Archives For pastels

I Picked the Winner…

Mary Liz Ingram —  April 23, 2013 — Leave a comment

This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home. This little piggy had roast beef, and this little piggy had none. and this little piggy…went “wee, wee, wee!” all the way home…

Well, this little piggy was meant for market, and this little piggy found a new home. My fastest sale ever thanks to a lovely lady from the Birmingham area, he made a quick debut on Facebook and used his charm to find his own place in the world. He is a happy little fellow!

"Oink," 8x10 soft pastel on card, sold

“Pig #3,” 8×10 soft pastel on card, sold

While I was drawing this pig, I remembered a scene from my childhood…one of triumph and pride that I carried with me for quite some time. I confess, it’s been awhile since I thought of it. But how could I forget?!

It was the Alabama State Fair, circa 1985. I was there with my family, perched on my mom’s hip. I can still picture the scene, in that long-ago, fuzzy kid-vision we have of moments that make a great impression…the colors, the noise, the smell of hay. Continue Reading…

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Alabama Goods

Mary Liz Ingram —  April 21, 2013 — Leave a comment

After sitting on my work for quite some time (having an infant makes it difficult to keep up!), I am happy to announce that my pastel “Pieces of the South” are now available at Alabama Goods in downtown Homewood, Alabama.

The specialty store will carry my large and small pastels of cows, pigs, cotton…all things Southern!

Here are a few of my new pieces that have made their way to the shop…

"Moo," 8x8 pastel on card

“Moo,” 8×8 pastel on card

all framed up

all framed up

"This Little Piggy," 8x8 soft pastel

“This Little Piggy,” 8×8 soft pastel

 

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Surprise!

Mary Liz Ingram —  April 15, 2013 — Leave a comment

Art desk scrubbed, pastels ready, paper cut, charcoal in hand, reference propped at just the right angle…

Deep, contemplative breath in, nervous exhale as I prepare to begin another portrait.

Grasping for my inner creative, I look at the photo reference, with the jet black backdrop behind this cute chubby baby, and I try to envision the finished product. I used to aim to be a camera: copy the image as exactly as possible. With some experience and years of art behind me, this is no longer my goal. I now try to take an image and “make it sing,” however that translates on paper.

Baby Boy, 11x14 preliminary sketch

Baby Boy, 11×14 preliminary sketch

I sketch out the sweet little boy; feel pretty good about feature placement. Now it’s time for the dreaded background. In my mind’s eye, I see a light, wispy something or other, which is not much help. Instead of agonizing over it, I just jump in.

Working on a deadline, I don’t have time to mess around.

The joy of being back at my art desk after a few busy weeks, mixed with determination to get the portrait finished, ended up surprising me with yet another evolution of my art.

I’ve found over the years, that even though you are creating art with your own hand, your own head and your own heart, the results can sometimes surprise you. Though you may have drawn something in the same way many, many times, all of a sudden the finished product is something unexpectedly and delightfully different.

With this portrait, I unknowingly used a lighter, looser hand, less defined edges, and worked the color and texture of my pastel card into the painting. I was (thankfully) quite happy with this new result, and am very glad that the new owners are as well!

Baby Boy, 11x14 pastel on card

Baby Boy, 11×14 pastel on card

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The Yellow Haze

Mary Liz Ingram —  April 10, 2013 — Leave a comment

My car covered in pollenSpring has sprung in Alabama, and with its advent comes the yellow haze. The dreaded pollen influx has enveloped our neighborhoods, coated our cars, and invaded our lungs. Yellow clouds are stirred by the wind like sand storms. We’re all on Zyrtec in order to survive.

But with all this yellow dust, comes the most beautiful array of Spring flowers. Now, if anyone cares to notice, I don’t often draw flowers. I think flowers are fabulous (hint, hint to my husband); but I’m just not a huge fan of choosing them as my subject. I’ve drawn them occasionally: daffodils, camellias, magnolias…

Do thistles count? Continue Reading…

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Absorbing the minutes

Mary Liz Ingram —  April 7, 2013 — 2 Comments

It seems to be a normal part of life that days never proceed as planned.

