thought it might be interesting. For this one I used 17 Rembrandt, 10 Sennelier, 2 Schmenke, and 9 Grumbacher. 38 total. They don't make the Grumbacher brand anymore. So sad. They are one of my favorites, and several colors are running low. Guess I'll have to shop around for replacements.

Yellow and Red - SOLD

2009-01-30T12:15:00.010-07:00

Intense yellows and reds can be very challenging in soft pastel. Yellow pastels are either really soft and transparent, or really hard and scratchy. Reds are the same way, except for much stronger. Other colors do not go on top of reds or yellows, so I have to be careful not to get any color where it isn't supposed to stay. I only used 12 pastels for this painting. (My paintings usually use 20-50 colors, or more.) I'm not in love with it, but it was a good study...

Pear #1

2009-01-29T12:11:00.002-07:00

Frosty Tree - SOLD

2009-01-28T10:57:00.005-07:00

Peeled Cutie

2009-01-21T16:06:00.006-07:00

Mid-Winter Frost

2009-01-21T10:11:00.005-07:00

I started this one "Plein Air" last week when it was so frosty and gorgeous outside. Unfortunately, lighting only lasts a few minutes this close to sunset. So the rest was finished in the studio (a.k.a. my kitchen table). I think a lot of the unusual light qualities I was looking for may have been lost in the process.

I posted two images of the same photo because I am still pondering the composition. The top image is uncropped with the horizon line in the center of the image. This is usually NOT the way to go in a landscape painting, but for some reason when I was sketching this is what I kept returning to. I think it captured the feeling of the scene and allowed the focal point to be the trees, instead of the lighter, more-contrasting foreground. The bottom image is "cropped" with the horizon line at the top 1/3rd of the painting, as is more traditionally accepted for landscape compositions. What do you think?

"Tangled Slumber"

2009-01-16T23:13:00.001-07:00

Finished. For now. This was originally going to be a five image piece, but I just wasn't feeling it... All four pieces have a slightly different feel to them. I haven't decided yet if it detracts from the overall look. Number 3 stands out a bit from the bunch now that I see them all together. I may "blur" the edges and red up the hair a little. It's funny how a painting tends to have a life of its own. These were a trying, but fun experiment.

Two steps forward... and then:

2009-01-08T15:15:00.005-07:00

I was patting myself on the back today for all my good work on this 5 piece project. Three of the five nearly finished. Then I got chatting with my neighbor and apparently wasn't paying close attention to my 18 month old. She has a new trick: climbing on the table. This time she was after the phone that was easily within reach after crawling through three pastel paintings. Perfect. I should thank her really. The damage to the paintings wasn't all that bad, and now I have an excuse to re-work that #1 that was bothering me anyway. :sigh: Back to work.

Today's Progress...

2009-01-03T20:46:00.005-07:00

"Tangled Slumber" is coming along, slowly but surely. It was nice to get back to painting today after a little break. I have been really inspired lately by some artists I have found online that finish a painting every day. Like this one and this one and this one (caution: occasional nudity), and this one, and also this one.

At first I got all excited and thought I would like to be a daily painter myself. I have really enjoyed painting more and love having a goal to attain to. However, when I am only concerned with finishing a painting, I have noticed that my quality and attention to detail languishes. I want to focus on quality, not just quantity.

Maybe someday I can finish several paintings a week, but not right now. So I have decided my new goal is to paint every day, if only a little bit, when at all possible, and to post SOMETHING at least every week, finished or not. That I think I can do.

"Tangled" #1: Consequences

2008-12-17T08:24:00.007-07:00

tangled
Function:: adjective
Date:: 1596

1: existing in or giving the appearance of a state of utter disorder 2: very involved : exceedingly complex

Other synonyms: knotty, involved, convoluted, labyrinthine, tortuous, intricate, thrown and twisted, rootbound, snarly, intertwined, entangled, intermeshed, enmeshed... the list goes on. (I just love words.) Each one of these brings all kinds of new ideas to mind.

I'm starting a new series I'm calling "Tangled". I've been thinking a lot lately about the complexities of life and how we deal with trials and stumbling blocks. Each of us is tangled up in something different and complex, and we're just trying to figure out how to untie the knotty mess. I'm excited to explore this and see where it goes...

In Progress...

2008-12-11T19:48:00.001-07:00

I've been drawing and drawing and drawing. I've started six paintings this week, now the trick is to finish them...

