fresh off my dusty easel, pastels by christine dimauro: Tulips for Helaine, Pastel, 9" x 12", painted on Wallis sanded paper

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Tulips for Helaine, Pastel, 9" x 12", painted on Wallis sanded paper

Tulips for Helaine is something I did for a dear friend. She wanted me to paint a floral for her, and she loves tulips. It just so happens that tulips are my favorite flower to paint, so I was one happy camper. I painted this back in 2006.

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This blog features mostly pastels, however I do enjoy working with gouache, watercolors, inktense blocks and pencils, charcoal and graphite pencils. My easel is always dusty, but that doesn't stop me from experimenting and trying new things. Keeping a sketchbook has become my new second passion, and these other mediums allow me to sketch in color; pastels are not the best medium for sketchbooks, so I had to find something else.

As long as I am creating art I'm happy. I hope you enjoy my work as much as I enjoy creating it.

Recommended reading

I love books, especially art books. Here are a few of my favorites.

The Changing Seasons in Pastel or The Pastelist's Year, by Elizabeth Mowry (Her work is magical, her paintings just sing. I also love the way she writes, I own every book she's written.)

Landscape Meditations, by Elizabeth Mowry (You know why....)

The Poetic Landscape by, Elizabeth Mowry (If she had more books, I'd own them.)

Painting the Landscape in Pastel, by Albert Handel (It's Albert Handell, need I say more?)

Intuitive Light, by Albert Handell (Another Albert Handell, need I say more?)

Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting, by John F. Carlson (The workhorse of landscape books, not an easy read but full of useful information, always a go-to book when a question arises.)

Landscape Painting, Essential Concepts and Techniques for Plein Air and Studio Practice, by Mitchell Albala (some excellent information on landscape composition for any media.)

Pastel Pointers, by Richard McKinley (An all around great book for pastel landscapes.)

Powerful Watercolor Landscapes, by Catherine Gill (this one has excellent information on composition, great for all media not just watercolor.)

The Painterly Approach, by Bob Rohm (It's just that, a painterly approach, and can be easily applied to pastels.)

Your Artist's Brain, by Carl Purcell (This book is great for a beginner, it gives you basics not always touched upon even in advanced books. For advanced painters these reminders are great, we all get moments of brain fog. Much of what is in this book I learned the hard way, I wish I had known about it at the very beginning of my art journey.)