It may officially be spring but the wind chill was below freezing as Judy and I set up to paint on the Crab Tree Nature Center grounds in Barrington. This was our set up and my inspiration. This was Judy's first time out with her new Art Comber cart. She also brought some new Terry Ludwig pastels-luscious! She is so dangerous to my wallet when it comes to art supplies. We are both art supply junkies.

The scene looks a little dismal but I liked the depth of the landscape with hints of snow in the foreground. This is the time of the year when grasslands are undergoing controlled burns in our area. Our hands were numb and we had to give it up in less than two hours. I wasn't happy with the painting in the field but finished it at home. This is "After the Burn" pastel on paper.

The main reason Judy and I traveled so far north (122 miles round trip) was to pick up Judy's paintings and to deliver some of mine. I have 9 paintings on display in the lobby of the Crab Tree Nature Center. Next month I will be teaching a pastel workshop there. So if you are in the northern suburbs of Chicago, check out the center and sign up for a workshop.

Be creative every day.

Sue

We have 5 inches of snow outside right now but last week it hit 70 degrees and so I went to the Morton Arboretum to paint with my new toy, the Art Comber.

Fortunately for this mechanically challenged artist, the only assembly required was to put the wheels on the frame. The whole thing weighs 9.5 lbs. A seat unfolds for the field. It is not very comfortable but I do not sit very often and it is no worse than the camping stool I used to bring. Here is the Art Comber next to my old set up and then a photo of all of the equipment switched to the Art Comber.

Now it weighs 25lbs. but it holds my pastel box, easel, umbrella and all of the other small items that you need for painting in the field. I am a 5 ft. 6 in. mature (not telling the age) female in good shape. So I was able to carry the packed Art Comber up a flight of 12 steps and lift it into my trunk. I have a Honda Civic and there were no problems fitting it into the trunk. The height of this cart is perfect for someone of my height but I think it would be awkward for a tall person since it does not have a telescoping handle. A big improvement for me is the size of the wheels. This makes rolling it in uneven terrain much easier than my previous cart.

Here is my set up at the Arboretum along the Dupage River and my inspiration. It felt like I had a transportable studio.

And here is the final painting. I struggled with this since I was required by my ophthalmologist to wear very dark sun glasses. How do some plein air painters do that? Value and color is off. So, be kind.

It was a great day with Judy, my painting buddy, who has returned from a warmer climate. We still have ice on the lakes and there isn't even a hint of a daffodil but we plan on resuming our plein air painting.

Sue and Suzy

I have been very near sighted my whole life. Honestly, I couldn't even read the "E" on the eye chart without glasses. I also have amblyopia or a lazy right eye. So, my brain has learned to ignore that eye to prevent double vision. Both of these conditions were getting worse with age as I developed cataracts. You may wonder how I ever became a visual artist. Thank God for the wonders of optometry! However, even my very capable optometrist couldn't help enough in the last year and a visit to the ophthalmologist was necessary.

It is less than a week since my second cataract surgery and it has been quite a challenge getting used to my new normal. The 95% of the world that I couldn't see for over sixty years, is now clear, in fact 20/20 without glasses. The area within arms length is out of focus. Right now I am using "cheaters" from the pharmacy in order to see the computer to write this. This is a total reversal of my visual experience. But the most amazing thing is how the world is so bright and colorful!! After the first surgery when this difference was very obvious, I cried with tears of joy. This is such a gift to anyone but particularly to an artist who loves color. Thank you Dr. Krates.

I have been able to keep up with the daily paintings by planning ahead but I have to admit it has been a challenge since my vision keeps changing. Here are my three recent paintings since the second surgery.

I have been on a landscape kick because I have cabin fever from our extreme weather and because of limitations from these eye surgeries. The weather has changed and spring is around the corner so I plan on taking my new toy, an Art Comber, for some plein air painting at the Morton Arboretum. More about that later. Right now I am going to sit in a chair and just enjoy what I see.

Peace,

Sue

I am purging but in a good way. In January, I was going through my stacks of old pastel paintings that I keep in bins under my bed. I realized that they fall into three categories. First, there are the paintings that I truly still like but I only have so much wall space. This first category will see the light of day again. The second category consists of paintings that I will not frame or show but if I feel inspired, I could rework them. The third group are throwaways. This is what I pulled out of the bin. Keep in mind, there are more bins to go through.

However, these paintings are on expensive and good paper and panels: Wallis, U-art, and Pastelbord. I used a foam brush to brush off the pastel. There is still a ghost image after this and I can find it distracting. So in some cases I used black gesso to cover the paper because I like working on black. You can see what I mean about the ghost image on the panels.

I have been going through a lot of paper with my daily paintings. For these, I take an 18 x 24 in. piece of acrylic paper. I put regular gesso on one side and then one of three things on the other side that will be the working surface: Golden's or Colourfix's pastel grounds slightly diluted or transparent gesso.

I cut this up into small 5 x 7 in. pieces to use for small paintings. This is quite economical and the resulting surface can take liquids like alcohol, water, etc.

I used transparent gesso for a larger painting, "Dahlia," 8 x 8 in. pastel on prepared panel. I prepared archival foam board by putting regular white gesso on one side and transparent gesso on the other side. Transparent gesso has a grit to it and makes for a nice tooth. Then I applied pastel for the big shapes and used rubbing alcohol to cover the surface with local color in this case.

I used too much pastel to block in the shapes and it filled in too much of the tooth so I had to use a workable fixative. Softer pastels like my Unisons and Terry Ludwigs helped to finish the painting.

There is something refreshing about getting rid of the old paintings. I learned from them and now it is time to move on.

Can't wait for spring,

Sue or Suzy?