DAY 5: Today in NJ has been a HOT one!!  High of 96 with real feel of 105 or something crazy like that.  We just got our second major thunderstorm for the day.  Makes me think I would love to paint an impending thunderstorm.  I will have to try to capture a pic first.
This evening I was not tired but also not in the mood to paint for long. I was fairly happy with how this turned out.  I took a pic that a friend took at Cape May, NJ and painted that.
I was having some depth trouble and kept recalling what I have been taught and read- cool in down to push it back and warm it up to pull it forwards.  It did help.

DAY 4: Set up my first still life....Had to find a spotlight.  I have recessed lights though so my shadows were wonky.  I turned out the lights and left on the spotlight so that I had one light source and clear shadows- I sketched the set up but had not enough light to paint!  I wonder what others do- maybe they don;t have recessed lighting or maybe they go outside to set up...
Anyway, I don't like what I did and wonder if I will ever get the hang of it- sometimes I wonder.  Sad thing is that I messed with this for an hour.  Ugh.  What I wanted to do was give up 15mins in but because I have to post it I forged ahead.  I try to remind myself to not give up. 

Day 3.
I made it!  I don't think I have ever painted  3 days in a row!  I have to say I feel like painting every day is already allowing me to learn.  On the way to pick up my son from a friend's house last night, I saw a pretty scene of the lake with some canoes.  Normally, I would keep zooming by and think that would be a great scene to paint.  This time, I stopped, ran out and snapped the shot.  I plan to try and do more of that.  So I gave it a whirl tonight.  I learned to make by distant hill a little darker this time and I also tried graying areas out a bit with a light muted purple- I suppose it is a purple gray.  I also enjoyed using a Girault pastel to glaze over my water.  I recall Marla Bargetta- (I love her work!) recommended Girault's for glazing, so I gave it a whirl and they work great lightly blending on a last layer of color without too much slopping off onto the color beneath.
I still got frustrated making the trees- I feel like they are sloppy and not well done and I am not sure how to rectify that other than to keep trying and reference some of my pastel how-to books.
I listened to Otmar Liebert while painting- very relaxing!
The book  I reading that I LOVE is called Daily Painting by Carole Marine.  It is incredibly well written and loaded with pics and all sorts of tips on how to be a better painter.  I have read about 10-15 pastel/art books so far and this one is one of my favs.

Day 2
I really wanted to try that lime again because I was convinced I could make it better but when I stared at the photo, I wasn't feeling it.  So instead I decided to try and paint a pic from Lake George, NY.  My family has gone to Lake George for the last 2 summers.  We stayed at the Sagemore which is such a lovely place.  You feel like you are stepping back in time at that hotel.  There are rockers on a big grand back porch overlooking the lake, with someone playing the piano and others serving wine.  You almost expect to see women in white Victorian dresses and men in their top hats.  We rented a boat on several days, and despite my worries that we would crash into another boat or permanently lose a kid off of the tube trailing off our boat, we made out just fine and I managed to take a bunch of photos.  Here is my attempt at the lake.
Still not loving it but learned that hard pastels are nice for blending on upper layers.  I learned that I love, love , love Liquitex ink for part of my dark underpainting- (thank you Bethany Fields for the idea on your video!) and I learned that I overdo atmospheric perspective so that my distant mountains end up way too light.  I ended up having to add darks over lights and trying not to make mud!

Hello everyone!  Today is......drum roll please.......DAY 1!  Last night while lying in bed I was reading a wonderful, amazing box on how to become a better artist (I will post the name tomorrow as I am currently too lazy to walk up the 13 steps to get it).  The author suggested that those procrastinating wanna be artists out there get cracking and paint every day.  Well it all sounds well and good and that IS what I want to do but I have so many but's.......you know that thing called work, children, housekeeping (just a little), errand running and I don't know, everything else that makes up a crazy life.  Those things kinda get in the way of me playing with pastels.  I imagine it gets in your way of playing with whatever medium you adore.
I had the great privilege of being taught by Takeyce Walter from NY (she is an amazing artist- look her up!) and she recommended writing a blog if nothing more than to watch my own progress over time.  I thought it was a great idea and promptly let the idea slide away, UNTIL last night when I was reminded to give it a whirl.
I figure it is like having a personal trainer.  I am a physical therapist (not currently treating patients but working in the business side) and I know a lot about how to exercise, as I should.  I once hired a personal trainer for one reason: ACCOUNTABILITY!  You know what, I was in the best shape at that time because I paid to show up and if I blew her off, I would feel badly and like a lazy butt.  I paid to have her tell me to not give up.
So I suppose there are artists for hire who could do the same, but I so think blogging will force me to do my best to paint every day.  I don't like to give up, so once I start, I better stick to it! 
So, this is already getting too long and I will chat more tomorrow.  All you need to know about me is that I have no formal art background and I decided last August that I wanted to be an artist, particularly a pastel artist. 
This blog is me embarking on that journey.  Actually I embarked months ago but did not paint often enough, so I am barely out of port.
Today's painting is a 6x6 on Colourifx paper, not sure what grade with a mish mash of pastel brands.
Oh and I hate it and can do better but it would not be fair to cheat and not post day 1.  I posted the photo and my attempt at the pastel.  The photo made the greens to dark.  In real life they were quite a bit lighter.  I am learning quickly that photos lie.