Satsumas, Mandarins, Orange Fruit

" Satsumas III "

Oil

6"x6"

$425 custom framed

Click here for purchase information

A young man working in produce was peeling these into a large bowl for sampling. He offered the bowl to me and said he couldn't quit eating them. They were delicious. I especially love how easy it is to peel Satsumas and Mandarins. The skin feels as if it isn't even attached. Here are these three, marching forward on a vintage blue William Sonoma dishtowel. I wasn't quite in the mood to paint today. Good thing I had my studio open to to public and so that made me paint. After awhile I was in the zone and I am pleased with the results.

Apple, Lemon, Satsuma, Salt Shaker

" Still Life with Salt Shaker "

Oil

6"x8"

As promised, something bright! I usually only paint one type of fruit at a time but nothing ventured, nothing gained. Guess I covered most colors on the color wheel with this one, too.

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Lemons & Apple on Olive Cloth

" Lemons & Apple on Olive Cloth "

Oil

6"x6"

Painting # 119

I've wanted to use this olive patterned cloth for some time and decided yellow on yellow would make for a sunny and cheery painting. Cheery is what we need these days! I'm going to watch a Dana Carvey dvd after dinner which should be good medicine, too. Sending love and positive thoughts your way!

Tomorrow I will look for other bright things to paint.

SOLD

Bakelite fork, bacon fork, can opener

" Still Life with Cutlery & Can Opener"

Oil

6"x6"

Available

I enjoyed painting this arrangement of inorganic objects for a change. They were arranged on glass and the reflections appeared subtle. I want to focus the next 2 weeks on posting as many little daily paintings as I can before my son comes home from college for Christmas break. Will see..as life has a way of changing any plans I make.

Evening bag, clutch, leather

Linen Bunny Tote

Rosey Red Clutch

How's this for getting off track of my daily paintings? In the near past I had a passion for making handbags and decided to open an Etsy Store to sell the remaining ones. Entirely handcrafted, leather handles, leather flowers and all. I have been sewing since I was 5, accidentaliy poked the kid sitting next to me in the face with a needle as I was embroidering! Anyway, I thought you'd get a kick out of seeing "another side" of me. I find crafting more "fun" than painting as its more about doing "busy hands, mind can wander" and not all the mental gymnastics that painting takes.
Please visit My Etsy Store

Still Life with Lemon, Salt & Pepper shakers

" Still Life with Lemon "

Oil

6"x6"

I love painting objects that reflect and these salt and pepper shakers do just that. I placed a piece of red paper "off-stage" so that the red was reflected adding more color interest.

SOLD

Gerber Daisy, Mason Jar, flower

" Gerber Daisies "

Oil

6"x6"

Daily painting #116

Delicate Gerber daisies in an old pint Mason jar. I rummaged around our stash of glass jars..we make freezer jam so save all peanut butter and jam jars, plus we do some canning and have a huge assortment of canning jars. I am always surprised how the shape of the jars varies over the decades. I would think that once you have a well designed jar why change it? But, in our society it seems changes are made for the sake of change and marketing an "all, new design", etc. Keeps industrial designers in work. Thinking back over my career I often wonder what other creative fields I might have tried. Industial design would be one. I have always wanted to design a "line" of something dishes, wallpaper, fabrics, etc. So many ideas, so little time.

Click here to purchase

Navel Orange, kitchen fruit

" Navel Orange "

Oil

6"x6"

I thought I'd better get this one posted today so you could see how all three of the kitchen fruit look together. It's fun to paint several in a row that are similar in composition. These are bold, bright and simple but make a strong statement together.

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Fuji Apple, kitchen fruit

" Big Red "

Oil

6"x6"

Sold

Here's the second in the grouping, the Bartlett Pear from yesterday and tomorrow the Navel Orange. I'm hoping someone will want all three to hang as a colorful grouping in their kitchen.

Bartlett Pear, kitchen fruit

" Bartlett Pear I "

Oil

6"x6"

Sold

I will be posting a single apple and then a single orange tomorrow and the next day. I designed these to hang together, either framed individually or mounted together in the same frame. Yellow pear/purple background. Red Apple/green background and orange orange/blue background. It was fun to paint a single fruit a bit larger than life. They remind me of the ceramic fruits and veggies my grandmother painted for her kitchen back in the 1960's. She painted greenware and let me do some, too. I'm showing my age!

