Speaking of kids…
I recently had the pleasure to create a large 24×36″ pastel portrait of a trio of super cute kids from a neighboring state. I love being able to give a family a portrait that captures who they are at that moment in time, knowing it will last and bring them memories and joy as the kids grow up. Sending a big thanks to my sweet client, and wishing them all so well!
My next art event! Coming up next Thursday, November 20th from 5-8 at Pepper Place, my new pastels + many more will be at Ferguson Showroom.
Hope you can make it!
Recently I had a cool opportunity to share about creating portraits for my sweet friend Julie Holly’s sermon serie, The Faces of Jesus, at Canterbury United Methodist Church here in Birmingham.
Now, my nerves were threatening to get the best of me as soon as my den was overtaken with a big ol’ camera, a bunch of bright lights, and I got hooked up to a microphone. But thanks to the kind cameraman, I did my thing as best I could.
I hesitated to share the video, you know how we humans pick ourselves apart, but they did such a good job making it, and it’s not everyday you get to share what you do in a video, so here goes nothing:
Summer is a haven of slow enjoyment. The air is hot and heavy here, and it pulls our busy lives to a slower pace, like a gentle tug of the shirt. Languid afternoons, the summer sun presses and the chirping bugs lull. Children find mischief and explore, and you begin to feel more like a child yourself as the summer nights lengthen and fireflies glow.
One Sunday afternoon my children were overjoyed to join the youth for a “chalk war” at church. My little son covered in a tie dye of colors, his small hands scooping up the colorful powder, the ground a wash of rainbows…
A moment to capture in art.
Chalk War, 9×12 pastel on homemade paper
For a little background on the paper, earlier in the summer one of our not-so-fun activities was cleaning out the art room. My budding artists use A LOT of paper. In the spirit of creative responsibility, we decided to make new paper out of our old paper. We tore it, soaked it, smushed it, diluted it, screened it, squeezed it, dried it and voila! Paper.
Blue Jay, pastel on handmade paper
A mass of blue jays scatter the trees
Hopping mad they scream out angry calls
From the branch to the roof to the bush to the sky
A flurry of feisty blue
They eye the ground intensely
Switching positions without pause
I stop and stare at the feathered spectacle
Counting the moving birds in vain
Five no six, they hop and caw and screech
Wary of their sharp eyes and open beaks
I creep forward and spot a foe
A white cat perches nimbly among the azalea
With a shake of the bush, the cat escapes
The jays begin a cautious lessening
Still emitting a jumbled unity of warning
Such fierce attention and determined vehemence
Encased in those feathers of blue
Across the same bridge over the River Seine to the same, small green shopfront near the Louvre.
I stood in front of Sennelier for the second time.
Last time I was there, there was no art career. There was a lifetime of interest and dabbling, but no career. I bought my first pastels there, after hearing about Sennelier on NPR. That same year, I embarked on a career change, determined to make art a way of life.
And here I stood, years later, in front of the store that feeds my art and brings my pastels into being. We went inside and I touched the worn, wooden drawers containing every color pastel. We maneuvered around the cramped, aged art store, past the old wooden ladder and over to the notebooks. I made my choices and with a timid “Merci” purchased some notebooks, future home of new doodles. Something I can keep.
Like standing in the English field among the sheep that I’d drawn so often, standing in Sennelier was another step in coming full circle. But it was not the last.
With our umbrellas and soggy shoes, we left our lunch at the Eiffel Tower with our sights set on Mont Martre, the gathering place for artists past and present. Last time our visit to Paris was so brief, we only had time to touch this section of the city. Rain or no rain, we would soak it in and look over all of Paris from the hill of Sacre Cour.
Laughing and out of breath, we slipped and climbed up the steep sidewalks to the top of Mont Martre. Navigating through umbrellas, we wove our way past cafes and windmills, artists shielding their work from the wet weather. With easy smiles and free spirits, we leaned on the fence in front of Sacre Cour, the carousel below us and Paris spreading its arms as far as we could see.
Sacre Cour, marker & ink doodle
We moved down the steps like children and stood in front of the carousel, watching it spin and entertain. I knew every piece, a former pastel now shared in a home somewhere in Alabama. A piece of Paris.
Carousel, marker & ink doodle
My art career has grown and my life has deepened over the years. The beginning, the inspiration, the moments have come full circle with this trip of pilgrimage. I have said my thanks and recognized those things, those places and those people that have moved me and brought me thus far.
