Good morning,
I have uploaded many paintings today, June 7th. Most are pan pastels except for the first one right below. That is acrylic on panel. I have been doing lots of painting and feeling really fine about the work I am doing right now. I am spending time in meditation as part of my painting process and also doing sketches during the quiet calm that follows. Colors have been almost choosing themselves and I have worked with a few paintings with unusual color couplings. Two of these are part of a series I am currently doing, in acrylic. When the third one is complete I will post the three of them here.

For thought: what is beneath the surface of apparent reality?

I will paint today, work on the third of my series which I haven't found a name for yet. It will arise from the work itself, when complete.

Pan Pastel on Stonehenge paper.

Semi-abstract landscape

Pan Pastel on Art Spectrum paper.

This oil pastel was done on an unusual substrate that added quite a bit of texture to the painting.

Contemplation. That's it!

This pastel painting originates in the experience of Maine coastal waters, expecially referenced to the maps of those waters in mid coast Maine.

Sailing, simply sailing.

Another pan pastel painting, 9" x 12" unframed. This comes from my experience of a bright spring day with emerging color. It is a mixture of the warm and cool colors of sky and landscape as warm weather approaches. It is meant to be joyful and free.

It was a long week for me...health issues escalated and the three paintings I started all proved to be unsatisfactory. During the night, last night, I started another pastel painting and there is hope for this one! These two pastel paintings were done before I started this new blog, yet still recently. I have transposed them to this site because I believe they are the initiators of my current work. They are both done with pan pastels on Stonehenge paper. Both are 9" x 12" unframed, and are available for purchase.

• Pan Pastel on Stonehenge paper
  
  A long spiritual journey that was wonderfully enlightening yet painful as well. Part of Transformation: Cycle 1. I am undergoing a spiritual transformation which is a struggle, with resistance to change, and also a greatly nourishing and joyful time. Joy is something I feel very grateful for and it is hard to come by at times. I try to take the time and make the effort, as best I can, to help create my own joy and take part in the joy that is around me. Last winter while hospitalized I sat in the solarium and looked out the window to see and experience the winter wonderland of Maine landscape the day after a blizzard, when the wind dies and the sun shines brightly. There were some smallish rocks sitting just outside the window and they had their snow hats on. The temperature had risen to above freezing and the snow melting on the rocks made me think of how the Creative Power is inside these rocks and the rocks are joyful at being warmed by the sun and feeling the slow melting of their cold caps. This was one of the happier moments of that time for me. I managed to sketch the scene.

Acrylic on panel

Summer heat on what would be the hottest day of the year, at Acadia National Park, ME. There was little relief, even at the top of CadillacMountain. This is not a typical Maine landscape but is authentic for those dog days of August.

If I was a tree this is how I might feel at the first breath of spring here in Maine. There is a spot of color to be found here and there before the buds come to the branches. It is a joyful feeling.

Interpretive mind-body painting done with pan pastels on Stonehenge paper.

It is another rainy day today. The weather hasn't been very inviting to painting en plein air these past few days. I have been to Beaver Park and did a few sketches while there. I bought my yearly stamp for the park and can go anytime I want. It is only a few miles from my home and is very beautiful.....pine forest, many walking trails, three ponds, swimming and fishing. Of course one of my great interests is 'where is the restroom?' There are three! It is a real find for me and I will be there alot this summer.

Today I am going to post two more pastel paintings. One is about giving birth to the self, and the other is strictly self expression during a period of change for me. It is also an attempt at using more vibrant color, eg. orange.

Hope you enjoy and feel free to comment!

The following post is an acrylic done mostly on site at the docks in Freeport, ME. It was a hazy-foggy day, no rain but constant threat of a downpour. Quiet, just the way I like...

Unusual for me...site specific, Kettle Cove, Maine. This is a soul healing place for me, along the Maine coast. linda

The acrylic painting with oil pastel accents below was a joy to paint. Spontaneous act of creativity...I am satisfied with the painting and enjoy looking at it. It is hanging in my living room right now and I always smile when I look at it. I consider calling it Wild Flowers. Any suggestions?
linda

The pastel paintings are below this note. Above the note is the acrylic painting which was done with painting knife. I like to use the knives I have. They are works of art in themselves. I use the Holbein painting knives which are difficult to find. I bought my knives from Black Horse Fine Art Supply in Vermont. They are expensive but certainly worth the money. I have had mine for many years and they are just as good as new. The acrylic painting is called Inside a Wave.

linda

Today is another grand day. I have been reading artist's blogs, keeping up with my favorites, and looking at some great paintings, both representational and non-representative. The published paintings today will be posted separately. I have done them this past week or two and they are ready. The first two are done with pan pastels. I find I can be sensitive to the medium and substrate and enjoy the feeling of moving the pastel across the paper. I am using Stonehenge paper again and use it most of the time. I also use a sanded paper, Art Spectrum. Even with the Stonehenge 100% cotton I can get at least three layers down before the tooth fills up.

I wish those who celebrate Easter a blessed and joyous day!

linda

I did paint yesterday. My choice of pastel colors is an unusual one for me. Hope to finish it soon and post here. In the meantime I am posting paintings that are recent and have not been posted here....they are on my old blog: http://www.scribbles-photos-paint.blogspot.com/. I am using this blog from now on, significant in that this blog is part of my new 'me' and new way of painting. Abstracts are the most challenging for me and perhaps why I do mostly them. Today is another of many recent gloomy, rainy days. My schedule is busy and ends with a wonderful treatment, osteopathic manipulation, given by Dr. Zorski. That will really be wonderful.

The epiphany is ongoing....it is a new day now and I am as awake as ever. I feel excited by my changing world. I have started this blog as a renewed person, renewed by faith in a Universal Spirit I sometimes call Creative Spirit, as well as other names of meaning to me. I am a new person in many ways, some too personal to describe here. This month of April will serve as a transition for me....a transition from my old way of 'being' to my newly found essential 'me.'

This painting is pan pastel on Stonehenge paper.

Recent Pastel Paintings

I thought I would end my blogging day by posting three recently completed pastel paintings. They were inspired by my experience of water: ocean, stream, lake. I especially am drawn to the ocean and visit my favorite seaside stops as often as possible. There are a few places I would like to live in the Southwest, however, I cannot leave the Atlantic seaboard....not unless I could bring my ocean with me!
Both paintings were done with pan pastel on Stonehenge paper. Both are 9" x 12."

It is a new year. Today is the beginning. I am grateful for yet another epiphany in my life. Today I was the recipient of new intangible art gifts through my browsing other artists' blogs and websites. I have learned so much today and today I want to commit myself to further explorations and contacts with other artists through their blogs. There is a whole world I knew about but didn't know how to "get in." Through Micael Chesley Johnson's own blog I found this world. Today has been a grand trip through art making....yes a grand and wonderful day. Tomorrow I shall paint!