" Mixing Bowl with Lemons "

Oil

6" x 6"

Seems I'm on a lemon kick, never get tired of painting them. I used an old fashioned green color for the background keeping the color palette in the yellow/green/blue range. I enjoy arranging the striped tea towel to lead the eye and the William Sonoma lettering is a fun detail.

SOLD

" Talavera Jar & Lemon "

Oil

6" x 6"

I've been busy the past 3 days getting images ready to enter a juried show, shoveling tons of snow...we've had over 4' since Saturday..so no time to paint. However, I am always painting in my head and I like having that kind of freedom to think and plan.

This little Talavera jar is one of my favorite possessions. My mom brought it back from Mexico years ago.

The design idea here was the open pot with the lid repeating the circular shape. The shadow and light shapes of the table top create interesting negative shapes.

SOLD

" Chino Valley Eggs "

Oil

6" x 6"
There's something wonderful about painting food that I love to eat. These have been setting in my studio for 3 days now and tomorrow morning I am going to eat one. I enjoyed rendering the egg carton. This particular carton had rounded cups not the usual square shape.

SOLD

" Lemon & Orange "

Oil

6" x 6"

A version of the lemon and orange painting I did earlier this week. I see value in doing a series of paintings of the same objects. When I teach plein air workshops in the summer I tell my students to go back several days in a row and paint the same view over. Many of the problems of day one's painting have already been solved and you can focus on other things that might not have gone right the first try. The light will always be different, your mind set is different, etc. You don't have to reinvent the wheel on each and every painting.
SOLD

" Still Life with Brown Eggs "

Oil

6" x 6"

I just had to paint part of this neat egg box with the green, red and yellow Chino Valley Organic Egg logo. I haven't painted an egg in years (oh, Easter eggs don't count). The trick is to keep the edges very soft, no edges actually, just a bit fuzzy.

SOLD

" Lemon & Orange "

Oil

6" x 6"

NFS

These daily paintings are giving me so much more confidence in painting various textures and it is so satisfying to have a painting completed each, well almost, day. I love working on big paintings but they take time and being able to start a new little oil often is great fun. Designing is my favorite part of the creative process.

Sea Shells

" Arrangement with Shells "

Oil

6" x 6"

SOLD

The scallop shell was quite a challenge. Some textures can take layer upon layer, adjusting, scraping back and adding to many times. At least that's how I got to the results you see here. I like the results. Now if I could transport myself to a warm beach from our subzero winter here, that would be perfect!

" Red on Red "

Oil

6" x 6"

Ok, so here is the second of the mango paintings. The intense red had tempered some overnight, guess they ripen towards orange yellow here and there. It was quite a challenge to keep the mangoes from fading into the red cloth napkin. I finally made the napkin a cooler red and the mangoes more intense warm reds. I do love red paint!

SOLD

" Red Manoges "

Oil

6" x 6"

Yes, these mangoes really are this red. My husband came home with them yesterday. I like the contrast of the white plate, a huge vintage Homer Laughlin plate. Tomorrow I want to try painting them laying on a red cloth..red on red.

SOLD

" Sunkist Lemon "

Oil

6" x 6"

One of the things I love about painting still life is that the set-up can look very simple, like this tea towel and single lemon. Yet, when you begin to examine nuances of value/color changes it can become quite complex. I try to establish the color scheme first, premix most of the color/values that I am seeing, then quickly cover the board to get a first impression of how it is going. Next, its looking for smaller and smaller shapes of color. Finally, I quit looking at the set-up and just analyze the painting to see what it needs to make it work asking myself 3 questions: lighter/darker? warmer/cooler? brighter/duller? of the areas giving me trouble.

SOLD

" Foursome "

Oil

5.5" x 8"

Choosing pears with personality is fun. I have alway thought of pears as "the humans of the fruit world" with their varying bumps and bulges and each stem an indication of the personality within! The two on the left are having an exchange, the one on the right a study of calm patience and the one up front is maybe a bit conceited?

Pear humor, can't resist it.

SOLD

" Still Life with Lemon & Cherry Tomatoes "

Oil

6" x 6"

A cheery little grouping on a country style plate. It was snowing too hard to drive today ( I had planned on going to the grocery store to see what produce looked like it needed painting) . The only fresh produce left in the frig was a large lemon and three small cherry tomatoes, so here is what I came up with.

SOLD

" Farm Fresh "

Oil

6" x 6"

I eat an egg for breakfast most mornings, keeps me going 'til lunch.

My husband came home with these Egg-Land Best eggs yesterday. I must say the yolks were very orangy and inspired me to paint them today. Will eat them in the morning!

SOLD

" Still Life with Apples"

Oil

6" x 6"

This painting went the way I wanted it to without pulling hairs! The illusion of detail was quick to paint. Sometimes when I try to do a very simple one object painting it can be more difficult to pull off than one that is more involved.

SOLD

" Morning Coffee "

Oil

6" x 6"

Sold

A delicate small print French fabric in red and ochre to set a sunny scene while outside my studio it was a blizzard. We had 20" of new snow in 6 hours! It's early afternoon and we just got ourselves dug out, now to find something to paint today...

" Luscious Lemons "

Oil

6" x 6"

One of my favorite subjects to paint, floral fabrics and lemons. I like how the pastel pinks, yellows and blues and the vintage clear plate work together to create a very feminine feeling. I hope you like it, too.

SOLD

" Satsumas & Lemon "

6" x 6"

Oil on gesso board

Bright, warm colors...we've had 5 below zero the past few mornings. Painting warm colors helps keep me a sunny mood!

Latest wildlife sighting...Friday evening in my studio driveway..a lone black wolf. I've been seeing huge "dog tracks" lately, guess it's been this wolf and that reminds me that there haven't been any fresh fox tracks in a while...

Sold