Longing the fall

'Longing the fall' soft pastel 12x12in. $200 Available

Melting blues

Melting Blues - soft pastel 11x14- Available

Learning to make my mark

Windy Afternnoon- pastel- 8x10- $85 Available

Last week I took a workshop from Barbara Jaenicke. The 3 days were very informative. Barbara shares tons of information from techniques to framing and more.

There were two key concepts that I came back home with determined to follow and try.

Because I have a full time job as a computer programmer, I normally do not have the time to paint that I wish I had. I am either tired or I just ran out of hours in the day.

A consequence of this is that I get impatient and want to have a painting finished quickly in order to compensate for all that time that I do not have.

By rushing, the quality of my work suffers and I end up frustrated not seeing the results I want. It affects my mark making: yes, my style is bold but that does not mean I don't have to stop and think where to place the next mark on the painting and what kind it should be.

Like with everything, if you rush you normally mess up.

This painting was done putting special attention to the placement and quality of the pastel strokes keeping truth to my typical style.

I am very pleased with it. The slowing down paid off!

My Artist's Statement - finally

Thru the glowing path- paste-11x14 - price $165 Available

I believe art is one of the few things on earth that can be done without limitations or restrictions.While you are working on your art nobody can judge you. It is only the artist, paint and canvas. The freedom one feels when working on an art piece has no limits.

Art is an escape from everyday life. It transports us to a place and mood where we get in touch with our deepest thoughts and principles: with our soul.

I have always been intrigued to know more about where we come from, what are we doing here, how can we provide value to others and maybe find some sort of answer to my existential questions.Painting the landscape makes me feel closer to the answers even if we never find them.

Art makes the soul happy.

Documenting the process

Through the fields of color - pastel - 9x12 - price $100 Available

This was a quick painting I did today to document my own steps.

Blank "canvas". I was trying a new kind of paper today... did not like but worth to give it a shot.

Started with the drawing and blocking dark areas.

I covered the whole paper by blending all of it.

I start adding the next layer,  defined the path, trees in the back and some foreground grass.

More grass in the background area, and warm green on the trees.

Now I start with some of the flowers. Also made the sky more interesting. I added definition where the trees meet the sky.

Warming up the path so that its more inviting. Also started some white flowers.

Fun part: more flowers and defined grasses in the foreground.

Added some pink to the background trees/mountains, lightened up the background grass area and overall marks to unify the whole painting.

A view from the Olympics

"Lake Cushman", 18x24, pastel, @Alejandra Gos, $225, Available

This painting's reference photo was taken on my last hike to the summit of Mt. Ellinor.

The first 3 hours of the hike is in the woods. After coming above the tree line, at about 4,500 feet, the trail opens up to wildflower meadows, and then veers to the left of a steep avalanche chute. This takes you all the way to the 5,944-foot summit. That takes one more hour.

From the top you can see Mt. Rainier, St Helens, Baker and even Hood. On a very clear day you can see Seattles' skyscrapers way out there.In the view in the painting I was looking south west over Lake Cushman. The water after that is the Puget Sound close to Hoodsport on Highway 101. A bit more to the left is (not in the painting) Mt. Rainier. The trees on the bottom left are on Mt. Washington. 

It is a spectacular view totally worth the hike.

Me sitting at the top of the world

Nobody can tell you "you got it wrong"

'Tomorrow will be sunny'  pastel  6x8 $75  @Alejandra Gos Available

Thanks Marla Baggetta for writing it yesterday... when it comes to skies, you start from a reference picture but it quickly evolves into your own thing. And... nobody can tell you you didn't get it right. The sky is always different in color and shapes, but constant in one way: it leaves me speechless.

Limited Palette

'Aqua and Ochre'  pastel  6x8 $75  @Alejandra Gos Available