Office PrankI’m a planner…a list-maker extraordinaire. At work, I’m known for my broad use of sticky notes, so much so that the other day I found my office covered in notes, a joke from a supportive friend and coworker.

My expectations are so regularly thwarted by the not-unwelcome interference of life in family and community, that I’m slowly learning to relax and enjoy each moment as it comes, whether its on my list or a curve ball from left field.

As an artist with a “day job” and young family, art usually must take a back seat. I don’t have as much time as I used to for reflective, (I won’t even try to say uninterrupted) creativity. When I encounter a long stretch without creating, my mood definitely drops and I have to find a moment for at least a quick sketch.

My baby girl is about to turn one year old; my son will be starting kindergarten at elementary school in August; my 1st grade daughter has lost four teeth and can write her own stories; I’ve been married almost 11 years to my wonderful husband. Those busy days that usurp my sticky-noted lists are bearable-and enjoyable- because I know how fast time flies.

One morning before school, an amazing teacher and friend spoke in tearful reflection about her youngest daughter in her last year of high school. She shared some very wise, yet simple words that have settled and taken root in my heart:

“I look back on when my kids were young and realize it didn’t matter if my house was clean. Time with them has gone by so fast.”

I think of those words and that emotion often. When I get frustrated by my derailed plans, or my crumby table, or the mountain of laundry, I look at my family, at the trees, at my hands, and remember that life comes as a gift to us, one day at a time.

If I don’t relish life as much as I can, as each moment passes, it seems to pass like water through my fingers.

I am thankful for this day and all that it brings; may my eyes be open to its moments, and my breath be deep enough to absorb the minutes and make them count.

“Always remember that the future comes one day at a time.” -Dean Acheson

Making a List

Making a List, charcoal and conte sketch on paper

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Upcoming Pastel Workshop:

Mary Liz Ingram —  March 29, 2013 — 2 Comments

Out of the Box with Mary Liz Ingram

Picture

Come discover a new side to working with soft pastels!
Join award-winning pastel artist Mary Liz Ingram, and learn how to paint stunning landscapes. Mary Liz will demonstrate techniques to move you beyond traditional light & smooth pastel drawings to pastel paintings alive with brilliant color. We will be creating two finished pastel landscapes, large and miniature. You’ll achieve great results that will have people guessing your medium! Click here for details, and visit Forstall Art Center’s website for more info.
Saturday, May 4, 10-4pm.
Forstall Art Center, Birmingham, Alabama
$85, supplies needed, lunch included.
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If you weren’t afraid…

Mary Liz Ingram —  March 26, 2013 — 4 Comments

It was a few weeks ago, I was driving with the flow of before-work traffic, sipping my blessedly fragrant coffee out of my travel mug and listening to NPR, while my son counted repeatedly to 100 and my baby threw her toys around. I heard snippets of an interview with Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg. Between listening to counting, stopping and going down the highway, and planning for the day ahead, one piece stayed with me: Sandberg’s favorite workplace poster: “What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?”

That got me to thinking. Mary Liz, what WOULD you do if you weren’t afraid? That half-answered and waiting question floats in and out of my head from time to time.

What would you do if you weren’t afraid…

I would stand up for what is right, for what I believe is good and true. I would take action when opportunity arises to make the world a better place.

I would do these things in spite of fear of what others would think, who would disagree, who might think of my beliefs with distaste, or question me. If I were not afraid, I would be a better person, I think.

So I’m going to try to take steps as they come, to do more good with less fear. I’m sure the lesson should be much deeper, the deeds greater, but you have to start somewhere.

