yellow apples

This one looked so good I cut it up after I finished painting and the side toward to lamp was so hot, it was spoiled. I ate it anyway. So these are truly one of a kind, because each one is eaten after the painting session.

yellow apples

This dish is one of my favorites.
The Gala apples are very yellow right now and a good change. I keep eating them up before I paint them.

persimmon

I love this fruit. The shapes were fun to work with.

Two of a Kind

Fall is apple season, and these two were so classic that I had to paint them. These quick studies are not as quick as I had planned, but I am getting back in the zone of painting. It really is a discipline.

I am painting apples this week. It is a good thing to fall back on when stating up again. I think I missed the whole pumpkin opportunity, so will just get on with what I have.

Man in New Mexico

I saw this guy in Santa Fe this year after the IAPS Convention for pastels in Albuquerque. I took his picture and started blocking in a pastel of him. I was having some trouble with it and decided to do a drawing in pencil to check out the values. I can see where I want to change some things and I would like to go back in this one and add more really dark areas. My pencil would only get so dark, so I may have to use charcoal over it.

Young Prune

Here is another little study of these plums.

Prune plum

I like this color combination.

Pomegranate plus 2

Another try at the pomegranate. I like the plums but not the composition or the pomegranate.
I really liked my start, but then I over worked it.

My pomegranate is starting to spoil. Time to move one.

lemon

This one is a little grayed out, but it was fun to do.

pomegranate and plums

The pomegranate was from my front yard. Even with the drought the bush put out fruit. It is a tough plant. I like the shadow on this alot and the color combination.

prune plums

I liked the background color with the blue and purple.
I need to try to use a winder brush stroke.

what is she thinking?

This is not a daily painting...it took more like 3 weeks and I am not sure if I am finished. It is pastel on Wallis paper.
I look the reference photo of this little East Indian girl in Chicago this year. She was very serious and direct in her stare. I have another view I may try also.
I often do more than one pose or more that one painting of the same pose for a portrait. I don't try to get it the first time, and that helps the pressure of getting a likeness.

greenies

My first oil study in a month. Oh dear. the brush strokes are not what I would like. This was very frustrating and I picked something I was very familiar with.
Practice is going to be a big part of my stay here.

It will come back, but I'll have to work for it.

white pitcher

This one was on a 500 grit sandpaper I got at the last IAPS convention to try. It is a little course for my liking. I like the way the grapes turned out.
It is so good to be back in Austin for 10 days. This one was done in Stillwater. I brought my oils home with me and will continue with pastel up there.

Nectarines

I started out with the dark colors first. It is different than oil! Not too thrilled with this one, but for me to get anything on paper was a real big deal. Trying to do alittle art work each day is hard up here at my mother's.

Pastel: apple

It has been almost a month since I posted anything. I have been in Stillwater, Ok. taking care of my Dad until he died Sept.7th and then taking care of my Mom. I have missed painting so much!! I brought some pastels up and will try to do some studies while here.
This is an apple we had for dinner and I didn't have a single light source for it. I will try to get a better set up. It really makes a difference in having the basic requirements of painting.

Tea Time

I have a friend, Johanne, who is positively great as reflections. I am interested in trying some, so I went out hunting stainless steel reflective objects that I could paint. This is a small tea pot (the spout is not showing) I found at a restaurant supply place and it turned out to be a challenge. I want to simplify the reflections more on another one.
I am going to Oklahoma to visit my parents and will not be painting for 11 days. But when I get back, I want to try this again.
See you all later on.

Lunch

I thought the inside of this tomato had a very interesting design and wanted to try it. This was my husband's lunch so I had to paint fast.

I way happy with the results. I think painting faster has some benefits.

Pear study

I decided to simplify the shape because I was getting very angular. I also wanted to set up a background color that worked well with all that yellow. I think I am satisfied with this one.

My actual pear is turning brown and has spots all over it. I think it is too far gone to eat. The perils of fruit painting.

Pinkie 2

I like the background on this one better and I got more value range, but the dark colors on the pear are not what I was looking for. I'm not sure there is enough contrast between coral and yellow to make an effective painting. It is a very warm combination.
I want to try another today.
I am going to be away from painting next week while traveling. I have been doing this so regularly that I am afraid I will go into withdrawal.

Pear Trio

Part of the reason I keep this blog is to connect with other artist's visually about my work, my challenges, and experiments. This is one of those times I am not sure whether to post an image that I wouldn't want just everywhere. So take this one with a grain of salt.
I have three different angles of pears and I was trying to look at using three values on each pear to achieve volume. I like the back two, but the front pear gave me trouble. Also I don't think there is enough difference in value. Cad. yellow is very powerful, and I might have used more red to warm up one angle on the front pear, as I got on the back two. Once I used the Phalo in the yellow, I couldn't get back to a clean color.
I could have used more variety of violet in the background too.
I ate two of the pears, so will have to go to the store to try another one.

Pinkie

I think pink is a difficult color to work with, so I wanted to try this one. I used alizarin instead of cad.red and lost some of the intensity for the background. But that might be just as well, as the focus is on the green apples.

Cup with Apples

Well, I finally got one I really like. I went back to the basics and didn't over mix the colors. I also like the pink/purple under wash. I think the shadow shapes are interesting too. Why is it so hard to get it simple!

