anita murphy

Two pastel sketches of Memorial Bridge, Arlington – one from the Arlington side and one from DC. I tried to be strict and restrict the amount of time that I spent on these so that the light wouldn’t change too much. I feel that working fast in pastel is something that is going to take…

There has to be an easier to way to carry art materials around for plein aire. From the hotel to the location in this post is about a mile and carrying portfolio with paper, drawing board, easel and pastels requires a team of mules. Still I made it there and back and survived the ordeal.…

Have taken my pastels and paper on leave. We had a great few days at Lake Sinclair, Georgia, and I managed to squeeze in some pastels between rides on the boat on the lake. The light in the early morning on the dock and creating shadows under the dock was pretty – lots of lovely…

The light outside didn’t seem too good today (too much sand blowing around) and the most dramatic shadows and nicest light were just outside my front door. My poor mangy palm tree! We transplanted it a few months ago and its only just beginning to recover, not that you can tell by looking at it!…

I’ve been longing to get out to do plein aire work but have several things conspiring against me – the incredible heat (working in the sun with temperatures over 110 degrees F (44 degrees C) and also with the restrictions imposed here so I decided that the next best thing was just to open my…

Looking across the living room to the patio window. Feeling quite happy about this pastel. The light was interesting as it was coming from three directions. The window in the background, from a window behind my left shoulder and also very diffuse light from the skylight windows above the chair and table.

View out of the window from my breakfast table. Fun doing this pastel and feel particularly happy with the light showing through the cloth on the table. Begin to feel more at ease with this medium. “But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks?It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.” William Shakespeare “Sunlight…

Working with “Comfort Zone” has become rather like working with an old friend. I begin to know this chair so well that I can imagine the feel of its curves as I work. Developing the colour studies – not quite there with the chair yet but feel much happier with the background colours now. The…

I’m beginning to enjoy the pastels. Having to fight the temptation to use the same colours in every orange – have to think of each one as a separate object and not that they are all identical. “There is no blue without yellow and without orange.” Vincent van Gogh “Champagne and orange juice is a…

Trying to pinpoint the colours in the walls – not sure that these are right yet but an exercise in pastels none the less.