Category Archives: Art Works in Progress

Q: What’s on the easel today?

Work in progress

Work in progress

A. I have just started working on a small pastel painting.  Although the mask looks Tibetan, surprisingly, it is from Bolivia.  It’s one I encountered at a mask exhibition at the Museum of Ethnography and Folklore in La Paz.   This is another in my “Bolivianos” series.

Comments are welcome!

Q: What’s on the easel today?

Finished and signed

Finished and signed

A:  I have finally finished “Oracle,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 26” x 20.”  It’s the third piece in my “Bolivianos” series. 

Comments are welcome!

Q: What’s on the easel today?

Work in progress

Work in progress

A:  I’m trying to finish “Oracle,” but every time I think I’m getting close, I see there are plenty of unresolved areas and/or things I can still improve.

Comments are welcome!

Start/Finish of “Stalemate,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 38″ x 58″

Start

Start

Finished and signed, lower right

Finished and signed, lower right

Comments are welcome!

 

 

 

Q: What’s on the easel today?

Work in progress

Work in progress

A:  This is the first day – with only one layer of soft pastel in most places – of a 38″ x 58″ pastel painting.  It’s based on a photo I composed at the National Museum of Ethnography and Folklore in La Paz, Bolivia.  This is the fourth work in my “Bolivianos” series.

Comments are welcome!

Start/finish of “The Orator,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 38″ x 58″

Start

Start

Finish

Finish

Comments are welcome!

Q: What’s on the easel today?

Work in progress

Work in progress

“The Orator,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 38” x 58”

“The Orator,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 38” x 58”

A:  Having finally finished “The Orator” (bottom), I continue working on a small pastel painting that does not have a title yet (top).  The latter is the third piece in my “Bolivianos” series.  

Comments are welcome!

Start/Finish of “The Champ,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 26″ x 20″

Start

Start

Finish

Finish

Comments are welcome!

Q: What’s on the easel today?

Work in progress

Work in progress

A:  I’m working on the third pastel painting in my new “Bolivianos” series.  This one is only a few days old and has no title yet.

Comments are welcome!

Q: Is your work fast or is it slow?

Barbara's studio

Barbara’s studio

A:  I work extremely slowly.  I’m a full-time artist and I spend three or four months on each pastel painting, sometimes longer if it’s an especially difficult piece.  

I generally have two pastel paintings in progress and switch off when one is causing problems.  The paintings tend to interact and influence each other.  Having two in progress helps me resolve difficult areas quicker, plus when one is finished, I still have something to work on.  So there’s rarely any dead time in my studio.

Comments are welcome!