WOLFE STUDIO BIRD WITH FLOWER STEMS & FRUIT
Here's my first real attempt to do something with pastels. I got out my 96 Prismacolor Nupastels that I've been saving up and took them to school for drawing class. The difference between these and the Gallery brand pastels that I'd been playing with is remarkable. Now I'm toying with breaking out that 15 set of Rembrandts.

This is no masterpiece but I think it turned out cute, 'cause it's on a pink blankie, and that Wolfe Studio bird is just a sassy little feller. I gots to get me some of those Wolfe birds. Gonna put 'em on my Christmas list.

HORSEAPPLES AND PITCHER OF FLOWERS
More of my paintings from class. The flowers I touched up this morning. The horseapples I just don't like very much, but my teacher says "It's really a beautiful painting." I don't exactly agree, however, the colors are nice and it did look good with a gold frame around it. I don't like the composition because it seems almost centered.

Both of these are 16 X 20, oil on masonite.

MORNING CATCH
I've spent this morning touching up some of my paintings from class. I have not been satisfied with them because they needed something, and what they needed is light. In the time allotted in class I don't get around to fully highlighting and so I brought everything home on Friday to get the highligts in and give a coat of Kamar varnish to all the ones that are presentable. Honestly, the first few are downright awful, but the last few have been ok.

So, here's the bream fish that a lady from my drawing class brought in for us a few weeks ago. Her husband caught them for us that morning. We painted them around lunch time, and Miss Ruby the cleaning lady took them home for her supper.

I have to say that everyone's fish paintings turned out really nice. I think I would not mind painting some more fish. But someone will have to be kind enough to catch them again for me, as I am not a fisher.

THE KITCHEN GUARDIAN
Here's the last project I did with Becky Barnett. It's an all white painting; every item except the angel was white. This was one of those down to the wire projects where all the students were working on it right down to the last minute before critique.

This was a difficult project since it was all white, and all the pieces in the still life are shaped really funky. That vase on the left has an especially unusual neck on it and it drove me nuts getting it correct in my sketch, as well as getting the axis correct on it. And the one on the right has a strange shape as well. I finally finished this up today by completing a small portion of the tabletop, which I had neglected to do when I turned the project in due to time running out. But, I still got an A on it :-).

I miss painting with Becky. I love the methods she taught me. I'm enjoying learning from Melanie too though. I think that variety is going to bring about an interesting style for me in the long run.

STILL LIFE WITH WOLFE RED BIRD
Finally, a decent painting from my painting class. This is a 20 X 24 oil on masonite (or hardboard as it is called today). It's a completely different style for me. I'm learning from Melanie Atkinson, a style that is completely different from what I was taught by my first painting teacher, Becky Barnett, who taught me to paint in the style of the old masters. This painting was produced quickly, in less than 5 hours, which is equivalent to two class periods.

It's taken some time, but I'm beginning to get the hang of Melanie's fast and loose technique. I have a long way to go, but I'm seeing progress enough to share now. I love the little red pottery bird, produced locally at Wolfe Fine Art Studio in Jackson.

ANGEL FROM STATUE
This is drawn from a statue made of resin or something that looks like sort of like terra cotta. Charcoal and pastel on 18 X 24 Canson paper. I don't know what I'm doing with this. The pastels are cheapies. I'm going to try my Nupastels next week and see if I fare better with them.

GEORGE
George is a skeleton that has been a fixture in the Art department at Hinds Community College for many years. He's old and he's coming apart, but we really love it when Ms. Atkinson gets him out for us to draw. Mostly she asks us to do abstract work from him. These drawings are from George, done in charcoal and soft pastel, and they are pretty much the only drawings I've done this semester that I'm satisfied at all with.