Red Grapes

This one is very grayed out. I think it could have used some darker darks and more color in the grapes. Don't know. I did this while recovering from a long dental procedure and I wasn't hitting on all 8. It is reflected in the brush strokes and choice of colors. But I think it is alright not to be bright and shiny every day.

Green apple

I really like this one. I wasn't sure I could paint a large object on such a small canvas.

Strawberry

Another quick study. These are so fun I think I'll do more.

Single Strawberry

Sometimes I struggle with a new object and practice on these little vignettes. I do them quickly and usually like them better that the ones I labor over.

Cherry Cup

I like the cup on this one. I was happy with the background color too. All those warm grays. I would like to have cleaner strokes and fewer strokes to achieve a more direct look. I am thinking about trying a mylar board or masonite again. Of course that means a trip to Home Depot and that is dangerous for me...too many interesting things to look at. Does anyone else prefer a hardware store to a dress shop???

Cup and plum

I wanted to work on this cup so I did this one. I like the shadow shape from the cup, but was frustrated by the rim of the cup. I'll do another tomorrow.

Madaline

I thought I would try something different. This kitten was a baby I found on the street just a few days old. She was with us until she was diagnosed with a condition that couldn't be fixed. I think of her still with great fondness. She was very spunky and we had alot of fun while she lived.
I thought the gray would be a good challenge in values and her blue eyes came through. With all the cool colors of her fur, I put in a warm background that I think worked.

Bridge of Tomatoes

I had a challenge using red as a background on a previous painting of green apples. So, I decided to tackle red again but in the objects. It was easier and there is so much orange in tomatoes that that helped. The object for me was to get a full range of values in the color, and I am pleased with the results.
The down side of painting tomatoes is that if the skin is pierced as it was with one of these, it gets everything wet. yuck.

Cherrie friends

I was in a cherry painting mood and decided to try more cherries with a compliment color background. I like yesterday's as much as today's.

Friends

I did this one after I wiped off one that wasn't working. It is such a liberating feeling to wipe off the canvas. Then I went to something I thought I could have some success with. Having little successes along with stretching is what I like about daily painting.

Pepper Boat

My challenge here was to get a large subject in a small format. I love this oval dish and have painted it before. I especially like the shadow of the pepper stem on the violet cloth. I think it makes the shadow shape very interesting.

Gala

I tried a sliced apple this time and was afraid it would turn brown before I got it painted. Carol Marine recommended putting citrus juice, lemon or lime, on apples while painting, and it worked fine.
I think the shape could be more interesting if the planes of the apple were sharper, so a thinner slice might be nice.

Red and Green

Well, this is really red! I like red and it is my favorite color, but this is overpowering the green apples, which are intense on their own. I need to gray the back ground down alittle next time.

plums on orange

I have been a pastel painter for the last 6 years and am new to oils. I'm really enjoying mixing paint, but I find myself having to touch the painting at some point. If the high lights are too strong, like they started out on this one, I just go on auto pilot and smudge them with my little finger like I would with pastels. Then I absent mindedly wipe my finger on myself. I find myself decorated at the end of a painting session.

This one was fun and easy. It's amazing to me how one will flow and another one is such a struggle. Kind of like life.

demitasse and cherries

I am spending alot more time in my studio and enjoying the disciple of painting every day. It is my time to be in a different head space. I have noticed that I get a feeling of peace and satisfaction from painting. It used to be such a challenge that it was almost painful and certainly exhausting. I think there is a shift going on that is very hopeful.

This one was easy. I did go in after a coffee break and brighted up the green right next to the cherries to make them show off more. I particularly like the lower cherry.

two green apples

I tried a composition with two objects again. The third element could be the shadow. I love the orange of the paper behind the already intense apples.

Three Apples on violet

I decided to go back to my apples. They are almost a comfort to paint. I have found that a square format is most pleasing to me. This one turned out simple, but good.

blue dots

I couldn't figure out what was missing about this one. I got the cup right and the apple looks right. Then I realized the composition was too static for me. Maybe a third element would have helped too, or a different color. I am interested in the dots and the value changes in the shadows. I will try another.

Mandarine slices

I painted this one with my friend Johanne when she came over to paint with me. I also took myself to the thrift store and bought some new glass vases and cups.

green cup and cherries

This dark cup and saucer was a challenge. I want to try a black one and this was working me way toward darker colors.

Red Corgi

My first animal in oil. This is corgi we used to have and still miss, Duncan. I am pleased with it.

cup of cherries

Cherry season is still on and I am enjoying them to the utmost. For every cherry painting, I eat a bowl full. These got painted because they were not quite ripe and still red. They will be gone tomorrow.

sweet and sour

This merry-go-round of fruit composition weaves around in a circle. I think a circular composition is tricky, so I had one piece going off the canvas, and one piece of lime sitting a little apart from the others.

Three apples on orange

I love the colors of this one.

tea time lemon

I like this one because of the brush stoke inside the cup. It looks like light. I also like the luminosity of the lemon. The white of the cup and saucer may be to dark. humm

grapes 7-21-09

I am interested to see what the background color does to the subject. This orange is new element for me. I am thinking about using every different color I can find.