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.

lemon slice

I have been using a tiny format for quick studies. I was after the glow of the translucent lemon.

tomatoes

This is my second attempt at tomatoes. They are interconnected with the stem. I think the heat of my light ripened them to perfection and they went into Mexican rice for dinner with friends.
7-20-09

hot tomatoes

These tomatoes were on a very warm colored green background. I will try this again on another color, but the contrast in the lower 1/3 of the painting is what I wanted. These tomatoes look as warm as this hot July day!

Value study of apples

This was a study to look at composition and value. A monochromatic painting takes the color out of the consideration and leaves the focus on lights and darks. These were very bright green apples, so reducing them to brown let my eye go to the other aspects that make up a successful painting,

demi cherries

This is the second painting with the demitasse cup. The white was a good exercise is gray.

6X6"

My favorite from the workshop

I learned so much about grays on this one. I like best the little dip at the top of the cherry. I watched Carol do this on hers. All in the brush stroke.
this one is 6x6"

nectarines

I did these after the workshop and liked the loose background and composition. I am feeling more confident.

grapes

I had fun doing this one. I like the dark grape on the left side. It wasn't defined enough and I had already cleaned my brushes for the day, and didn't want to take out the paint again to give it a new clean line. While I was standing there thinking about this, I picked up a brush and used the end to scrape a line around the grape and this made it look better.
I enjoyed the spontaneous solution.

I also think I got the purple grayed down correctly. Purple is a hard color to control.

Then, to be sure I wouldn't keep messing with it, I ate the grapes.

plums

golden pepper

I attended a workshop this last week and painted every day. It was exhausting and wonderful. This is the first painting. I like the shadow and the color combination.