Pole Bean Pair Studies

For the next painting I did a number of drawings to get to know the subject. It is an image I've been sitting on for a while. It was one of the first images that I took when I began looking at sprouting seeds a number of years ago. For a long time I didn't feel like I was ready to be able to turn it into a painting that would do the image justice. I'm glad I waited. This image is going to go onto a beautiful piece of slate that my good friend gave me over a year ago.

Graphite and Lead on Toned Paper

9 x 12"

Colored Pencil on Toned Paper

9 x 12"

Graphite, Lead and Red Chalk on Tracing Paper

16 3/8 x 19"

Sweet Pea Pairing 2

Sweet Pea Pairing 2 (Sisters)

Oil Pastel on Slate

11 1/16 H x 18 1/16 W"

I got some slate roofing from a good friend 1 1/2 years ago. When I mentioned that I was working with recycled materials she offered to bring me some slate that had been saved after a barn was removed from her acreage many years before. The next time she passed through town for a visit she gave me a few beautiful pieces of it. I love drawing on it. It makes the oil pastels feel extra buttery and creamy. The painting surface is so textured and the translucency and thin application of the pastels allows some of the tones and texture of the slate to come through.