Cloud Watching

Cloud Study II       5" x 7"     Pastel       ©Sheila Ashley Liston
Available $75

DAY 19 of Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days Challenge, September 2017

Why is it that a seeming simple subject takes more study and effort that a more complex one?

For me it is the fact that there are no definite shapes as clouds are continually in motion and the light changes rapidly as the sun is setting. Other subjects have specific shapes and colors that describe the objects, therefore it's easier to draw or paint.  After studying cloud formations in real time and photographing them, I'm learning to simply record an impression of what I see. It really is just staying in the moment and being present in the experience, that allows the spiritual component to enter into the mix. 

Packing the pastels and moving outdoors, gives me the opportunity to make color notes as to the particular colors that I see that day. Who can argue with the Master's color palette? I like to call my sunset experiences, "God's Light Shows". 

Try it sometime...just sitting and watching the colors and shapes change as the sun goes down, and then stay a while longer to see what happens.  WARNING: do not drive and sky watch at the same time!!!  

Roaring Silence

Roaring Silence     6" x 6"    Pastel     ©Sheila Ashley Liston
Available $75

DAY 17 of Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days Challenge, September 2017

Bright colors in the sky caught my attention when I experienced hot air balloons lifting off for the first time. That festival continues today in Ravenna, Ohio in mid September.  I quickly became an enthusiast, visiting balloon festivals in other states. I have painted hot air balloons many times and some as commissions.  Two of my paintings have a home in unusual places, simply because of the uplifting nature of the subject. One hangs in a psychologist's office in a federal prison, and the other in a medical examiners' office in a medical school.