So I start here. I support and want to encourage equality among people…we are all human, we all feel love and hate, sadness and joy; we are a mixed up lot and disagree so much because we are all unique. But no matter our circumstance, we are in this together, in flesh and blood, living and breathing. We all have a story, half-hidden, so do not judge; I won’t judge you.

“Be kind. Everyone you meet is in the midst of a great struggle.” -Plato

Marriage Equality, 3x3 pastel on card

Marriage Equality, 3×3 pastel on card

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Nora Grace preliminary sketch

Lovely Girl

Mary Liz Ingram —  March 11, 2013 — 2 Comments

 

Nora Grace, 8x10 pastel on paper

Nora Grace, 8×10 pastel on paper

Baby Nora

An unexpected gift to our family, this little girl is joy in the flesh. Sweet and soft, small and patient, she is a little light, bringing dimpled grins wherever she goes. Each time we hold her, we breath in life a little more deeply, pause and linger over the moment with a little more care. The gratefulness we feel because of this precious girl is inexpressible. I spend each day gushing over her: squishing her cheeks, waiting for her smile and her sweet, tiny voice to call for me. She lives surrounded by love, as I hope she always, always will.

“Lovely girl won’t you stay, won’t you stay, stay with me” -The Lumineers

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Put Up Your Dukes

Mary Liz Ingram —  March 5, 2013 — 2 Comments

I’m sitting on my art room floor, folded in an adolescent position (for which later my joints paid dearly), bent over an 8×10 sepia colored piece of pastel card. My pastels lay to my left, my reference in front propped against a child’s white & marker-scribbled chair. The sun is shining in, the Lumineers sing to me as Pandora plays my choice of music.

The metaphorical bell sounds; that hollow metallic announcement that the fight begins.

“DING!”

In one corner, there is me, bent and ready for the battle. My opponent in the other, a photo of a large silver Maine Coon, waiting to be drawn.

The match begins with ease. I sketch that cat and win round 1.

"paint by number" phase

“paint by number” phase

I tackle the image with my initial layers of pastels, and reduce my opponent to art reminiscent of the “paint-by-numbers” of my childhood.

When it’s time for the unifying layers, where it is expected that I will triumph, the cat fights back. It’s lunchtime and I’m growing weak. My frustrations mount as we’re locked in a fierce battle. I attack with my pastels to no avail.

I return to my corner. My eyes are numb to the big picture and I need a rest. Details are blurred and frustrated, and my animosity towards the cat has escalated to muttered swearing. I eat. I rest. I separate from the cat. Continue Reading…

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What’s in a name?

Mary Liz Ingram —  February 27, 2013 — Leave a comment

Baby ToesYou’re expecting a baby. You toss around this name, argue over that name. You think of the ways someone could make fun of the name, what it rhymes with, how it looks in writing. For me, I knew the baby’s name as soon as the gender was discovered. For my sister, her baby had a name when they were forced to turn in the birth certificate form. It’s a big deal, naming a person!

In a different setting (or if you’re like me, with said baby on your hip), it’s time to choose another name: another “product of your labors,” if you will (ha ha).

The Clod & The Pebble

The Clod & The Pebble, 18×24 Soft Pastel on board,

Your art is complete. You stand back, considering the image, thinking of the message, the voice you hope it conveys…the mood, the feeling. It’s time to give it a name. Sometimes a name seems to come pre-attached to your artwork and is easy to choose, such as my “The Clod and the Pebble,” which was inspired by the poetry of William Blake. Sometimes extensive creativity is not required, like a friend of mine who numbers his cow paintings (Cow 1, Cow 34, etc.). Sometimes naming art can be comical, when you try to be real “artsy fartsy” and call it “Life Emerging from Heartstrings” or “Purple Mists Over the Lands of Love.” (apologies if anyone has chosen these fabulous, imaginary titles…)

At other times, you stare and stare and your mind draws a blank. This happens to me A LOT. I’ll toss names around, and finally just settle for one that I may find a bit silly. Continue Reading…

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