"Serenity of Central Park"

Last year about this time I had started a series of the local town park. This particular pastel was one of three that I had come up with. Last weekend was the annual Art in The Park art competition and their "Special" category was Central Park. This took best in show for the special category. I was really pleased with the outcome of this piece. Its not for sale but you can get prints of it at Imagekind. If you would like to see more of my work click on Pastel Art.

Repost of Coeur d'Alene River

Pastel Art is on the rise as a medium in the creative community. There are an abundance of very talented pastel artist out there. You can find some of them on the WetCanvas.com who will give of their time freely to make suggestions, encourage or congratulate for your accomplishments. I find these forums to be very helpful for the betterment of my paintings. They give honest constructive critiques on your work which is very beneficial. If you take a look at the first post three days ago it is a bit different than this one. The suggestions that were made was that the far light colored horizon line in the water was overwhelming "looking too solid with no breaks in it"which I agreed with, second the ripples on the right foreground "looked to steep like there were different levels of water" and was reminded that ripples flow parallel to the horizon line. Upon looking at my marks they needed to be corrected for the flow of the water and third- the lavender that was also in that area was trapping the viewers eyes- so I pulled it out. Pastels are a forgiving medium to use. Corrections when done are pretty easy to do . So there you have it -the finished painting "The Coeur d'Alene River". If you would like to see more of my paintings please click on Pastel Art.

Lover of My Soul? How about You?

What is it that attracts human beings to art? Is there something internal within us that seeks something beautiful or inspiring. I like to think that each one of us NEEDS something visually that moves us deep within our soul. Just as each human needs this so does the artist search for beauty and truth within their soul. Their everyday life seeks inspiration from all around. Have you ever looked....really looked all around you closely. God's canvas is painted everyday and we hardly take the time to notice. I think if we would stop and take a look around everyday to see what is in front of us and stop thinking about ourselves for just one hour a day one would make a difference in this world. Not so long ago One did make a difference in this world. One came to earth and Be-came flesh and sacrificed Himself for us. Seek the Way, the Truth and The Life........Jesus!

The Coeur d'Alene River

The "Coeur d'Alene River" was done from a reference photo taken this summer on a trip with my brother Brad and parents. The Trip was for Dad's family reunion and also a trip to Nakusp B.C. to see the home my grandfather was born in. Yes it is still standing -100 years this year. It was a mail order home that was shipped in on rail. Stay tuned to this blog for paintings of it soon to come. This particular pastel was done on 10 x 20 prepared matboard. I prepare the board by using a grit mixture with acrylic gel medium on the front of the board so it will have a better tooth to receive the pastel. If you are interested in seeing more of my art please click on pastel art.

"Twilight Waterway"

The "Twilight Waterway" pastel painting has been in many art shows with a lot of response from viewers. It took first place in the Ashland Art in the Park last September and an honorable mention in the Tri State Art Association Biannual Art Show at the Huntington Museum of Art.
Again this was one of the first pieces done on Wallis Professional pastel paper. This original pastel is 11 x 17 and was done with Rembrandt pastels. You can use this surface to blend with your fingers the pastel to get the water and sky effects. You can get just about any effect with pastels that you can with any other medium. Pastels will keep their permanence just as long or longer then any other art medium. Another good reason to try pastel art. If you would like to see more go to Pastel Art.

"Montego Bay"

"Montego Bay" pastel was done for my wife on our anniversary. We spent our honeymoon in Jamaica. The canvas that God was using was much better than this. Our visit to this popular tourist attraction open our eyes to what life is like outside the United States. Sometimes we take things for granted. Beyond the walls of the resort was such poverty... it really made our hearts go out to the people there. Art has a tendacy to representing the beauty of a place. Perhaps more artist's should represent more work about some of the truth's about this world we live in. Perhaps representation should not be pleasing to the eye, but more pleasing to God! Perhaps actions need to speak louder than words! Especially from the person facing you in the mirror!

"The Whispering River"

"The Whispering River" pastel was done specifically for the 2007 Carter Caves Art show which sold during that weekend. I really liked this picture because of the reflective qualities in the water. The size of this pastel is 5 x 8. Pastel art is so wonderful in color. The pure pastel pigment vibrates placed next to each other. I personally find the pastel medium to best fit my style of painting. If interested in my other paintings click on pastel art.

Pastel 100 Art Competition Deadline....

The top artist around the world will have turned in their pastel art entries today for judging in the pastel journal magazine. The actual deadline is Sept. 1st 2008 which is next Monday. I for one would not wait until Monday to send in your pastel art entries digital or otherwise. Your pastel images cannot exceed 500kb or a height or width greater than 800 pixels. The jurors this year are Lorenzo Chavez-Landscape/Interior pastels, Desmond O'Hagan- Portrait/Figure, Christina Debarry- Still Life/Floral, Dustin Van Wechel- Animal/Wildlife and Frank Federico-Abstract/Non-objective pastels. This is a very prestigious pastel art competition. To learn even more about it you can visit pastel journal online. If you would like to see even more of my work click on pastel art.

"The Inlet"

"The Inlet" was one of my first pastels that was done on Wallis Paper. It was truly a revelation about the possibilities with this medium. I truly love to do coastal waterways. The many different colors and reflections in the waters surrounding these marshes are incredible! God's creation is crying out to Glorify Him!!

"Working the Stone Fly"

"Working the Stone Fly" was a gift to my brother because of his love of fly fishing. This painting was very popular on the WetCanvas website. Prints of this piece can be purchased at Imagekind.

"Along Wildwood Way"

"Along Wildwood Way" is second in a series of paintings done for the Wildwood First Church of God in Ashland Ky. This series has been done out of gratitude to God for this park. All proceeds from sales of these paintings go to the building fund. You can get 11 x 17 prints for $25 a piece plus shipping and handling. For more info go HERE!

In The Cool Of The Day

"In the Cool of The Day" was created solely for the Wildwood First Church of God to raise money and awareness about the park and help with the building fund. You can see more of my work at http://www.toddflamingart.com.