Sue Flanagan’s Website

I recently had a great opportunity to go to a plein air workshop that was sponsored by the Taos Art School. Paul Murray PSA was the instructor for this plein air pastel workshop. This part of the country is absolutely beautiful and so different from the Midwest of the United States. Here are some of the sites that I painted. Click on a picture to make it larger.

Taos is an amazing art community. I spent a whole day leisurely going through galleries. I saw an annual art show at the convention center. I saw a “Quick Draw” where a group of artists create art in a variety of media and the works are sold at auction afterward.Workshops are so much fun. I see new parts of the country and I meet other artists who are passionate about art. Here are some pictures of the group.

Here are some pictures of our first day at St. Francis church. Paul is giving me some pointers and he demonstrated.

At the end of the week, Paul critiqued our work. The last picture is of Paul and his paintings of the week.

To see some of the paintings I did in this workshop, go to my plein air gallery. To see Paul Murray’s work, go to www.murrayfineart.com.

Last month I was commissioned to do a pastel painting. It was to be a 16 x 20 in. field of flowers. The flowers were to be primarily yellow. Providentially, there was a nearby field of wild flowers in bloom at the time. So, I took pictures of the field and similar pictures at the Morton Arboretum. I have painted in both of these locations before. From these photos, I did a preliminary 11 x 14 in. color study since I knew that color was a very important element to the client. From the client’s feedback, I learned that she did not want cool colors of pink or purple and that I had too much green, especially cool greens. The client wanted a very warm painting.

I planned another larger quick sketch for myself using rye grass and Queen Ann’s Lace with yellow cone flowers and yellow showy Black Eyed Susans. I have photographed the process. I taped a white sanded paper on foam core. Here is the underpainting of pastel that was then painted with Gamsol odorless mineral spirits. Click on the image to enlargen.

I was pleased with the underpainting because it had the golden look that the client wanted. So, I wanted it to show through as I layered pastel on top of it. I then started working on background flowers that were in the distance and then those that would be underneath the main flowers.

I wanted the yellow cone flowers to the right to be the closest and the focal point. The color in these phots is more green which is a product of my limited photography skills and lack of consistency in photographing the steps.

At this point I had to look at the painting over several days. I decided that I had to add more white flowers (daisies) because the Queen Ann’s Lace was not enough to break up the mass of yellow. Here is the final picture of the painting.

There is always apprehension when a commission is completed. Is this what the client wanted? Did I understand her vision? This is what she wrote, “Words can not express my appreciation for the beautiful painting you created for me. You were able to conceptualize and create my vision and put it to canvas. The vibrant colors along with the beautiful creation of flowers is breathtaking. It will be a wonderful addition to our home. My sincere thanks. Carol”

Here are a few of my recent plein air paintings. The weather in the midwest United States has been wonderful this summer! It has been around 80 degrees, partly cloudy and with light breezes. For me this is the perfect weather to paint outdoors or “en plein air.” I have minimized my equipment so that I can carry everything without the need of my luggage carrier. I even managed to finish a painting that I started last summer at the Felt Mansion in Michigan.

I also just finished a small preliminary painting for a commission. Once the client approves this, I will paint the final painting which will be a 16 x 20 in. pastel. I won a 2nd place ribbon at the LaGrange Art League and next month I will be in the Alliance of Fine Art, Best of the Best show.

Enjoy your summer,
Sue

The Vogt Visual Art Center in Tinley Park, Illinois had a fine art fair on the grounds in June. Local artists using all media  including watercolor, acrylic, glass, pastel, oil, and photography displayed their work. I decided to display small pastel paintings. Here are some photos of the process of setting up.

It was a hot day but it was dry and there was only a gentle breeze. I brought my easel to do a pastel demonstration of a few strawberries that I brought for lunch.

