Abstract Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Artist Comments
Artist Catherine McCargar displays a dreamy forest clearing in delicate color. Trees line the landscape, casting shadows on the wintry terrain. A peaceful and...

Artist Comments
"There are many truly iconic architectural structures in Japan, and the Odaiba Bridge is one of the more memorable ones!" says artist James Nyika. "I wanted t...

Artist Comments
Artist Catherine McCargar enjoys living in Northern California with the wine country of the Bay Area within easy reach. "I found the softly rolling hills of p...

Artist Comments
Artist Patricia Prendergast began this pastoral view of the distant Sierra mountains by toning the whole paper with raw sienna watercolor. She lightly outlined the composition and then applied many layers of pastels. "Keeping in mind the works of some of my favorite impressionist artists, I allowed some of the raw sienna to remain visible throughout the painting," she says. "This resulted in the sky and ground planes feeling like a unified whole."

About the Artist
Pastel artist Patricia Prendergast creates impressionist artworks that depict the rivers and landscapes near her home in Sacramento, California. With each nature vignette, she captures the sense of larger natural rhythms through quick mark-making, mauve undertones, and a tranquil and serene haziness. Her work recalls the paintings from the Hudson River School such as Thomas Cole and Asher Brown Durand. Before working on her pastels at home in her studio, she spends hours studying nature on walks along the river near her home. Since becoming an artist, she says “everything is more vivid - the beauty of light and shadow in the trees, the subtlety of the color of clouds, the sparkle and reflections in water.” Her work as been exhibited in solo shows around California. She is represented by UGallery.

Words that describe this painting: impressionist, mountains, clouds, sky, field, trees, Sierra Nevada...

Artist Comments
Artist James Nyika paints a glimpse of a busy cityscape during the sunset. He captures a sense of stillness and tranquility in spite of the traffic and commotion. "I was leaving a restaurant in Washington when I saw this unbelievable light, and I ran out like a madman into the middle of the street to capture the reference," says James. He executes the piece shortly after taking the picture, with the effect fully in his mind.

About the Artist
Artist James Nyika paints the glowing atmosphere of cities across the world. As a child growing up in Kenya, he found art materials at the student bookshop and also borrowed just about every art history volume from the British Council library in Nairobi. "I checked out the same books over and over just to stare at the art, to try and understand how it was created," says James. With family encouragement to study engineering, James moved to the U.S. and immersed himself in science studies at Boston University. Several years after embarking on a tech career, he set a goal...

Artist Comments
"A tranquil setting for a picnic or an early afternoon nap," says Patricia. The eucalyptus trees create a frame for the pond, the mid-ground bushes and the di...

Artist Comments
"The sunlight danced across the water and on the foliage hanging over the stream, creating a frame for the deep woods beyond," Patri...

Artist Comments
A young girl reaches for her father's ready hand to guide her while she walks along a low wall in a lush garden. "I love gardens, and paint them often, so the...

Artist Comments
Artist Catherine McCargar finds inspiration from a row of colorful kayaks while on an outing to Tomales Bay in California. "I was captivated by the rainbow co...

Artist Comments
Artist Catherine McCargar based this painting off of a plein air piece she created while standing in the middle of this walking path and horse trail. "I had t...

Artist Comments
I painted this from photos that I took from a blind where we watched the Sandhill Cranes fly in to spend the night in the ecological preserve outside of Lodi, California. I painted it on a piece of black, sanded pastel paper trying to capture the beauty of the winter sunset.

About the Artist
Pastel artist Patricia Prendergast creates impressionist artworks that depict the rivers and landscapes near her home in Sacramento, California. With each nature vignette, she captures the sense of larger natural rhythms through quick mark-making, mauve undertones, and a tranquil and serene haziness. Her work recalls the paintings from the Hudson River School such as Thomas Cole and Asher Brown Durand. Before working on her pastels at home in her studio, she spends hours studying nature on walks along the river near her home. Since becoming an artist, she says “everything is more vivid - the beauty of light and shadow in the trees, the subtlety of the color of clouds, the sparkle and reflections in water.” Her work as been exhibited in solo shows around California. She is represented by UGallery.

Words that describe this painting: winter, sunset, impressionism, landscape, impressionism, landscape, representational, pastel artwork, purple

After the Cranes...

Artist Comments
"Milan, the center of fashion in Europe, is a beautiful city with fantastic classical architecture, trams and people milling about attending to their work," ...

Artist Comments
Purple and green are two of my favorite colors and wisteria is the perfect subject! I squirted paint directly onto the paper to make a lovely, saturated wash. When dry I developed the piece intuitively. I finished with tinted gouache to highlight the lovely light behind the wisteria. I'm very pleased with the mood of this piece.

About the Artist
Melissa is passionate about color. She finds it to be the most significant form of inspiration to paint. Speaking on influences in her work, Melissa says, “Sometimes it’s an idea that I can’t get out of my head, or a color that I just MUST paint!” She particularly enjoys painting leaves, and the changing colors of Oregon foliage are visible in her work. In 2001, Melissa began teaching art classes, which has allowed her to view her own artwork in a new way. “The information that flows in a class is awesome,” she says. Melissa is constantly learning from the students in her classes, and is more conscious of what it means to be an artistic role model.

Words that describe this painting: wisteria,flowers,watercolor painting,watercolor floral,floral,purple,green,purple and green,nature,floral painting,, impressionism, flora, representational, watercolor painting, green, purple, purple

Mysteries of Purple & Green
Melissa Gannon...