And now I have a renewed heart and new adventures to explore and draw and share…
And it was answered by 7 talented, lovely ladies on April 12 at Forstall Art Center at my pastel workshop!
Some picked up the pastel for the first time since middle school, and some honed their skills…it was a fabulous day drawing little goldfish to explore color and contrast, and big dramatic skies to work with texture and layers.
Here’s my quick demonstration piece…wish I’d taken pictures of my students’ fabulous work! They were amazing!!!
The Park, 11×14 pastel
Recently I had the great pleasure to do three precious portraits of baby brothers. They are such cute little babies, I just kept staring at them while they rested on my art desk!
Here’s a peek at my portrait process:
There’s always that middle point, when I begin to cover the bright colors, when I panic. And babies especially make me sweat, with their smooth little faces. You have to be so careful to keep all shadows and lines subtle, to keep their chubby cheeks chubby and their newness young.
Introducing three cute little buddies, and a huge thanks for this fun commission!
Baby Brother, 8×10 pastel
Baby Brother, 8×10 pastel
Baby Brother, 8×10 pastel
On a beautiful Spring Saturday, I woke up to birds chirping before the sunrise. Dragging myself out of bed, I dressed and tried to shake off the sleep. It was time to load up, head out and set up for another art show.
My Dad
While putting the last few pieces in my little car, my sweet Daddy pulls into the driveway in his work truck, helping me load up the big stuff: tent, panels, tables & weights. With kids at home and my husband out of town, my mom has to get up early and pitch in with childcare. So much work just for me! I have great parents. (Thanks Mom and Dad!)
Art festivals are a lot of work. You create, you plan, you prepare, you pack it all up carefully. You price, you tag, you sort, you display. You raise your tent, you place your chair, you hang your art. You smile, chat, sell, share, and meet all sorts of new people. It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun.
For this particular festival with the Mountain Brook Art Association, I had the great treat of being next to one of my friends and a fabulous artist Robin Miller. This was her first show, and I’d already claimed one of her paintings for myself, before the other buyers snitched it: a beautiful persimmon. Our kids were there, romping and playing together in the green field behind our tents.
We were selling our art to all sorts of wonderful people. And then came some blue ribbons! We were winners!!!!
Like giddy school girls we jumped up and down and laughed and got our pictures taken. I won Best of Show for the Professional Artist Category, and Robin won Best of Show for the Emerging Artist Category. It was a fabulous surprise and great honor!
Thanks to everyone who came out to support local art and congratulations to my sweet friend Robin! She has a bright future in the art world!
My booth
Of all the art in my house (and I have a lot, as you can imagine), the ones that make me stop and stare and think and smile are the portraits of my three kids.
I grew up with an artist for a grandmother. Her den was filled with family portraits that she painted. I could describe every detail, because I spent so much time looking at them. When she died, everyone took their portraits home, a treasure that lasts. She made them with her own hands, and her children and grandchildren pass them down.
Now I have the honor to do that for my own children, and for other people. I love to look at the pastels I’ve drawn of my three buddies, and think (or hope) that one day they will treasure them in their own home. Something lovingly made by an adoring mother, attempting to express what treasures they are by creating a piece of art to capture a moment.
If you’d like me to create a lasting treasure for your family, check out my portrait page. I’d love to get started and create something meaningful for someone you love too.
Now let me share my newest piece, finally adding my little Nora to the wall, next to her brother and sister. I will have this piece on display at my art show in Crestline tomorrow, April 5th.
Nora, 18×24 pastel
I'm a self-taught pastel & watercolor artist and instructor, raised and based in Birmingham, Alabama. I constantly collect stories and pieces of the world around me, turning them into works of art. Inspired by nature, I love to share what I've learned and build connections and community. I invite you to browse and join my site. I hope you find something that inspires you!
Voted one of Birmingham's Best Local Artists 2013, Birmingham News & al.com
Featured in Birmingham Magazine, March 2018
Visit the Commissions page on the top menu to find out more about my pastel & watercolor portraits. Portraits are drawn from photographs in a timely manner with the highest quality materials to ensure they will be enjoyed for generations!
Thanks for visiting my site! I am an awarded pastel artist and instructor based in Birmingham, Alabama. A self-taught artist, I have been working with pastels for over 6 years, selling in shops, galleries, shows and by commission. I teach pastel workshops for adults, and love to help emerging artists on their journey into the art community.
