Floral Tradition

Floral Tradition      6" x 6"      Pastel       ©Sheila Ashley Liston
SOLD

DAY 20 of Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days Challenge, September 2017

The floral department in my grocery store welcomes me as I enter the store to do routine shopping. Although there's nothing routine about the color that beckons me to linger a while, breathing in the fragrance of fresh flowers.

While I painted today, I realized just how much colorful flowers mean to me. It goes back to seeing my grandmother cutting flowers in the garden,, and carrying them in her apron to the house where she tenderly put them in water. My mother loved flowers and did the same. You can imagine their delight, when my first job was as a floral designer in the neighborhood flower shop. My daughter, Michelle, worked as a floral designer through her college years in that same shop! 

That training and emotion has become a part of my story as an artist today.  Designing flower arrangements afforded me the opportunity to learn color, shape, and depth in a 3-D form. In painting now, I have learned to apply different techniques giving the optical illusion of depth, and yet the basic color principles are the same.  

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!!!  

Bailing Season

Bailing Season      6" x 8"      Pastel     ©Sheila Ashley Liston
Available $125


DAY 18 of Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days Challenge, September 2017

Ohio's farmlands are especially appealing to my eye this time of year. The tops of the round bales of hay seem to catch the sunlight late in the day leaving long shadows across the landscape. The fall colors contrasted against the blue skies with just a hint of pink at the horizon makes a beautiful combination of colors. The sunlight at the "golden hour" casts its own glow creating a beautiful warm palette that begs to be painted. This time of day is fleeting as it occurs about 1 hour before sunset when the sun is low in the sky. 

       

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. 

         

Sunny Lake

Sunny Lake      6" x 6"     Pastel       ©Sheila Ashley Liston
Available $75

DAY 15 Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days Challenge, September 2017

Well, I made it to the halfway point today. It was a pleasant day to paint outdoors. My husband and I visited Moebius Nature Center, where I painted this view of Sunny Lake Park . Part way through I realized that my glasses were safely tucked away in my purse in the car. What you see below is how the painting looked when we left there today.

When I got back to my studio and examined it with glasses on, I determined that it needed to be cleaned up and a few minor changes. Can you see what I changed?

Moebius Nature Center is a beautiful property on Mennonite Rd in Aurora, named in honor of Ruth and Art Moebius, long-time residents. The Moebius' donated many acres of land to the city and were deeply involved in environmental conservation. Check out their website at mymnc.org for details about the many programs and events held there throughout the year.

Cloud Study

Cloud Study      6" x 6"     Pastel       ©Sheila Ashley Liston

SOLD

DAY 13 of Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days, September 2017 Challenge

This is a perfect location for watching sunsets from a parking lot in the middle of my town. With pastels in hand, I can set up an easel there or simply observe from my car. Clouds bring some interesting challenges,while appearing simple at the same time. Like a four year old child, clouds are in constant motion. Just when I think I have the colors down correctly, they shift again. I've been told that one of the best ways to paint them it to first study their colors and make color notes. 

The beauty of painting 30 paintings in 30 days is that one learns to make color decisions quickly.  As anything that we want to do better, practice is the key. How many times have we heard this before? The act of doing these small paintings in a short time has taught me to find new stragegies that work for me. For example, I like to have my boards prepared in advance and my pastels laid out in a order that makes sense to me. I'm learning to work more efficiently in choosing my color palette before starting the work and laying those pastels aside. 

Farmland in Ohio    6" x 6"    Pastel      ©Sheila Ashley Liston
Available $75

Day 12 of Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days, September 2017 Challenge

Country drives are something my husband and I enjoy. Our area in Northeast Ohio still has many beautiful working farms. Some farms in our area have been sold to developers for building new homes. As farmers age, frequently there is no family member willing to take on the family business. Then it becomes a financial necessity to sell off the farm to provide a retirement income for the owner. Some of the landowners have donated development rights to the State of Ohio or local governments to protect productive farmland from conversion to non-agricultural use. I feel compelled to paint some of the remaining farms in my own form of preservation.