Solo Hiking and Painting Trip to Utah, Kolob Canyon in Zion National Park and Arches National Park Colorado River too

Flying Solo

The book, Wild, by Cheryl Strayed, was a fantastic read.  The author set out to hike the Pacific Crest Trail all by herself, and for an extended period of time. 

I also enjoyed Elizabeth Berg’s, The Pull of the Moon. In this fictional story a middle aged woman with a nagging husband goes on an extended road trip for fun, and to teach the crank not to take her for granted.

Such a romantic notion, to go off somewhere all alone.  

Reflections, 8x10 pastel

I recently had my own little solo adventure.  Mini-adventure, anyway.  I packed up paints and suitcase and drove my (still) trusty ole yellow jeep to Zion National Park for 4 days.  I felt brave, daring.  It felt romantic.  ( ok, fine, it was only 4 short days and a days drive away, but go with me here, please).   My goal was to do some hiking and painting and get some nice reference photos.  There was a particular scene I wanted to find and paint in Kolob Canyon, which is the much quieter, less busy part of Zion. I hiked 10 miles the first day and got no painting whatsoever done. I did find though, finally, the very spot I’d wanted to see and photograph that evening.  Glorious, and worth every bit of the long 12 hour drive to get there.  ( should’ve been 9 hours but I kept stopping for photographs)

Sunset in Kolob Canyon, 9x12 pastel

Taylor Creek Trail, 12x9 pastel

The next day I drove to Arches National Park and did another 6 mile hike.  I was on Primitive Loop and got a bit lost a few times.  The trail is not well marked in spots and some areas had quite a bit of exposure. This added to the thrill and romance of my trip.

Still and again, I did no painting.  An awful guilt sets in when I pack my paints but leave them untouched.

Arches National Park, 9x12 pastel

The lovely Colorado River (actually, lovely gets upgraded to breathtaking at the peak of autumn,  which I was lucky enough to hit  this year!) hugs I-70 for a good portion of this trip and time and again I would see THE scene I’ve so many times wanted to stop and paint. Each time though there was nowhere to pull over.  How frustrating this is for an artist. I pulled over anyway one time and risked life and limb to cross the interstate to get photos.  ( not romantic; just stupid- and I wont do that again.)

Colorado River 9x12 pastel

I spent some time in Cedar City, Palisade and Rifle and got a nice collection of reference photos from which these paintings have come.

This was a fun and enjoyable trip and I would like do a longer one sometime.  I do enjoy painting trips with friends as well, and tend to get more painting done in that scenario.

How to Frame a Pastel Painting by Tracy Haines

Remember Mario Brothers?  Well, either my computer is acting up or I don't know what I'm doing exactly on today's blog post.  ( It has been a while since I've posted.)  If you would like to see a short video clip on how to frame a pastel painting, you must click on this link, then another link will pop up and that will activate the movie.
ENJOY!
How to frame a pastel painting

Please feel free to share this, and "like" my facebook business page, Tracy Haines Fine Art!
Thanks and have a GREAT day!

pastel paintings daily paintings #30paintingsin30days Colorado landscapes

Reflections on a Pond ll,  7x7 pastel on watercolor paper by Tracy Haines, $ 55.00, unframed

Day # 2 of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge!

This is a 7x7 study in pastel on H20 Color paper.
It is sold unframed and must be mounted behind glass when framed.

This piece is available for purchase via paypal on my website:

http://tracyhaines.fineartstudioonline.com

Daily paintings pastel paintings 30 paintings in 30 days art for sale Tracy Haines Colorado Landscapes

Reflections on a Pond

8x10 pastel, unframed

Tracy Haines

$ 95.00

This month, September, 2015,  I have joined Lesli Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days challenge.  I had heard about this in the past and was looking forward to trying it myself.
The goal is to paint a completed work every day and post the pieces on her sight.  

If you are interested in joining me for the Ladies Plein Air Painting Retreat, see the post on August 31 st for details.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog!

ladies artists' retreat,plein air,plein air paint outs, oil painting, pastel painting, Colorado, mountains, art retreats,

As promised.........

Below is the detailed menu for the upcoming September Ladies Artists' Retreats mentioned in the last blog post.

But first..........

I wanted to give you a little background on the conception for the retreat.  

View near cabin in Indian Mountain at night

Our dog, Renoir, walking towards cabin. Pooch will not be with us on retreat.

I've been on a number of out-of-town paint-outs with other artists. All of them have involved sharing close quarters with both strangers and painting buddies. Without exception, the experiences have been phenomenal.  The feedback/critiques on the daily paintings, the sharing of tips and information and the camaraderie have made these retreats fun and tremendously helpful to my growth as an artist.

My husband and I have had our cabin since 2007.  Our youngest child will enter college next year and with that, we will have 3 kids in college at the same time. To help with that expense, we considered selling the cabin.  After brain storming a bit, the idea for the retreat came.  Because similar retreats have been so enjoyable and helpful to me, I decided to give this idea a try.  We've also placed the cabin on VRBO, with nice success,  and feel comfortable at this point keeping our wonderful "home away from home".