Plein air painters or wannabes Check this out... Hilarious, thanks Tony Pro and Jeremy Lipking!

" Cherries I "

Oil

12"x12"

Private Collection

Here's an oil I did a few years ago, one of my favorites. I've been tagged by E. Floyd which means I get to reveal a few things about myself! Thank you Elizabeth...she has a wonderful blog and is a talented artist and architect. Here are the rules of engagement:

1. Link to the person who tagged you

2. Mention the rules

3. List 6 or 7 unusual things about yourself or quirky but boring, unspectacular details about yourself

4. Tag 6-7 other bloggers at the end of your post and comment on their blogs to let them know they've been tagged

Here goes:

1. I'm a birdwatcher

2. I still won't step on a crack in a sidewalk

3. I love popcorn with butter and hate to share it with anyone

4. I do remember most people from high school

5. I hate shopping but do love to buy art supplies...my closet is a disaster but my studio sublime

6. Grocery shopping is a bore but I do love to shop for just the right piece of fruit or other still life subject.

Tagging the following fellow bloggers. If I can do it so can you!

1. Katie Mae

2. Deano's Den

3. Christine Mercer Vernon

4. Mary Wiggens

5. Heidi Malott

Sugar cubes, silver sugar spoon

" Sugar Cubes & Lemon "

Oil

6"x6"

Very challenging to paint tiny little cubes. The color here is off and I couldn't get it right on my photo shop program. The lower right shadows and cubes should be more green..oh, well. I added the grains of sugar because they were there... and I finally noticed them. I think they add a bit of depth and sparkle.

Private Collection

Blueberries in Buffalo China Bowl

" Just Blueberries "

Oil

6"x6"

One of my favorite color schemes is yellow and blue violet and I threw in a bit of orange, too. What a challenge blueberries are. It is the type of subject that, for me, takes so much concentration. I found myself losing patience several times, having to refocus my attention to work one berry shape at a time. I left the painting to dry overnight so I could do some glazing. The paint wasn't quite dry today, it took a light hand and more patience. Whew, it's done. I do like it a lot and hope you do, too. Cheery yellows and blues for a gray November day...Veterans Day!

If there are any veterans reading my blog today, I want to thank you for your service to our country, the sacrifices you and your families have made to keep us free. Thank you and God Bless you!

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Silver Spoon, Sugar Spoon, Lemon

" Silver Sugar Spoon with Lemon "

Oil

6"x6"

How many ways can you paint a lemon? Or a glass plate? Guess this is my lemon with glass plate series number 3 this week. I knew I had paint left from yesterday's lemon painting and with the economy I'm feeling very frugel. Besides, when you choose similar objects or paint the same landscape view over and over you don't have to rethink everything, yet each will have its own character.

I chose a white napkin because I wanted a "high key" painting, lots of light values: more feminine than yesterday's bold reds and greens and stripes.

SOLD

Still Life with Lemon and Little Limes

"Still Life with Lemon & Little Limes"

Oil

6"x6"

Sold

I haven't used this heavy, woven fabric before. It was at the bottom of my fabric stash and I thought it would be interesting with the citrus fruit and clear plate. I love how the edge of the plate bends the stripes. I paint what I see initially then take a long look at the painting so far to see what it needs. Tomorrow, I might end up glazing some of the shadow shapes darker for more contrast...

Bartlett Pears, Blue knife

" Pears and Blue Knife"
Oil
6" x 6"
I usually like to have all the pears standing up but this one wouldn't cooperate. Then I noticed it had a very good blossom end so I set the light to just catch the tips of those ends or whatever they are called.
I played with various plates, vases, etc. and kept coming back to this white linen napkin, very wrinkled. I've used it many times before and it's familiar to me..maybe that's what I liked. For the serrated edge on the knife, I first scratched the serrated shapes, then smudged a bit, then used the end of an orange stick (for manicures) to touch on the white highlights.

