For the next couple of weeks I’ll be working on three oil pastel paintings to enter into the Annual Oil Pastel Society’s competition, theme ‘Journey.’ After much deliberation I’ve finally selected the scenes and this weekend I was able to work out black and white value-ranged underpaintings in acrylic. And now I have that feeling of excitement after seeing the underpaintings. Today I begin painting . . . all three paintings will be revealed after September 15.
Please know that I may be late in posting and going through your beautiful blog posts in my Reader, but promise to catch up as things progress.
Thank you everyone for your encouraging support during this past year, please enjoy some flowers from my garden . . . and please, feel free to use this photograph for a painting
Circle Garden
Oil Pastels by Mary 
Excited for you Mary ! Gosh September doesn’t sound that far away …. Wishing you lots of luck and happy painting time .
Hi Poppy, so nice to hear from you. Thanks for your happy wishes – I’m 95% done on first painting 65% on second and 5% on third. Hoping to be at 95% on the second by the end of today and then tomorrow I can concentrate on the third and then Monday or Tuesday of next week will finish up all three – will then have enough time to let them sit and allow me to see anything that might need adjusting at the last moment. Going well – thanks!
Can’t wait to see the results and good luck in the competition.
Thanks Mark for your good wishes – appreciate it!
Enjoy the “Journey” of preparing your paintings for the competition, Mary, and wishing you all the best!
Thanks Dawn, exactly for me its the process and discovery along the way – that is the fun part. Thank you for your wishes!
This is such exciting news!!! I wish you the very best. I can’t wait to see the final pieces 😀
Hi Patricia, thanks very much – appreciate your good wishes!
Wishing you the best of luck, Mary! I know you’ll work hard. Can’t wait to see the final paintings! 🙂
Thank you Francesca for your good wishes!!
Do enjoy the painting! VEry much looking forward to seeing all three:)
Thank you Elena, probably most important is the exercise I’ll be going through – like your watercolor sketches. Even though they are being submitted for competition, for me is the challenge of painting the scenes I selected – worrying so much about one of the sky’s today that I baked a cake and made butter cream frosting. If nothing else my husband will have a great desert this evening!
your paintings will be stunning! i love the coreopsis image! they’re such happy flowers, and i have not seen the double in years and years! the long-necked wilder once are sprinkled thru latin america…
Hi Lisa, Congrats yes that is exactly what these little beauties are. Only thing is, I took the photograph last year because a rabbit mowed down all our coreopsis just as soon as the stems starting popping up. And, thank you for your support!!
silly rabbits! how dare they be so selfish and not leave any for you?!!!!
I wish you good luck, Mary – I’m convinced you will have many people appreciating your beautiful work!
Thank you Ann-Christine for your kind and wonderful comment. I’m learning and this concentrated period for these three projects hopefully will continue to expand my comfort level and confidence with Oil Pastels. Thank you for encouraging me and following along.
Good Luck 🙂
I thought the flowers were a clue.. Well I’ll have to wait with the rest and see but all the very best of luck Mary.
Thank you Doron for your good wishes! I hope someone uses the photograph to paint these flowers, weren’t they pretty?
As one of your comments said it is look like one of your paintings for the competition. I’ll have to put them on my long list of to do one day if that is OK with you.
How exciting, Mary; I can’t wait to see the finished paintings. I have no doubt they’ll be brilliant! Happy painting!
Oh Scott – you are too kind. Thank you very much and I’ll be taking photos along the way.
Good luck with the competition!
Thank you and appreciate your well-wishes.
It is time to to think about that……not sure what I’ll do yet. Good luck Mary.
Thanks Pat – this is my first time. You’ll do great no matter what you decide to paint, your paintings always show really well.
Sending lots of love for the most beautifully creative experience for you…
Hi Cyndi, you hit the nail on the head – it’s the process of enjoying myself while painting these pieces. Actually I love the underpaintings, but can’t turn them in. So whatever the outcome, it’s a great experience for me and the first of what I expect many to come.
Good luck I know you’ll do well.
Benjamin
Never done this before Benjamin, so I’m just going to paint my best and enjoy the process. Thank you for your good wishes.
That’s great Mary! Happy painting, my dear. I can’t wait to see the outcome.
Wishing you an early “good luck” and a beautiful beginning! Have fun!
🙂
Thank you Marina – I don’t expect anything to come of this, as it’s my first and a very good way to get my feet wet. But I expect I’m going to have fun painting these scenes, if anything – you are very kind. Thanks!
By the way – good luck with the competition!
Thank you and I really appreciate the good wishes.
This one is almost a painting as it is!
Hi Stephen, thank you I hope someone paints the photograph. I took it last year of our garden, but this year a wandering rabbit decided to mow down my garden and then it got too hot for the garden to regenerate. He’s cute but . . . kind of adopted our yard as his home – stretches out like a dog under our bushes and sleeps the day away unless he’s chewing our plants, etc.
They tell me garden fed rabbits can be very tasty! 😉