Welcome to Pastel Explorations

Painting in pastel is an ever evolving process that involves a great deal of learning. For me the process starts with one emotion, amazement. The french word for this emotion is émerveillement. It represents that first emotional response to a situation. Being a child of the northern forests of Ontario, in Kapuskasing that sense of amazement is most often triggered by nature. I am transported by landscapes of all types.

Nature in all of it`s aspects allows me to remember, how we represent such a tiny part of the whole of creation. Insignificant really. Nothing is as awe inspiring as the vastness of the Rocky`s mountain peaks, or the raging waters of the ocean swelling against the chore. It is against the backdrop of these wonders that I can lose my own self-centeredness and reclaim a sense of being connected to a wider circle of life.

You will find some of my explorations in painting the landscape in pastel.
Claude J. Millette

Winter Landscape Northern Ontario

Winter Landscape Northern Ontario
oil on linen on board 9X 12

Rushing Water - a work in progress and a shift from previous styles...

Rushing Water - a work in progress and a shift from previous styles...
leave a comment... if you like the new approach

Rushing Water - a work in progress and a shift in styles

Well I am back and it has been a long time since I have posted.
A busy Christmas season paired with connectivity problems with my internet connection has slowed me down.

Rushing water is based on a picture that I took on a trip to Quebec city with my brother in 2010. I wanted to capture the forcefullness of the river with a slightly more impressionistic view than I am used too.

I still have to work out a few of the details. Would appreciate commments and suggestions.

Rock Resting in the Stream

Rock Resting in the Stream
pastel on Sennelier paper

Rock Resting in the Stream

This pastel painting was painted during the week after one of my best friends sudden death of a heart attack. During the week of the funeral preparation, I would retire away from people at the end of the evening to collect my thoughts in preparation for the eulogy. Painting this provided a moment of reflection and a respite from the shared grief that pervaded the group I was living with at the time.

Birch Basking in the Sun

Birch Basking in the Sun
Pastel on Sennelier La Carte sanded paper November 2010

Birch Basking in the Sun

This painting is one of my favorites. At 24 X 18 inches on Ampersand pastel board, it gives the feeling of being there peering into the underbrush when you stand 6 feet away from it.

Snowy Sunshine in the Bush

Snowy Sunshine in the Bush
Snowshoeing at Christmas at 40 degrees celsius below zero

Snowy Sunshine in the Bush

Painted from a photograph taken on a showshoeing trip with my sister in Kapuskasing over Christmas. Under the evening light, the glowing snow just pops right out.

Sunlit Trail

Sunlit Trail
Bruce Trail in Ontario Pastel on Sennelier La Carte sanded paper

Sunlit Trail

Peaceful, meditative path on the Bruce Trail

Sunlit Forest Pastel on Sennelier Paper

Sunlit Forest Pastel on Sennelier Paper
Bruce Trail near Hilton Falls

Sunlit Forest

My all time favorite...gives meaning to the idea that the sun paints the forest with rays of sunlight. Darkness is pushed aside by the color of the planet.

Calm Amidst the Storm

Calm Amidst the Storm
Contrasts in nature involve contrasts in light and dark, and colors contrasts but sometimes it includes subtle contrasts such as the gentle pool of water framed by the raging stream

Sunny Day in Dingle Park - Oakville

Sunny Day in Dingle Park - Oakville
Pastel on Ampersand Board 16 X 20

Cedar Fence 2

Cedar Fence 2
On the Road to Brooks Hollow... Pastel on Sennelier La Carte sanded paper

Walk Through Dingle Park

Walk Through Dingle Park
What a Sunny Day

Dusk by the Dock

Dusk by the Dock
Norhern Ontario offers wonderful views just before night fall.

Cedar Springs near Lowville

Cedar Springs near Lowville
Pre fall river around the time the fish come up river to die... Some of the trees have lost their leaves but the background has not really changed colors yet.

Cloudy Sunshine Day by the Lake

Cloudy Sunshine Day by the Lake
Love that water

The Lantern

The Lantern
Oakville is distinctive by the many homes with older style home and gates that still exist.

Northern Treeline

Northern Treeline
Love that sky ... Northern Ontario near Kapuskasing in December sometimes goes down to 40 below with a windchill of minus 20

Ferns Basking in the Sun 2

Ferns Basking in the Sun 2
Wonderful shimmering sunshine on the floor of the forest. Bruce Trail extending from Crawford Lake to Rattlesnake Point

Midday on the Pond

Midday on the Pond
not quite finished but almost there

Ferns Basking in the Sun

Ferns Basking in the Sun
On the trail at Rattlesnake Point - Pastel on Sennelier

Autumn Fence Pastel on Sennelier La Carte paper

Autumn Fence Pastel on Sennelier La Carte paper
On the road to Ottawa

Big Puddle of Water

Big Puddle of Water
A river near Quebec city

Puddle of Water

Puddle of Water
Capturing the flow of water is an interesting challenge. Some people think of water as blue. Water is clear and it takes on the color of whatever surrounds it. Now it is blue, now it is green or brown or yellow. Water takes on the color of whatever is behind it or whatever is in front of it.

Lawn Birch

Lawn Birch

Yukon Stream

Yukon Stream
Many people comment that this painting has a Groups of Seven feel to it. I can't say that I understand that statement but as long as people seem to enjoy it.

Autumn Colors Pastel on Sennelier La Carte

Autumn Colors Pastel on Sennelier La Carte

Fiery Bush

Fiery Bush
sometimes called Two Birch standing...

Open Gate 1

Open Gate 1
One of those idyllic Oakville scenes that will disappear with the new monstrosities being built

Open Gate 2

Open Gate 2
The same gate - a different perspective - a different season

Yukon Wonders

Yukon Wonders

Fishing Pond

Fishing Pond
Plein air Pastel on Sennelier La Carte paper

Big Icicles Create Rivers

Big Icicles Create Rivers
Northern river

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Beyond Grief

Those of you who know me are aware that I started in art at the University of Ottawa when I was 17.  Realizing that so many had talents way beyond my own abilities, I opted to pursue psychology.  In time, I became a family therapist and most of my adult life has been spent involved in the therapy field in some capacity either as a therapist or as a trainer. 

However, I kept drawing during all of those years.  Whether on the subway watching other travellers or trying to capture the majesty of the mountains in Banff, I was always with pencil in hand sketching and doodling. After my common law wife`s death in 2006, I accidentally started doodling with a small box of pastels that we had laying around the house.  She painted in watercolor. Unknowingly, as I watched her, I learned the process of transforming a drawing into a painting.  I enjoyed watching her struggle with variations of a painting till she was satisfied she could choose the version that she felt comfortable with.

My first attempts a painting in pastel were atrocious. But over time as I reproduced my wife`s approach, I discovered that my results were not only getting better but I was learning how to paint. With this process, I learned to teach myself to paint.  As I read various artists describe how they approach the task of painting, I discovered that many share this type of a process. It is what allows them to think their way through a painting and learn from it.  More than finishing a painting, this ongoing learning through experimention is what I find most satisfying about painting.  
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