A new painting in honor of all the rabbits we have here on the farm.  You will, I'm sure will notice that my paintings have started to lean towards farm animals.  It's so easy to snap a photo of the ready and willing in the backyard. 

This little painting is 6" x 8" on a terracotta primed piece of watercolor paper.  A quick study that pulled together in a pleasing way.  It was sold at our little community gallery here in WV.

Thank you for reading.
Betsy




lil' Rabbit
Pastel 6" x 8"
Elizabeth Priesing
©2017

I'm back I've been gone so long.

I'm Back!

    Well with the new move to our newly built house (now several years ago), I have completely forgotten to blog here.  I could have some completely complex excuse, but its very simple.  Laziness.

     While I was not blogging I was however involved in my artists projects that ran the gauntlet of watercolor, pen and ink to pastels, then on to something I'm calling Felted Paintings.  If you are interested in joining a group I started on Facebook its called.   Needled Felted Paintings Group. 

     I felt with alpaca fiber from the farm down my dirt road.  I started with some 3D figures but got bored, and naturally progressed  to trying to make paintings with the fiber.  All with the help of special needle felling barbed needles. 

    I will start posting some paintings in the coming weeks, both pastel and a few needle felted.
As always thank you for reading.

Betsy

Artic Blue Alpaca

Artic Blue

canson 12x9"

      My first attempt at painting a baby Alpaca known as "crias". This is from a nearby Good Time Ridge Alpacas a farm right down the road from us in WV. This cria has different colored fur on different levels and fuzzy! Its difficult to find a photo with their eyes showing as the hair overhangs them as it grows out.

AppleJack

9"x12" Pastel on smooth sided Canson Pastel Paper

It's been a long time since I have painted, and it felt so good to get dusty again! Still trying to get used to wearing the new glasses, but my eyes are finally calming down and I can see to paint!

This is my first real horse portrait and I have been worried about doing it. It took about 2 hours to draw it in with vine charcoal and paint.

Thanks for looking,
Betsy

Medieval woman in thought

12X9" Pastels on Canson Paper

     My second go at a portrait ala Mike Beeman approach. I am finding that I like working from full darks and layering on the lights over them, as I progress through the painting process. I am still wondering if enough is done with the background.  Took some liberties with the photograph again.
     This photo is also from the collection of Photos from Hans Splinter on flickr, with his permission to use them. Here is a link to his page.

Viking Woman Sewing

12"x9" Pastel on Canson Paper

The original photo was taken by  Hans Splinter, who has kindly allowed me to use it.  This is a link to his Flickr photo account  Flickr Hans S, and a link to the original photo Viking Woman Photo

     This is an update to the first post cleaning up a few bits and pieces.  Added highlights on her face, small change to the mouth and fiddling with her fingers.

Thanks for looking!

Woman Sewing

12"x9" Pastel on Canson paper

    Something different today, a portrait. I needed a break from all the landscapes and I enjoy painting portaits. It took about 3 hours fiddling with it, until now it has the most layers of pastel that will stay on the paper.
   So I stop.  Thanks for looking.

The Cottage

12x9 Pastel on black, bumpy Canson

     Another painting this week, I'm plugging right along. I seem to be attracted to high key paintings lately and using black as the support that only makes them...louder. :) I had fun with it though.

     This is another Priesing painting from West Virgina. My brother-in-laws cabin, it faces a small river that floods at bit, so its back from it a bit. Yep that's the outdoor shower..the only shower and they conveniently left gaps in the boards. Hee he, To give us all a thrill I'm told. A few artistic changes from real life. The tree swing would have been off to the left and not seen, and another smaller tree would be right in the middle of the cottage blocking it.

Church on a Hill

Pastel 12x9 Black Pastel Paper

    Another painting from West Virgina, just around the corner from family.  A beautiful day. 

Up RIver

Up River

12"x16" on Colorfix paper.

      I just finished working on another painting from my summer vacation in WV. This is looking up stream past the local swimming hole. On those 100+ days, a natural spring right in the middle was a wonderful surprise. Floating seats and a drink just added the right touch to a hot day.

Levi in the field

11"x14" Pastel

After a lot of summer vacation visiting family, I finally started finishing some paintings. This began as a Plein Aire at my brother-in-laws fields, then brought home to finish in studio. I'm a bit rusty. :) I had a lot of fun and even got up on a horse...after 25 years...ouch!

Poppies at Waters Edge

11x14" on watercolor paper primed with colorfix

     A new painting for this week.  I decided to do another flower painting, but cut the sky out of it completely.  I had to really think about the background so that it would not compete with the greens of the flowers in front and show distance.  The watercolor paper again gave this a really bumpy look to it.

Flowers in motion

16x12" Pastel on Colorfix paper

    I have finally finished this painting that I started last week. Similar to the last few that I have posted. This one has a different look to it as the support paper is a rough bumpy watercolor paper that was primed with colorfix pastel primer. I had to do a few underpaintings. One with watercolor, and then another with a harder pastel and sprayed with alcohol and left to dry. The bumps made it so I had to underpaint, as the dry pastel would skim over the tops of the bumps and leave a larger amount of background paper than I wished to show.

This one has a darker feel to it, because of the amount of greens in it and less sky.

Stormy Dunes

Stormy Dunes 9x12" Pastel on colorfix paper

     This is painting done off the small sketch study that I did recently. The sky was given some colors and the bushes turned into grass clumps. I enjoyed painting this one and spent some time trying to get the shallow water/beach edge to read right. Footprints were added for some interest up close.

     After painting this one I think that I will paint another in a larger format, perhaps I will be daring and go for 16x20".

Thanks for looking as always.

