The Church in Aurora

The Church in Aurora    9" x 12"    Pastel      ©Sheila Ashley Liston
Available $150

Day 10 of Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days, September 2017 Challenge

This is an historic Church in my city in Aurora, Ohio. It has beautiful nighttime lighting that just seems to reach out to me. On this particular evening in the fall, the rain and wind had started to bring some leaves down. The reflection of the church itself cast a soft illumination on the street in front.  The smell of fall was in the air. Our car in the library's parking lot served as a studio that night, until there was no more light to see my pastels. I finished it today in the comfort of my studio.

Well I am one third of the way through the challenge. It was hard to focus on painting over the weekend, as with many people, my mind was on Hurricane Irma and its' effects on the people of the southeastern states. We have family and friends in a few of those states. We do continue to pray for the recovery of the people there.

My husband and I found this Bible in the dumpster behind our shop a few years ago. I wanted to try my hand at Bible Journaling with making art directly on its pages. I was reluctant to try this in my other Bibles.  Since this one was already a bit dirty and dog-eared, I gave it a try.  This one seemed to speak to the situation with the hurricanes and floods this weekend.

Adirondack Experience

Adirondack Museum View      5" x 6"     Pastel      ©Sheila Ashley Liston
Available $75

Day 4 of Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days Challenge, September 2017

A September view from the observation deck at the Adirondack Experience Museum...

The former Adirondack Museum is now called Adirondack Experience and appropriately so. The natural beauty is a breathtaking experience as the museum sits on Blue Mountain Lake in Blue Mountain, New York . The grounds, buildings, and historic displays are worth a visit with something to enjoy for all ages, as well an many events during the year.  There's a lifetime of painting subjects there.

I especially enjoyed the view above Blue Mountain Lake from the observation deck with lovely, well cared for plantings of a variety of flowers. I love painting places like this as it helps to embed the experience in my mind. Also, I get a chance to relive our time spent there with long time friends and new friends from our last visit. 

I began with a simple thin wash of black, mapping out where my darks and lights were located.

I then laid in some beginning color to establish a tone for the whole painting. Once I began with the foliage and flowers I became so focused that I forgot to take another progress shot.

Marsh I      5" x 7"    Pastel      ©Sheila Ashley Liston
Available $65


Day 2 THIRTY PAINTINGS IN THIRTY DAYS September 2017  #30paintingsin30days

With a color palette of blues, browns, and a touch of lavendar, I found a fun approach to a simple subject. I was experimenting also with the type of surface that I had tried before with no success. This time I found that the suede surface seemed to work well to hold soft Sennelier pastels. The harder Rembrandts didn't adhere to the surface as well previously, resulting in a less than exciting result.

Bogs and marshes seem to call to me with their winding paths of water that reflects the sky's color perfectly. The marshes near the ocean are interesting with an occasional boater paddling through. The protected wetlands near me in Ohio, are a wonderland of colorful wildflowers and birds, especially in July and August.

Glade Creek Grist Mill    8.25 x 6.5    Pastel     ©Sheila Ashley Liston
SOLD

DAY 1 of THIRTY PAINTINGS IN 30 DAYS September 2017        #30paintingsin30days

Glade Creek Grist Mill at Babcock State Park is in West Virginia. My husband and I enjoy photographing and painting this mill in every season. ( Look for the fall painting on this blog soon). This day was a result of rain in the area for a few days. The water spoke in a thundering tone, throwing a mist into the air that threatened the camera lens. 

This shows the early stage that I was not happy with.  I was able to remove some of the pastel with a brush.  With a bit of re-work, I darkened some areas and increased the lights of the water to add to the contrast.  It seemed to take on a different feel altogether. Putting the beginning stage aside for a bit, seemed to help determine what really needed to be done to make a stronger painting.