Still Life with Meyer Lemons

" Meyer Lemons on Striped Cloth "

Oil

6"x6

Available

Favorite fabric, favorite lemons! Meyer lemons are so beautiful, so delicate. They make Sunkist lemons look like "tough guys".

Tip of the day: A super brush holder to keep brushes at hand while you paint. Fill a plastic tub 8" wide by 6" deep (dried dates come in these) 2/3 full with dried black beans or other small dried beans maybe even popcorn. Stand your oil painting brushes, end down. Keeps them separate and in view, no brushes rolling around. I don't know if this would be good for acrylics because the water in the brush might damage the ferrule. I have used this "bean pot brush holder for years. It holds many brushes. After cleaning brushes for the day I lay them flat to dry.

Oil Painting tips, Art tips #1

" Summer Annuals "

Oil

6"x8"

Private Collection

I wanted to share a few tips today that I've learned over the many years on my painting journey. So, here goes in a rambling sort of way:

1. First things first: a strong composition is the most important, then value and finally color.

Take the time to do a small or several small thumbnail/value sketches, choose the strongest one. You now have a plan, have worked the basics out in your mind. If you are plein air painting it will become a reference for the shadow patterns which helps you keep to your original idea as the light changes.

For composition a great help is to take acetate and trace the outline shapes of paintings I like (I keep a scrap book of paintings I've clipped from art magazines). Darken in the darks, lightly cross-hatch the mid values. Study the arrangement of the major shapes/patterns to see how the composition is put together.

2. Premixing the major colors you are seeing can create more harmony in your paintings. You have made your plan/choices. Then you are free to apply the premixed colors, covering the canvas quickly. Then make any further additions/corrections. Whistler required his students to premix their palette. He said that if the colors look good together on your palette they'll look good on your painting...or maybe it was more like..If the colors don't look good on your palette putting them on the canvas won't help! I find that I stay more true to my original idea when I premix. Even on my little 6x6 daily paintings I premix. It helps to sharpen your observation skills.

3. Need to make a big color change in a painting but don't know if it will work? Lay acetate over the painting (should be dry to the touch). Paint the new color on the acetate. For small areas I will cut out the shape I'm thinking of changing and paint it the new color then hold it over the painting..tape it on if the painting is dry to the touch so you can step back and look. This works great, too, if you are trying to decide where to put/add a new element that wasn't in your sketch.

Cherries, Buffalo China, Simple Simon

" Simple Simon Met a Pieman "

Oil

6"x6"

SOLD

"Simple Simon met a pieman going to the fair". I knew what I would paint when I saw this little vintage Buffalo China bowl. Maybe it's a child's bowl from a set at any rate I love it and I'm sure will use it in many future paintings.

Limes, Buffalo China Bowls, Striped Cloth

" Stack of Vintage Buffalo China Bowls "

Oil

6"x6"

Sold

I liked the simplicity of the striped cloth with the stack of white bowls and two little limes. I found these old restaurante bowls on eBay. If there are any fresh cherries in the market today I will get a few to put in another little bowl I recently found. I imagine at our grocery store which locals have called the most expensive in the USA that the cherries will be $10 a pound. I only need a few, and I don't want to wait til summer to paint what I have in mind. I will also look for some well shaped lemons. Seems I have become the queen of daily paintings of lemons. Paint in a series, paint what you know!

Limes, Buffalo China

" Little Limes in Buffalo China Bowl "

Oil

6"x6"
Sold

Once again, here is my favorite fabric. I found some great vintage Buffalo China bowls on eBay and will be using them in future paintings.

Now that the holidays are over I can focus on painting again. I am not one who can easily have house guests and get my work done in the studio. I want to sit and visit, play games, cook...It's more about focusing on one thing at a time and with my son home and friends around, that's how I like to spend my time. The paintings will get done eventually.

Norwegian Fjord Draft horses, Red Barn

detail

" Melinda's Victoria "

Oil

12"x16"

This is the very special Christmas commission I was busy working on for a good friend, hence very few daily paintings. Now that Melinda has opened her gift I can post an image of the painting here! While the 3 week old filly, Victoria, is the center of interest I wanted the entire painting to tell a story of their amazing farm with the beautiful red barn. The property has Idaho snow covered mountains to the north, so of course my telephoto image brought them closer. Then there are the sage covered south facing hills and finally the flat farm land. I am learning about Norwegian Fjord draft horses. They are about 14 hands so some people call them ponies. The manes are typically "roached" or cut so that you see the dark running down the center of the blond mane. Victoria's mane and tail was very curly, she was so cute. Melinda will now remember back when I was taking pictures in August and now know what my intensions were really all about!

The difficulty with this painting was getting the eyes right, not easy on such a tiny painting. I would put the strokes down and like it, then think it needed something else, end up wiping it all off..I did this many, many times. That is when I had to leave the painting alone for a few days and come back with a fresh eye and more patience. I'm really happy with how it turned out...and so is Melinda. That's the big pay-off!

Private Collection

Merry Christmas, Glass Ornament

" Shiny Brite "

Oil

6"x6"

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Peace & Love in the coming New Year.

A note on this painting that I did last December. It wasn't until I was finished that I noticed I'd painted a reflection of myself. My first self-portrait...it was painless.

" Green Pears in Dough Bowl "

Oil

9"x12"

Private Collection

Filling in for today's post is this little oil I painted a few years ago. The linen napkin gave me fits and now as I look back over this past year I realize how much the daily paintings have helped me with drapery. I am working on a commission this week that is taking some time, so no daily's til it's finished. Check out Neil Hollingsworth's latest commissioned work...talk about patience! These are much larger paintings then I have seen him do and I can imagine the amazing amount of work entailed. Notice his palette off to the right with all his premixed colors. Now that is palette discipline! I teach using a premixed palette when working from a photo. For plein air I will mix 4-5 values to get going. For large work I plan the entire painting's colors and premix them. All decisions are made and it makes painting more relaxing and I'm not tempted to just throw a bit of this or that color because I haven't used it yet. Whistler premixed and I love his work. So many ways to work, we each find what works for us. I usually premix most colors for my little daily paintings, too.

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.

Click here to purchase

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.

Sold

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!

SOLD

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.

Sold

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