SOLD

Succulents II, Hens & Chicks

" Succulents II "

Oil

34" x 48"

I checked in with Frank Gardner's blog today and he is celebrating his one year anniversay of blogging! Congrats Frank! I thought I'd better check back and see when it was I began my own blog..it was October 22, 2007! Now, I haven't met my goal of 365 paintings, no where near. However, if I hadn't set that goal I wouldn't have completed the 107 I have done ( little daily paintings, not counting larger work.) It's the best thing I have ever done for my painting. I enjoy the discipline and the satisfaction of finishing a small canvas or panel in a few hours instead of days or weeks or months on larger work. Today's post is of an older painting. I sold it last year and do miss having it in my studio. I painted it in the mid-80's when my focus was on batik, not oils. If you'd like to see some of my batik work go to my main website. Thanks for visiting!

Private Collection

Still Life with Lemons & Striped Cloth

" Still Life with Lemons & Stripes "

Oil

6"x6"

Busy, bright and it was fun to paint! I love this vintage pressed glass plate and it's wavy optics. Once again I used my one of my favorite fabrics, a woven stripe of many colors. Cheery colors and stripes for these stressful times we are in. Peace and love to all.

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Fall Aspen Trees

" Fall Aspen Trees "

Oil

6"x6"

Beautiful fall weather with more reds and oranges than we usually see. I was attracted by the brilliantly lit aspen trees against the nearly black hillside of fir trees. I really like the results, not overworked. I think because I'd told myself this was a study I approached it in a more relaxed way. I was reminded that to truely see the light you have to squint. In the case of these trees, squinting allowed me to see that most of the tree area was a dark middle value with just the edges lit. Without the squint, my mind told me the whole tree was lighter and would have resulted in much less contrast and hence not dramatic.

Available $425 framed Email me

Lemons & Blue Knife

" Lemons & Blue Knife "

Oil

6"x6"

I did some shopping at Costco last week and always buy the large bag of lemons. Nice shapes and colors. It seems so many of the Sunkist lemons in our local store have thick skins that I find unattractive for painting. I haven't painted 6x6's in awhile so decided to use my favorite dish towel and lemons, as they, too are a favorite subject. I liked the contrast of soft fabric folds with the straight, verticle knife.

Available, click here

Garden Still Life, potted plants

"Garden Still Life "

6"x8"

Oil

This little oil was completed in about 2 hours during a garden tour that supports our local community library. The paint just fell off the brush in all the right places...yes! Rare, but those are the ones that keep me coming back for more.

Private Collection

Lemons & Mandarins II

"Lemons & Mandarins II"

Oil

11"x14"

I completed this small oil a while ago but it is one of my favorites and so I wanted to share it with you. I try to set up still lifes with very strong shadow patterns and this one on a white table cloth has that going for it.

Private collection

Early Morning Light, Adams Gulch

"Early Morning Light"

Oil

6x8

Here's a small plein air study from last summer. I went out today and did two fall color studies, the trees are incredible right now. Way more orange and red then we normally see. I need to let the studies rest a day and take a fresh look tomorrow before I post them. Like most artists, I'm pretty hard on myself. I usually don't like what I do plein air while I'm there working and completing the painting. I love being outdoors painting, but I feel overwhelmed with the beauty I see around me. Back in the studio indoor lighting usually reveals a pretty good painting...usually, not always. Need the duds to keep me going back. Which I need to do more often. Maybe make a commitment to so many panels done outdoors? Could only help.

$625 framed Email me

" Early Morning Adams Gulch "

Oil

8"x10"

Available

The location for this little painting is one of my favorite local places to hike, which I did last Friday with a good friend. It was painted on a very smooth gessoed masonite panel which I toned a yellow ochre ahead of time. The slick surface keeps my brushstrokes loose and lets lots of the toned board show through, adding little touches of the feeling of light.

Silver Creek, Idaho flyfishing, brown trout

" Silver Creek "

Oil

6" x 8"

Available

This little plein air study was done at world famous Silver Creek which is 30 miles south of where I live here in Idaho. The Nature Conservancy owns much of the land preserving a very delicate habitat. Wiley brown trout are the attraction of this high altitude spring-fed creek.