November Sunset

2008-12-03T09:37:00.005-07:00

This was the view out my back window a few days ago. Nice, huh? The colors are slightly exaggerated to appeal to my artist's eye, but we have some great sunsets here. I have been sketching and scheming up my next series, and I'm really excited for it... but you'll just have to wait. I have to muster up the courage to ask this girl I see at church every week to model for me. She has the coolest profile.

Preserves #12: Tinsel

2008-11-21T13:26:00.004-07:00

Sometimes I crave color the way "normal" people crave food. Today, purple. This is the last of the "Preserving Time: Exercises in Futility" series. Yeah! I'm a little burned out on bottles to be honest. This last one has been waiting for quite a while. On to something new...

Banana Study- The Overripe Duo

2008-11-18T23:51:00.006-07:00

I have lots of other paintings in the works, but sometimes I'm surprised by what strikes me as interesting.

Preserves #1: Tulips

2008-11-11T14:06:00.005-07:00

The freshly cut buds swim not in water, but in particles of light. On my shelf they sit, and although I will them to last forever, they too are limited by the passing of life, every moment one less to beautify and uplift. Their relatives will grace us with their colors in another season, but these souls (if tulips somehow have souls) are set aside. Their time is past.

I started this one several times. In fact, this was the first of my "Preserves" series. I couldn't decide if I wanted the tulips inside or outside the jar. I finally decided it just needed some commentary.

PSNR Website

2008-11-04T18:27:00.002-07:00

My bio and artwork are now posted on the Pastel Society of the Northern Rockies! Here is the link to the website, and here is the link to my page. I'm under gallery 2, at the bottom.

Yearlings - SOLD

2008-10-24T11:40:00.008-06:00

Cassie - SOLD

2008-10-15T21:39:00.005-06:00

Rose at Sunset

2008-10-13T18:18:00.005-06:00

Preserves #10: Mitten

2008-10-03T16:24:00.003-06:00

Thanks to Kelsey and her fantastic mitten collection...

Burbank Refuge

2008-09-27T16:58:00.004-06:00

Brandon's parents live behind this really gorgeous slough, essentially a small swamp that is also a protected bird refuge. There are all kinds of birds there, depending on the weather and the time of year. There are usually pelicans, but not today. I saw a covey of quail and heard several hawks screeching as I painted. There were dozens of bees buzzing around my head and all kind of bird noises. I love painting outside.

Preserves #9: Turning Leaves

2008-09-26T15:58:00.008-06:00

Last weekend we were up in the canyon where the leaves are just starting to turn gorgeous fall colors. This is without a doubt my favorite season. I'm almost done with my "Preserves" series. I'll have to check my sketch books, but I think I have two or three more to go. This is my 25th painting since I started my 30 before thirty challenge... I think I've got this thing under wraps!

Zoe - SOLD

2008-09-24T16:32:00.009-06:00

Blackberries - SOLD

2008-09-22T18:24:00.005-06:00

We went to my mom's house this weekend. They have the most beautiful garden! I could paint there for a week with no complaints. The blackberries were especially gorgeous. I made some freezer jam today with the berries my kids picked while we were there. So yummy. Berries are just the divas of the garden. I can't wait to get some starts for next year.

Lovely Caterpiller

2008-09-18T13:39:00.007-06:00

My daughter was so excited that her favorite caterpillar from our camping trip has been immortalized in a painting. She carried this little guy around for several hours. (Poor thing) But I have to agree with her, there is something lovely about the creepy-crawly little worms. Maybe it's the lacy little prickles or the neon green color. I'm not sure I love where these little paintings are going, but I'm having fun anyway...

Honeybee- SOLD

2008-09-16T19:21:00.006-06:00

I'm doing some miniature paintings of insects. This one is 4 inches by 4 inches. If I finish them in time, (and if they turn out okay) I'm entering them in a show I found. This is from some photographs I took in May of these awesome bees in Driggs. I think bees are just so beautiful. I'm also fond of hyacinths.

Another Landscape

2008-09-15T19:46:00.005-06:00

After I dropped Ellorie off at preschool I came across these nice cows in a beautiful green field, and I just had to stop... The really textured boards don't photograph as well, but here it is anyway.

Broken #2

2008-09-15T15:11:00.002-06:00

I just couldn't leave that pretty piece of glass alone, but I think I got it out of my system for now...

Jayne - SOLD

2008-09-11T23:32:00.001-06:00