APS Corridor Entries-Juried Pastel Exhibit

Looming Deadline -- January 11, 2008

Whew, made the deadline with a day to spare. Not easy. The paintings took some time with several changes along the way. Procrastination is a bad habit. I thought I started early enough. I have been in the thought process since this past summer. I didn't start anything until we returned to Texas. I wanted to paint larger than normal and did not want to have to be moving them around in the van.

The work was finally finished and required special size photos as the entries are by e-mail and digital photos. I had hoped to be done by last weekend so that Joanna or Larry could take my photographs. That didn't happen. Then Tuesday was cloudy and rainy, so no photos.

Our Backyard

Joanna took this photo several years ago. I forgot to take one today. There aren't quite so many leaves today, but you can see, the sunny spots are not many!

I read (I can't remember where at the moment .. when I do, I will give that person credit.) that taking photos of pastel paintings in direct sun gives them a clear color with little adjustment needed. It works very well. Yesterday, I made more changes on the paintings and by the time I finished .. no sun. Today was bright and sunny so off to take the photos.

The Tree
Soft Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord, 18 x 24 inches

First, I set up the easel with the painting and the camera on a tripod. The next part gets tricky as we have seventy feet tall trees in our yard. I find a sunny spot, set up the easel, bring the painting of The Tree out, take a few photos, go inside and download them to see the results. Great, The Tree, is finished. This will be done in no time!

Rocks on the Water
Soft Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord, 18 x 24 inches

Second, I take Rocks on the Water out and by then the easel is in shadow. Move everything take a few photos, go inside and look. Arghh. There is one of those dreaded three bears up on the top and some extra blue on the left that looks like it was brushed with something. It is hard to see in real life, but glares in the photos. Blue is especially hard to photograph for me. Delete photos. Fix painting. Back to the yard. The sun has moved, find another sunny spot. Now the wind is blowing. The easel has to be near upright to take the photos straight on and all of a sudden the painting blows toward me. I catch it, but I brush it with my hand and the edge of the tripod. Back inside to repair the painting. Have a snack and take a break. Back to the yard and the wind is still blowing. Gene, who has been working on his current batch of wine, helps me hold the easel and get some photos. Ah, these are fine.

The Bench
Soft Pastel on Colourfix sanded paper, 9 x 12 inches

Now,for The Bench. Again the sun has moved of course. This is a smaller painting making it a little easier to handle and the wind has died down. Take the photos and back inside to download them. They are fine. Surprise.

While I had the tripod out I went ahead and took some photos of some older paintings from Bolivia for a project for May. More about that later. The next looming deadline. These are oil paintings which don't do as well in direct sun with the reflections, even though I have them varnished with matte varnish. These paintings I just hang on the garage door and photograph in the shade. Much easier. I will have to work on them on the computer to adjust the color, though.

Hours after starting, the photos of the three pastel paintings were downloaded and I prepared them for the e-mail. Trimming, sizing, naming, pricing, and getting the e-mail entries ready and sent. I have an older program called Adobe PhotoDeluxe. It works well, but is not as nice or quick as Photoshop. Of course, it was much cheaper .. it came with one of the computers or a printer. It has certainly been a great thing for me. I have had a web site for a long time and have sized and prepared many hundreds of photos. Also resize them for the blog and my web site.

As you can see, it has been a long day. I'm tired of all three of my paintings at the moment. It will be nice to see them with new eyes in a few days. We will find out if we are accepted into the show on February 15, the show is in March. Juried shows give me mixed feelings. It would be great to be accepted into the show and receive recognition with a ribbon and prize. Artists have to realize, though, that each competition is not the final judging of our work. Artists receive a prize one time and are not accepted another time .. with the same piece of art. Even the judges see the same work differently on different days. They have to look at so many, quickly. It must be boring at times ... and then they find one that talks to them. But, it may not talk to you or to me. Hmmm.

Susan Carlin is working on the same deadline. You can see how she is coming along on her pastel painting of "Afternoon Flight". She works quickly and paints portraits so well. Like me, though, she is working under pressure. You can check out her blog and read about her new studio/gallery opening soon in San Antonio. Go Susan!

Regina Burchett did not put herself through the agony of this deadline. She has another, all her own, coming up. She will have a solo show for the month of February, 2008, at Kerbey Lane Cafe in Northwest Austin at 12602 Research Blvd. Along with the twenty or so paintings on the wall, she will have some miniatures and other items for sale there as well. I really like her new one, Morning Fog. See you at Kerbey Lane for lunch or dinner to check it out??

I will work on the WIP post for the Rocks on the Water and post it in a few days. You may be surprised at the twists and turns it took.