Marcia LaBelle

Sunday, February 23, 2014

A woman resting

A few weeks ago this was the last pose of the afternoon. For me it was just the opposite of relaxed, uphill going all the way.

pastel on toned strathmore 18"x24"

Marcia LaBelle mcohenlabelle © 2014
click to enlarge

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Forever and a day

Or this winter wonderland is here to stay - like the Gershwin melody 'our love is here to stay'

Nothing grand - a lot of small adjustments, seemingly endless.

Forever and a day, color pastel on Maidstone 10"x10"

In fact I love winter, I just hope there isn't flooding with snow turning into rain and if it freezes again I hope the wheels of our car don't get frozen stuck in several inches of solid ice like they did last Sunday.

Forever and a day pastel on Maidstone 10"x10"

Forever and a day, color pastel on Maidstone 10"x10"

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Addiction to hand warmers

My hand warmer which looks like a large, oversize tea bag was still warm as I ate my dinner tonight and then clambered up the stairs to look at the internet.

This pastel is from earlier in the afternoon not far from Crooks Hollow Rd, where I planted myself as firmly as I could on a deep snowy embankment with partial sun and particles of blowing snow.

The descent from the road was short but fairly steep and at one point laden down with stuff, I misjudged the depth of the snow, lost my balance and fell forward. Shirley said that at least I had something soft to fall into.

But she had an equally unsettling experience - I thought the wind sent her easel flying, but she said no, it broke.

Crooks hollow unfinished pastel on toned paper approximately 10"X10"

Monday, February 17, 2014

Chair with arms

I went into my studio this afternoon to check on cobwebs and leakage and rescued this painting of a chair that is probably the same chair from studies in one of my notebooks. I did these years ago.

oil on masonite 18"x24" (# 1)

mixed media on paper 11"x14" (#2)

mixed media on paper 11"x14" (#3)

Thursday, February 13, 2014

A different kind of light

In spite of the warming trend I only half dressed and instead of rushing outside to glory in the warming trend, I propped a drawing I had worked on last Sunday against a piece of furniture in my dining room and worked on it for over an hour. The challenge always is that the model is absent and so is the combination of muted natural light and artificial light of the 3^rd floor studio – in place of which I have the mid day light of my south facing dining room. Not that I mind but I do nevertheless have to be cognizant of that difference. Not that I wish to burden anyone with that trifling detail, it’s enough that I burden myself. Now I hardly sound sincere and that poses a different kind of problem – a peculiarity of character that I’ve had years of practice at. You know what they say – practice, practice, practice.

From a Sunday afternoon

pastel on strathmore toned paper 24"x18"

From a Sunday afternoon

pastel on strathmore toned paper 24"x18"

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

February’s handshake

Not as cold as they said it would be, especially when the sun came out. Also I had a pair of hand warmers and although the expiry date read July of last year, lo and behold they still worked like a charm. Mind you I did bring back up warmers that were current.

I borrowed my husband’s camera to take a few photos but he forgot to put in the battery, so that ended that idea. Now that there’s a warming trend I’ll try to get back there tomorrow or Thursday.

Crook's Hollow

pastel on prepared paper 10"x7"

Monday, February 10, 2014

Torn paper

It might seem banal or unimaginative to call this drawing torn paper with respect to the fact that when I was removing the paper from the board, I managed to rip a small piece of it.

figure half reclining

pastel on toned Strathmore 24"x18"