Blowing in the Wind

Blowing in the Wind

9x12" Pastels on Canson

Something different this week. I decided in honor of spring, I would paint some flowers. This is from a reference photo, as they bloom later in the summer.

Sunflower  

9x12" Pastel on Canson

      Both of these were painted while I was helping out a friend at his laundry mat on Thursday and Friday.   I'm getting a little more comfortable with people watching while I'm painting, which is why I bring along my setup.  It's still weird though.  The painting I did a week ago ended up in the trash bin when I got home...it was that bad.
thanks for looking!

afternoon at the sea

5x7 Pastel on colorfix paper

Another ocean sketch, this one not so much about the water. I think that I will paint another of this larger and get more detailed variations in the sands, and work out some different placement of the grass clumps on the left side. This photo doesn't show the difference on highlights on the left dunes.
thanks for looking :)

The Rocky Shore

Pastel 5x7" on Black Canson Paper

Finally another painting.

I'm working hard on getting ocean water and my rocks to look as I intend them too. This one sat unfinished on my painting easil for a week while my computer was rebuilt. All my reference photos are of course....on my computer. This painting I decided to have the sunlight at a low point to the side. I was trying to get more colors into a very boring ref. photo to liven it up. I am scouring all my ocean photos for the next attempt.

Waves

Waves 5x7" on black Canson paper

This is an attempt at painting waves and surf. I never thought that it would be so hard...but it is for me. About 2 hours, with little stabs of inspiration there after. I'm going to call it a day now though.

Finally got onto my computer, its been having alot of problems lately. Its going to get rebuilt tonight hopefully.

3 little landscapes

These are a few 5x7 landscapes that I have done while the power was out over the weekend.  It is interesting and difficult, to get much detail into such a small painting.  I can't imagine doing it any smaller.

                  7x5      pastel    mat board with Colorfix primer      

A scene from Dry River Campground. We spend alot of time swimming in this River. Even though its named Dry River,  it is not dry. 

 

 5x7  Matboard with colorfix primer  Pastel

This is in Londonderry NH, lots of farms here.  It was a road but I shrunk it into a path.

  7x5  Pastel on matboard with colorfix primer

From a Reference photo on wetcanvas website.

Two more paintings

    

      Another two from this weekend. I didn't have enough time to take photos and post as my mom, dad and aunt came up for a visit.

 

This one is of Connor, Cassies brother.  It was suppose to be an hour, but ended up double that because I was having so much trouble with his face.  It was too flat looking, and I was having trouble with the shadowing and having stripes at the same time.

   

Connor

Canson smooth side 9x12 pastel

Vermont Field

 9x12 Canson smooth side pastel

 This is from a hiking trip this past summer in Vermont.  I drove Russ my husband and daughter crazy because I kept stopping to take photos.  Its suppose to have Queen Annes Lace flowers in the forground that I didn't get time to in for the  1 hour sketch limit.  I can't decide if I should continue or not.

Sitting Pretty

9x12 Pastel on Canson

This is one of the one hour sketches finished. The sketch itself looked like a puppy and considering I was suppose to drawing an adult, I went back in and fixed it. Another 1 hour to do that.  Generally the lower jaw was too small.  Lots of other little things.

Here is the one hour sketch

RIley smiling

8x10 pastel on canson

My 2nd offering today for the one hour sketches that I would like to get done daily. This is Riley as a big boy, I went over by 5mins again for a touch up.

Casie on Red Stripped Towel

8x10 Pastel on Canson- smooth side

Another 1 hour study from yesterday I didn't get the photo because the battery died. This is Casie our tinest cat in the house. She stays mainly upstairs, not liking company or the dog. I have a little timer that I set for an hour, but I noticed that I forgot whiskers and her nose looked strange. So I need to add on another 5 minutes.

I'm going to try to get atleast 1 one hour sketch out a day before I start in on other paintings.

RIley Pup

9x12 Pastel on canson

I had a little time today to do a 1 hour sketch. I really should be doing them more often, but its been ignored lately. I'm glad I did because it, the sketch reminds of the its importance Getting the quick broad gestures down, cuts all the tiny mark making and really plays a big importance in understanding value. You have to block in your values and then layer. This is my pup Riley looking all innocent and stuff.

Icy Barn

 

11x14

Pastel

colorfixed primed matboard

 A different painting while I try to decide what to put into the House on the Hill painting.

I haven't done many snow/winter scenes, so here is another go at it.  An Amish farm down in Pennsylvania.

House on the hill

10.5x14" on watercolor paper coated with burgundy colorfix primer

A new painting started from yesterday. I started from the sky which I don't normally due and I'm working my way down to the foreground. Although last night at about midnight I wanted to ruff in the value, hues and intensity before I forgot what I was thinking. So alot of patchy stuff at the bottom.

The house in the distance was horrible to work with! I continually messed up straight lines on the roof, thereby having to re due sky area, to which I didn't want to fool with. It was originally a different type of house with the windows set halfway into the roof line..without dormers and two stories. It had a strange addition off to the left side that I just couldn't make "real looking". So off with that house and onto a more"New England" type of house. Buildings are my nemesis. I also added New England type trees, where the photo was all pasture.

Originally there is a sheep on the left side, the untouched spot (red section). It is quite big and staring into the camera. Now I'm not sure if I want to put him there...maybe a few grazing ones further into the painting.

Lets hope I don't mess it up, since I have decided to post this as WIP(work in progress).

2 cows grazing more

Another update to the cow painting. Trying to add further darks into the painting. Adding more warms into the foreground again.

Hoping that this is the finish. I increased the lights on the cows and played around with the shadows on them. Darkened the grass with greens, blues and oranges.