                                                                  view near cabin

plein air piece near cabin

Plein air piece near Buena Vista

                                         

(If you have happened upon this page by chance,  the details of the retreat are outlined in the previous post below, dated July 18, 2015)

Now the menu:

Thursday evening, after drinks and appetizers:

Spaghetti with salad and bread
Wine
Dessert by campfire

Friday morning:
Egg, potato and sausage burritos
Fruit
Orange Juice
Coffee

Lunch: every day we will each make and pack our own lunch.  Food provided by your humble hostess.

Friday evening:
Portabella-cheese stuffed burgers on the grill
Tracy's original healthy home-made baked french fries with special dipping sauce
Dessert by campfire

Saturday morning:
Specialty pancakes with nutella, bananas and strawberries topped with warm maple syrup and powdered sugar
Bacon
OJ
Coffee

Saturday evening:
Made-from- scratch chili rellenos with Tracy's scrumpdidilyumptious green chili
Puerto Rican beans
Dessert

Sunday morning:

Bagels and cream cheese
Fruit
Coffee

The retreat will wrap up Sunday after a morning paint out and lunch.

Sign up by going to blog post below, July 18th.
e mail: Tracy8haines@msn.com

pastel paintings Breckenridge Colorado mountains aspen fall trees Breckenridge art festival

It's been a busy, crazy week for me here in Studio 8!

Some mildew from a previous leak, combined with a new, recent, quickly discovered flood from an AC gone bad, has kept me busy cleaning out and re-organizing my studio.

Thank goodness no paintings were damaged, and I have plenty of work for the upcoming Breckenridge outdoor Art Festival, July 24-26.

There is always a bright side to things and it is up to us to discover and embrace that side!
"Accent the positive, eliminate the negative......"  remember that song?

Indian Mountain Fall

18x24 pastel, framed

$ 1200.00 plus shipping ($85.00)

Prints of this piece also available here: FineArtAmerica

I am looking forward to showing some of my newer pastel works at the Breckenridge Art Festival, located off of Main Street in Breckenridge.  This is one of my favorite pieces this year.  I wanted to hold it for entry into some upcoming national shows, but with the glass and frame it would be expensive and a little risky to ship off.

What a joy and privilege to get to paint every day.  I am very thankful.
Have a wonderful week.

Tracy Haines how to art videos on pastel painting Pastel painting for beginners, materials and techniques for painting in pastel

Hello!

I recently launched a YouTube channel where I will post short video tutorials on art.

As mentioned on my recent YouTube video,  I am happy to provide a written list of materials mentioned in the course of the teaching demonstrations.
(View videos on YouTube under Tracy Haines Fine Art)

In the Getting Started in Pastel video, pastel papers and various brands of pastels were mentioned.
Find most of these at your local art supply store or check out Blick or Jerry's Artorama online.

Pastels:
-small box of hard pastels such as Nupastels ( a box of 36-96, depending on your budget)
-box of soft pastels: Rembrandt is high quality and budget friendly- they are of medium hardness.  Other soft pastels to consider:  Terry Ludwig ( these are square and luscious- my favorites), Unison ( I love these- they are soft, round and thick and don't break and crumble easily) Sennelier and Schmincke.
I recommend visiting an art supply store and buying a few of the various brands to see what you like before investing in a large box of any one brand.

Papers:

If you are new to pastel, buy a 9x12 pad of Canson mi Tientes paper in earth colors. This is a good quality paper and reasonable in price.  Buy a small pad of Wallis sanded paper if you can find it.
Pick up a single sheet of Art Spectrum Colourfix Coated pastel paper or UArt Sanded pastel paper.  The Wallis , UArt and Art Spectrum will allow you to try my wet underpainting technique. ( Sennelier La Carte Pastel Card does not allow for a wet treatment)

Other items:  vine charcoal, workable fixative,   box of vinylgloves (or Gloves in a Bottle or ArtGaurd) to protect your skin, turpenoid or Gamsol odorless mineral spirits by Gamblin.

I suggest subscribing to Pastel Journal.  I learned so much when I began pastel painting from this monthly magazine.


Fresh off the easel!

Lair Abstracted is a 9x9 pastel painting on Canson mi Tientes paper.
Sold unframed,   $ 55.00

Intro to How to paint in pastels video YouTube series art studio tips, art studio tours, art supplies pastel techniques

I am excited to launch a series of YouTube videos for beginners in pastel techniques!  This video below is a trailer introduction.  The series will be getting underway soon.

These will be free, short "how to" clips covering studio set-up, supplies, techniques and all things arts related.

If you are new to pastels, consider subscribing to my channel, Tracy Haines Fine Art and tune in!

Here is an older thumbnail pastel study I did. How in the world the snow is falling in this photo is a complete mystery to me........... wow.  If you are tech savvy and know how this might have happened, please leave me a comment.   Bizarre, althoughI must say, I kind of like the affect.

Visit my Etsy store, Tracy's Etsy Store, TracyHainesFineArt to see some of my other studies I am selling at a bargain price now.

Colorful abstract impressionist Floral pastel painting Colorado artist Tracy Haines

Floral Pastel for sale on Etsy!

Ahhhhhhhh it feels good to be back home!  Back home with pastels for a change.  This was my first medium, and really, probably the one I am forever most comfortable in.

I am exploring more abstraction in my work. In the design, the color- all aspects.

Many have asked me if I teach workshops.  I will eventually. 

Meantime, I am thinking of doing a short video on the process of painting!  I'm taking short help sessions from the local Apple store. Much to learn!

Stay tuned!