Oils and Pastels by Margaret Dyer

"Two Lilies" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. I suspect you're getting pretty durned tired of this red shawl. Not to worry. A whole new series coming soon.

"Adjusting Her Shawl" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Cant think of anything to say right now. Too busy watching the world fall apart around me.

"Profile" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.

"Chiffon Robe and Slag Glass Lamp" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding starts at $100.

"Sequined Robe" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.

Speaking of 'artists'...a pet peeve of mine...why is it some people can't put an 's' at the end of plural words like artists. Maybe it's a Southern thing, but I've seen it for years, people writing or saying "All the artist were..." And I know it wasn't a mistake on their parts because they repeat it over and over again. Even when writing it. How do we tell these people? Why do they do that? Forgive me. Grammar is almost an obsession with me. When a reporter on the news says, "The busted pipes...", or when Jim Morrison sings "...for you and I...", I almost have a heart attack. If it weren't for that grammatical error on his part, I might have run away from home in search of him (after first seeing him in those leather pants on the Ed Sullivan Show). But I know you did not subscribe to my blog to hear me rant about bad grammar. So I'm sending this rant with a second pastel.

"Adjusting the Hem" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.00. Well, wouldn't you know it. I'm sure those of you who are artists knew this would happen. One of my last posts I was absolutely thrilled with a piece I had done, and I was so brazen as to mention it. So my work ever since has been dismal. I guess I'm paying my artist penance for my pride. This one is me getting my footing again. You should see the ones I've thrown away. You'd question my talent and skills. I do.

"Red Robe" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding starts at $100.

"Lisa Again" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding starts at $100.

"Wrapped in Red" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding starts at $100.

Every once in a long long while, something I do, for some unknown reason, just stands out as a "WOW". This is, in my eyes, one of them. You may not agree with me–everyone has his own preference. But this is one of those pieces that remind me why I spend so much time at the easel, working and working, cranking out countless OK ones, throwing out the bad ones (sometimes not throwing a bad one out and realizing too late that I should have). I spend untold hours at the easel because every once in a long long while one of these happens. I don't realize it when I'm doing it. I finish it, put it aside and begin another. When I look back at my work later, it jumps out at me and I wonder, what divine entity possessed me to be able to do that? I could never do it again no matter how hard I try. It's exhilarating, transcendental. I must experience this again. So I go back to the easel, hoping for another magical piece. Sometimes it takes months. Lately it seems to be almost ...

"Lisa's Reflection" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.00.

"Lisa in a Flowered Dress" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding starts at $100.00. So this is more of Lisa, in more of my latest purchases. Daily, little packages are arriving in my mailbox--the results of my many sleepless hours on ebay. Lovely vintage dresses and gowns. Had to even purchase a little portable garment rack to house them. It should be fun teaching my classes, carrying all these goodies with me to dress the models in. And woe is me. I have a disease. It's an uncontrollable desire for antique lamps. Seems every time I walk into an antique store, I walk out with a lamp. And now that I'm up at night on ebay...woe is me. So I figure they can be props in my paintings. Might as well make them earn their living. Be looking for lamps in my paintings.

"Lisa in Red Chiffon" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding starts at $100.

"An Overstuffed Chair" is a 5x7 original pastel on PastelBord. Bidding starts at $100.

"Lisa in Profile" is a 5x7 original pastel on PastelBord. Bidding starts at $100. Now this really doesn't look like Lisa. I'm not a portrait artist, and I don't take painstaking efforts at getting a true likeness. I'm just looking for gesture, color, drama, maybe if I'm lucky, mood. This is the first of my newest series utilizing all those things my friend, Susan, and I have been accumulating at thrift shops, and more lately, ebay. Ebay, the bane of my existence. The hours I waste, sitting at this computer on ebay looking for vintage clothing and props. I feel like I've been on a gluttonous binge lately but you should see all the lovely goodies we've been bidding on. Actually, I guess you will be seeing them. They'll be on my models, currently Lisa, whom you see here.

"Checking the Bath Water" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding starts at $100.

"Suzanne" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding starts at $100.

"Her Favorite Earrings" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding starts at $100. I hope you all are having a happy Labor Day. I have family coming over, so we're cleaning house in a frenzy.