aaah...Sunday evening on the porch
Detail- "Magnolia" by Brenda Pinnick 6/22/08 pastel on board
I just love sitting on my front porch, just as the sun is lowering into the sky ahead of me. And if it's a Sunday evening, all the better. The dishes are done, the gang is fed, laundry folded and it's just so relaxing. I've decided that I'm going to take over the "dining room", which is a misnomer because we have never used it for such. It's too small and boxy to work for dining unless it's dining for two, which at our house, usually happens on t.v. trays in the living room, watching reruns of "Everybody loves Raymond". Geeesh, we're so predictable.
Anyway, the little boxy room at the front of the house will now be my painting studio, seperate and distinct from the office/papercrafting/whatever room downstairs in the basement. I've found that if/when I try to make art/paintings downstairs, I get caught up in all the other stuff that "needs" doing; project samples, email responses, etc. and then before I know it, I've spent way too much time tending to stuff that prevents me from making art. And, after spending too much time in the basement, I begin to feel isolated and very claustrophobic.
Here's a little painting I did last evening while sitting out on the porch. All the magnolia trees are blooming now and I just felt the urge to pay a little homage to the Southern flower. I didn't use a reference, just drew from memory for the purposes of creative expression, not factual accuracy. I just love pastels, they are so immediate. Here, I've used a pastel board made by Ampersand. It's actually a wet/dry board allowing you to paint first and then top it with pastel. 