I used a medium with my paint and the result was a more fluid look and feel to the finished painting.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Labor Day Weekend 2008, Clydesdales

Budweiser Clydesdales

Labor Day Weekend 2008

Last Saturday was our annual Labor Day Big Hitch Parade. The highlight of the parade are the 6 antique ore wagons pulled by a 20 mule team. However, this year was special because one of the six Budweiser teams came. The day after the parade they brought the team to the horse pasture across the highway from me. I spent over 2 hours photographing these amazing animals, their handler/drivers and two year old Dalmation, Bradley, buffed-out wagon, not to mention the three beautiful semi-trucks that carry them over 300 days of the year around the country! Oh, two other great parade entries: a tiny wagon pulled by 6 Corgis and two Texas Longhorns with riders! This is the largest non-motorized parade in the USA. Last year all Labor Day activities were cancelled due to the huge fires here. It's the last busy weekend before fall slack hits. The locals love the slow down time before a busy ski winter.

Still Life with Olives I

" Still Life with Olives "

Oil

12"x12"

I have used this woven striped fabric many times in my paintings. It is quite a remarkable pattern and one that keeps me challenged. I think I captured it best back on the daily painting of limes in a white bowl and also with the green pears. It's just a exciting arrangement of colors.

Framed: $850 Email me

Art y Pico Award

Many thanks for the Art y Pico Award from fellow art blogger, Mary Sheehan Winn ! To quote the originator's intent in creating it, "The Arte y Pico Award has arisen from the daily visits that I make to many blogs which nourish and enrich me with creativity. In them, I see dedication, creativity, care, comradeship, but mainly, ART, much art. I want to share this prize with all those bloggers that entertain and enrich me day to day. Doubtlessly, there are many and it will be hard to pick just a few."

As a recipient I am asked to perpetuate the award by doing the following. The Rules:
1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award through creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter of language.
2. Each award should have the name of the author with a link to their blog.
3. Award winners have to post the award with the name and link to the blog of the person who gave them the award.
4. Post a comment on each recipient's blog so they know they've been picked.
5. Show these rules and the paragraph (above) explaining the awards origination. To quote her description of this award: The Arte y Pico Award has arisen from the daily visits that I make to many blogs which nourish and enrich me with creativity. In them, I see dedication, creativity, care, comradeship, but mainly, ART, much art. I want to share this prize with all those bloggers that entertain and enrich me day to day. Doubtlessly, there are many and it will be hard to pick just a few."

Here are my 5 picks: 1. For her amazing pencil drawings but also because her blog is a wealth of information that inspires beginners as well as seasoned artists Marsha Robinett 2. Carol Marine Her beautiful paintings and daily blog inspired me to give the daily painting blog a try.
In 30 years of being a professional artist, its the single best thing I have done to instill discipline in my work day! Thanks Carol! 3. Matt Miller I love his sense of humor, not to mention his extraordinary application of paint. No following the sheep here. 4. Taylor Lynde Fabulous plein air painter from Montana. While Taylor doesn't blog regularly his work is so inspiring and can be found on eBay. I like how he shows a black/white image so you can see the strong contrasts of light/dark in his paintings. I have one of his paintings that I enjoy daily! Check him out. 5. Last but not least, Katie May .
This young beginning artist has incredible spirit. She had the courage to jump right in, putting her paintings on a blog for the world to see. I have seen such growth in a very short period of time. She already has her own style which reflects her exhuberant personality! Go Katie!!

Still Life with Lemons I

" Still Life with Lemons I "

Oil

42"x44"

I don't know where the summer has gone! But, here it is nearly September and I haven't posted many daily paintings. I thought I would post a few of my larger works until I get the daily thing going again. Just sent my son off to college, a junior this year. It was wonderful having him at home, working locally as a bike mechanic in a local sports shop.

This oil sold at the first of two summer shows to a collector who lives in Florida and grows oranges. I painted it a few years ago and I will miss having it in my studio. You can see that I love fabrics. This one is my interpretation of a vintage William Morris tapestry. The tapestry was green and golds, but I changed the colors because I felt the blue violet worked with the lemons and mandarins.

Private Collection

The Girl with the Watering Can, Lemons, tea pot, tulips

" Girl with the Watering Can "

Oil

34" x 34"

Available

Finally finished this still life. I will also post it with the earlier post showing the progression of this painting. I am pleased with the painting. I was considering changing the blue background to something else but the blue worked best, tying in the china bowl, cup & saucer. A good example of the human shape taking center stage, no matter the other strong contrasts that might be going on. I have another show this week and feel ready, lots of new work, just a few more to frame.