I met a lot of nice customers and fellow artists. It was a very nice day. I hope your summer has been pleasant.
Sue Flanagan

Yesterday, May 23, 09, the Plein Air Painters Chicago-Southwest (PAPC-SW) painted at a new location for us. We went to Cantigny in Wheaton, Illinois. Cantigny has acres of gorgeous manicured gardens. It is also a war memorial. There is a visitor’s center, a restaurant, coffee bar, museum and golf course. This is all part of the Col. Robert R. McCormick foundation. We were welcomed by the staff. This was a nice place to be on a Memorial Day weekend.

Every where you looked there was a scene worthy of a painting. Our group tried to capture the beauty of the gardens. We met at 8:30 a.m. and reconvened outside the visitor’s center for a critique at 12:30. Here is the scene that I chose. It was a nice composition and I purposely wanted to challenge myself in two areas. There was a lot of information in this scene so I had to work on simplifying. I also had to work on perspective. My view finder helped with this.

Here is a picture of me painting the scene and the result of my efforts. There are some adjustments I have to make. However, I think I have good information from this study and the photo to make a nice studio painting.

Our critique is mostly a group problem solving session. It is so interesting to see what other scenes were painted and the different styles. Artists worked in watercolor, acrylic, oil and pastel. Here are some photos of the group and our paintings.

It was about 70 degrees and sunny with a light breeze. The weather and company could not be better. We agreed that it all made for some “happy” paintings. Yes, plein air painting does not get any better than this!

Sue Flanagan

Spring is finally here! After 6 months of cold weather, we finally have some warm days. I do enjoy the changes of the seasons. Color is returning to the midwest United States. I have been to the Morton Arboretum three times for plein air painting. Here are some photos of my first day out. Here is my easel with pastel painting supplies, the set up and my inspiration.

It was a beautiful day for painting! On another day, I got to the Morton Arboretum early and joined the deer for their breakfast.

The Morton Arboretum was established by Joy Morton of Morton Salt Co. It is 1,700 acres of woodland, lakes and praires that has a collection of 4,000 trees and plants from around the world. It is a plein air painter’s heaven year round.

In the studio, I have taken a break from my pastel ground exploration. I have temporarily gone back to commercially prepared sanded papers. I am almost finished with two Ireland landscapes. I have also done a couple of non-objective multi-media pieces and I have a couple more in progress.

It’s great to be an artist.
Sue

Here is a painting that has literally been brewing in my head for almost two decades.

This pastel painting is called “Misty Morning on Apple Canyon Lake.” I woke up early one morning when I was on a retreat in northwest Illinois. I stood on the dock and took this photograph. The beauty and quiet have stayed with me. This is the second painting I have done of this scene but the first on a homemade support. This time I did not use a commercial acrylic ground.

I took an acid free matboard and applied a ground with a roller. The recipe for the ground was published by Richard McKinley in the August 2006 Pastel Journal. I used the Simple Grit Mixture No. 1: 1 cup acrylic gesso, 3/4 cup fine pumice powder or marble dust, and 1/4 cup water. This time I was careful to accurately measure all of the ingredients.  I also mixed in a variety of acrylic paints to make the ground a light gray tone.

I applied this mixture to one side of the matboard and straight gesso to the other side so that the board would not warp. Even so, the board tends to warp a little. If this bothers you, compress the support under something heavy for awhile or use a heavier board.

Then I did a water color painting. After that dried, I applied the soft pastel on top. I liked this surface so I used it again to make this painting, “Misty Winter Morning.” I guess I am into mist right now.

After the ground was dry, I lightly sketched in the big shapes. For the foreground hill, I applied extra texture with rice paper and light acrylic modeling paste. When this was thouroughly dry, I again, did a water color painting with pastel on top of it. I still feel this is a pastel painting because that is the pigment you see. What difference does it make if I use pumice, paper or paste for texture underneath? Next time, I will try the next formula for making a ground with acrylic gel medium instead of gesso.

This month I am showing 15 paintings at Essential Chiropractic and Health Center, 7229 W. 103rd St. Palos Hills, IL. 60465.  Dr. Rory McKenna is the owner. There will be a reception at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 26, 09. Please come and bring 5 nonperishable food items for the local food pantry.

