More Oil Pastel Landscapes

The Space Between, 6x8" Oil pastel on paper
©2009, Helen Read
Ready to mat and frame
Please click here for a convenient purchase link

Streak of Orange, 6x8 " Oil Pastel on paper
©2009, Helen Read
Ready to mat and frame
Please click here for a convenient purchase link

As I review the year - it has been fun to pick up an old media that I haven't used in awhile and also explore older subject matter. Both of these are in that area of exploration. I love the tranquility of landscapes, though that is not to say they cannot express drama! And, it is a way to express a sense of melancholy for some of the vanishing open lands and farms in this part of the mid-west.

For more information about my work or my studio,

Please visit my website

Small Landscapes

Small Landscapes
©2009, Helen Read

One of my summer goals was to work with landscapes again. I was very interested in working with atmospheric effects and depth of space, as well as color. Most of these are oil pastel on paper, which was another area of experimentation. I've worked with oil pastel before, but found my more intensive work this summer with that medium to increase my fluency with it and to help me find some expressive ways of using it.

Most of these paintings above are oil pastel on paper, and a few of them are oil on canvas. You can see all of them more individually at my website. And if you click on the image when you go to my website, you will find out specific information on each painting.

It was good to get back to get back to speaking the language of landscape painting!

More of the Year in Review

The Edge of the Woods, 6x8" Oil on canvas
©2009, Helen Read
For more information on the availability of this painting, please click here.

Pink Gerbera Daisy Triptych, overall: 24 x 8" (3 panels each measure 8x8")
Oil on canvas
©2009, Helen Read
For more information on the availability of this triptych painting, please click here.

Dill-icious, 6x6" Acrylic on canvas
©2009, Helen Read
For more information on the availability of this painting, please click here.

email: studio_upstairs@hotmail.com

This year I was drawn again and again to the beauty of botanical subject matter, both in the form of magnified paintings that almost take on an element of abstraction and in landscapes as well.
The obvious truth is that creation in all its glory and profusion just attracts my attention and holds it! Perhaps that is because I lived most of my formative years in the beauty of the southwestern countryside ... or, perhaps it is just a subject matter that has so many possibilities that it is difficult to exhaust one's investigation! Either way, I love the beauty of our natural world - the work of our wonderful creator's hands.

Barely There

Barely There, 10 x 8" Oil on canvas
©2009, Helen Read
$180.00 - Ready to Frame.
Click here for more information and a purchase link

More of the Year in Review

This year I also experimented a little bit with some pen and ink bird drawings that were light hearted and fun. I was also experimenting with a new medium - ink pencils. These were whimiscal and fun to do! And eventually they inspired some note cards.

A Year in Review - part I

A set of 8 notecards (2 of each design) + envelopes
measuring 5.5 x 4.25" each
$10.00/set
(shipping is additional - IL residents, please add 8.25% sales tax)

The year started out with some pen and ink drawings of botanicals. Each of these flowers is
beautiful, sculptural and colorful in various ways. As they were completed, it seemed right to create a note card set of them. They've sold quite well this year!

What a great stocking stuffer (yes! there is still time to receive a set for Christmas), or wonderful thank you notes for after the holiday!

Please note - for multiple prints going to the same address,
shipping cost adjustments will be made in the form of a refund based on actual costs of shipping.

Dried Flowers - What Remains, Fall botanical series

Dried Flowers - from the What Remains Series - 8x10" Oil on Canvas
©2009, Helen Read
Ready to frame

Please click here for information on the availability and pricing of this painting

Just in time for Christmas Giving! A 5-Painting Auction!

The Edge of the Woods, 6x8" Oil on canvas, ©2009, Helen Read
Beginning bid $20.00
Click here to see bidding progress or place a bid

Bidding to end on Thursday 11-26

Blue Kitten, 5x5" Acrylic on canvas
Beginning bid $20.00
Click here to see bidding progress or to place a bid

Bidding to end on Thursday 11-26

Ruff, 6x6" Acrylic on canvas ©2009, Helen Read
Beginning bid $20.00
Click here to see bidding progress or place a bid

Bidding to end on Thursday 11-26

Green on Blue, 5x7" Oil on canvas ©2008, Helen Read
beginning bid $20.00
Click here to see bidding progress or place a bid

Bidding to end on Thursday 11-26

White Peony, 8x8" Oil on Canvas ©2009, Helen Read
beginning bid $20.00
Click here to see bidding progress or place a bid

Bidding to end on Thursday 11-26

Southwest Landscape - Old Oak

Old Oak, 6x8" Oil on canvas
©2009, Helen Read
ready to frame

For more information on the availability of this painting, please click here.

Another southwestern landscape! These are wonderful trees that grow in central Texas. They are old, and curve back to the ground, almost as if they have grown legs. With the right curvature, you can walk along the trunk!

Think Ahead - just a little! Gift Ideas!

Prints and Note Cards - reproductions of original art!

The season of gift giving is just around the corner, and I have some ideas for small gifts (under $25.00) through larger one-of-a-kind gifts.

And here's the best part!
Buy 2 or more sets of cards, a set of cards and a print, or 2 or more prints
and receive a free gift of a small set of pastel landscape note cards (limited edition)

See what's available here at my website!

Offer available now through December 2009.