Bob Palmerton 

Grand Teton Waters was inspired by a photo taken by my daughter Sara a few years ago as she hiked in the Grand Tetons. This painting was my demo piece in the landscape class I am teaching at the Clinton Art Center. I never thought I would use the color "flamingo" from Great American Artworks, other than for flowers. So there is now (a) flamingo in the water! #ClintonArtCenter #GrandTetons #water #river

I was rather pleased with the bold color effects of "The Clearing," where I applied an acrylic under-painting of colors representing the complements (or opposites) of the colors in the final painting (you can see the blog post here). I therefore decided to do a larger work depicting a lovely river scene in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Here is the reference photo I dug up (clipped to my pastel paper backing): An observer of this photo will conclude that color was ra

My family's Thanksgiving holiday was (once again) spent "way up north, " traversing the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Northern Wisconsin. This year, we rented a cabin on Long Lake in Phelps, WI., which serves as the reference for this pastel painting. The peacefulness of the placid lake and the remaining orange highlights of autumn combined to present a compelling landscape. Soft pastel on Uart sanded paper, 22x19 (30x28 framed). Take advantage of my blog reader's discount

Mill Pond Park is located on the west side of Saline, MI. This pastel painting was created on Uart sanded paper with a variety of soft and semi-hard pastels. The shape is rather unique at 14x26, which fits a frame I purchased a while back. My blog readers will note the adjustments made to the composition in this painting from its earlier version. Click here for that post. I also used the Microsoft Paint application to mock up modifications of the composition as I worked o

Here's a pastel painting-in-progress that includes a change in the composition mid-stream. The painting is called "Meeting at Mill Pond." Originally, there was no meeting, as there were no subjects in the painting. And that is part of the change. This is the reference photograph: Here is a recent version of the pastel painting. I enjoyed creating the sunlight effects in the horizon as well as in the water. The painting is particularly "long" to fit a cool frame I recently

Part of my new Gallup Park Series of pastels, this painting shows the abundance of water lilies on this stretch of the Huron River. The view is east of the canoe livery, looking out toward one of the several bridges that cross the river in this Ann Arbor park. The 130-mile long Huron River snakes its way through Ann Arbor and empties into Lake Erie in Southeast Michigan near the Ohio border. This pastel painting is 12x18 done on beige-toned Wallis Sanded Paper. For purchase

Here's a painting based on my recent visit to Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge in Northwest Ohio. This scene can be found at the Crane Creek Estuary hike. The grasses grow on a small beach at the inlet where Lake Erie feeds the estuary area. As the reference photo was grey and dull, I grabbed those vibrant pastels and composed lighting impacts to spice up the scene. #marsh #pond #water

Earlier this month I posted this blog in which I chose among my collection of blues to complete an underpainting all in blue. Here was the initial orange acrylic and subsequent blue landscape: Adding some "reality" to the scene, the current version has a pleasing verdant cast of the Crane Creek Estuary at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge on Lake Erie in Northwest Ohio. Here is the current version: A few thoughts on the evolution of this landscape. As for the sky, which

Inspired by a cold late November afternoon on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, "Wind Chill" is a 21x27 inch pastel painting on Uart sanded paper. The beach is located west of DeTour Village on southeastern portion of the Upper Peninsula on Lake Huron, where there are several beachfront parks located off Highway 134. For purchase information on Wind Chill and other paintings, visit our Purchase webpage. This painting has been curated on Zatista and is also available through our Et

Accomplished artists have a distinct "style" about their work. At the Chicago Pastel Painters Biennial National Juried Exhibition, my award-winning painting "Ski Tracks" was described as having "simultaneous strength and delicacy," per Ellen Eagle, this year's judge. That got me thinking: how about a "Mission Statement" of style? I liked Ellen's description of Ski Tracks, so I included her statement as part of my mission statement. So here's my "style," or at least the sty

Here is a complete pastel painting lesson from start to finish. I chose to paint another marsh! I like to paint marshes (perhaps I should change my name to "Marshall"). This view is in Marsh Meadow View Park in Pittsfield Township, Michigan (off Textile and State Roads). Here is the reference photo: I then took the liberty to adjust the digital photo to bring out the extreme, saturated colors as well as build contrast. Notice that the sky is completely washed out; I will n

Continuing on my beach theme from summer vacation at Breezy Point, New York, below is my first oil painting done since my last tampering in oils about 20 years ago. I basically put my pastels away for a couple of weeks to explore painting with oils After working in pastels over the past ten years, I have several observations to share with my pastel-oriented customers and students regarding the art of oil painting: While I thought that mixing colors would be a chore and a dra

Here's a more impressionistic pastel painting on the bayside at Breezy Point, New York. I decided to take an overcast day and instead create a late-day partly cloudy atmosphere. The old pier was destroyed during superstorm Sandy in October, 2012. #BreezyPoint #water

New pastel painting: pond in Lillie Park, near Ann Arbor, MI. Soft pastel on Uart sanded paper. 10x13. See Marsh Madness and other available paintings for purchase at our Etsy store. #Uart #DakotaArtPastels #pastels #pond #marsh #water