Hope to see you there,
Sue Flanagan

Ahhh-acrylics! So much to explore!

My interest in multi media art leads me to exploration in acrylic grounds for my pastel paintings. A ground is the primer that is put on a surface (paper, board) that gives it tooth or texture to accept the pastel. Until lately, I have used manufactured sanded papers and pastel boards that have a fine and even surface. Here is a summary of my experience with making my own surface using commercial grounds. Click on any image to enlarge it.

I started with a 16 x 20 in. acid free mat board in a neutral color. I did know how well the acrylic ground would cover the surface.

I used a small, smooth, foam roller to apply gesso to both sides of the mat board. This is necessary to prevent warping of the board and to seal it.

After the gesso dried, I taped the board into 6 equal sections.

Then I applied different grounds to each section using the same paint roller.

This is a close up of the sections. Starting with the upper left corner, there is Golden Pastel Ground undiluted. In the middle is Colourfix white and the top right square has Liquitex Natural Sand Texture Gel. The bottom left is Golden Pastel Ground diluted 20%. The bottom middle is Golden Pastel Ground diluted with fine pumice added. Finally, the bottom right has Lascaux Pastel Ground. Each square has one coat. I have to admit that I was careless with the bottom middle square. I think that I added too much water and applied it heavily. This made the ground crack when it was dry.

This is a picture of my set up. I decided to do a simple apple study. This is the initial application of pastel to each surface. As you can see, the opaque white of the Colourfix shows through.

Then I used water to move the inital pastel around for an underpainting. When it was dry, I started to apply more soft pastel. I primarily used Rembrandt pastels. I did not intend to bring these images to completion. I just wanted to see how the surface accepted the pastel, erased, blended, etc. In fact, I had to abandon the Liquitex. It created a beautiful underpainting but the next layer of pastel would not adhere. I will use this in the future but in selected areas in a pastel painting. Also, the cracked Golden surface (bottom middle) could not be covered so I abandoned that one as well. Next time I will be more careful about measuring and following the instructions.

I hesitate to tell you my impressions because this will vary with each artist’s technique and the pastels and tools he/she uses. I will probably use all of these surfaces in the future. I do recommend that every pastel artist tries this. It may bring you out of your comfort zone and take your art to the next level. I learned some new ways to paint.

Still to come-my home recipes for grounds and using other surfaces besides mat board.

Keep painting and by all means, enjoy!
Sue Flanagan

This is a recent pastel painting that I did. The mixed media work that I have been doing is making me more adventerous with pastel.  I set up a still life of a cup, potted plant, and an apple. The first picture is the beginning step where I laid down pastel using the pastel sticks. I then took a bottle of distilled water and sprayed the image, tilting the board to let the pigment move like watercolor. I used too much water and the paper I was using buckled too much for my liking so I had to press the paper between boards.

Then the real challenge for me began. I then layered pastel over the dried surface but only as much as needed to give the viewer enough information. I did not want a lot of detail. As you can see I ended up eliminating the glass cup of coffee and cropping the image to a 16 x 16 in. size. The picture on the right is the final painting.

Well, I was going to show you pictures of the Koi fish paintings that I did for a client. However, the video card in my camera is damaged and I cannot retrieve the images. The client ended up buying 3 paintings for Christmas presents and for herself. This is just one more battle I have had with technology.

Laura Svencner, a collage artist at the LaGrange Art League, organized an “Art Jam.” Approximately 15 artists came together in the League’s studio to make art. We all challenged ourselves to do something that was different.  I experimented with acrylic products: self leveling gel, gloss medium, polymer, string paste, sand medium. The artists worked in a wide variety of media. We brought food and music. It was a wonderful, creative, day. For more information and pictures go to www.lonecrowart.blogspot.com.

I hope you are off to a good start for the new year!
Sue Flanagan