Fruit, Flowers & Filippi

 

Fruit, Flowers & Filippi

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This painting is from August when our heirloom apple tree and floribunda roses were at their peak.  I love painting wine bottles both full and empty.  The translucent glass adds so much to a painting.  

An Early Pomegranate

 

An Early Pomegranate  oil 9x12 inches

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This painting was from August, when things were ripening in our garden.  Branches are from our apple and pomegranate tree.  Our poms would not be ready to eat till October, but while they ripen they go through beautiful color changes.  Clean pinkish red this early.  

Four Mushrooms

 

Four Mushrooms  oil 6x8 inches

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Last year I taught a workshop on painting white things and reflections in metal.  Someone brought some mushrooms,  Because I had never painted mushrooms, I heard them say, "Hey! Over here!  Paint us!"  

IN OTHER NEWS: I have new LED lighting in my studio.  It's like broad dayslight in there, and makes me want to paint 24/7!  Also I recently had some respiratory issues, so I'm learning to paint solvent-free, with walnut oil instead.  Lastly, I have a workshop coming up on April 22-23.  Email me if you would like all the details.  karenwernerart@gmail.com

Apple & A Posie

Apple & A Posie  oil 8x8 inches

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A very small and casual bunch of flowers is called a posie.  Here is one such posie and apple from our garden.  Since I have lost Feedburner and hence the ability to send out blogposts to my subscribers, I hope you will consider following me on Instagram: karenwernerart.  

Strawberries & Sugar

 

Strawberries & Sugar  oil 6x8 inches

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This is a sweet little painting that looks SO much better in person!  If you're a painter you'll know that transparent pigments like ultramarine blue and transparent oxide red create a beautiful transparent dark color and make for rich dark backgrounds.  The drawback, however is that they dry glossy and are quite impossible to photograph well.  No matter what I did, I had glare on this painting.  I tried my best to edit the photo to eliminate glare, but it takes the life out of the work.  This is as close as I could get!  If you like it enough to click on the link to purchase, you'll see that I guarantee your satisfaction.  I'm pretty sure you'd love this little gem.   

Color Song

 

Color Song  oil 9x12 inches

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Here's a crazy bit of color to start the new year!  I hope 2023 is off to a good start for you.  I painted this back in June.  In the back of the painting you'll see a small painting in a gold frame that was done by my friend, May.  It had been almost a year since she'd gone on to Heaven.  I loved the color scheme of her little painting, so I looked for objects in my studio that fit the scheme.  I enjoyed painting while thinking of my friend.  

Tubes, Bottles & Brushes

 

Tubes, Bottles & Brushes  oil, 10x10 inches

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This picture is a bit blurry.  The painting is much crisper. Sometimes when I am not sure what to paint, I paint the things I paint with.  It makes for a colorful set up, different shapes, sizes and textures.  Paint tubes are among my favorite subjects.  Artists of all kinds fall in love with their tools, and I'm no different.  Do you have tools that you treasure?  

Pear Sings Bass

 

Pear Sings Bass  oil 8x10

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Years ago I had the pleasure of singing for several years in an acapella choir.  That's a choir of voices only-no instuments to accompany the voices.  In order to stay on pitch, the director taught us to listen to the men singing bass. I sang alto but then got switched to soprano.  In other words, I was a peach, then became a cherry.  I wish you could see this painting in person.  

Beth Ann -a plein air painting from Morro Bay

 

Beth Ann   oil 11x14

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In August of 2021 my husband and I camped in Morro Bay.  The RV Campground graciously gave us a spot at the last minute when all of the state campgrounds closed abruptly and we lost our reservation.  What a blessing this turned out to be!  We were within walking distance of Morro Rock and the boats docked in the bay.  A tiny hunk of Moro Rock is visible in the upper right corner.  This is one of three plein air pieces still available from that trip.  

Below is another plein air piece I did on a trip to Idaho in March.  I love painting old structures, and the  junk on the outside was especially enticing.  I have family that lives in Kuna on this old family farm property.  This is the original homestead house built on 80 acres in 1908.   I surprised the current owner with the painting to thank her for letting me paint on her property, but more than that, I felt that she should have it.  She had grown up there, and has wonderful memories of her parents and grandparents, and how proud they were of their farm purchased in 1965. They grew sweet and feed corn.  Much of the farmland in Idaho is being developed into housing.  I hope this parcel will stay in the family. 

Old Idaho Homestead   oil 9x12

(sorry the photo is a bit blurry)

 

Roses & Irises

 

Roses & Irises  oil 14x11

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A painting from April, when my bulbs were blooming, and my "florabundas" were well...flowering and abundant!  Below is a demonstration for my April workshop, which happily sold to one of the participants.  

Oh Happy Day!  12x12 sold

Tough Tomatoes

 

Tough Tomatoes  oil 6x6 inches

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It has been a long while since my last post!  I've been painting here and there, but also had Shingles for over a month, then asthmatic bronchitis.  I'm feeling much better.  Another development since my last post: Feedburner went dead, then Google stopped filling in, so as as result, if you're subscribed to my blog, you're no longer getting my latest work in your inbox.  I'm slowly transferring over 300 subscriber addresses into a Google Group.  UGH!  So if you are reading this, I thank you for finding me!  

I could take a lesson from these Tough Tomatoes.  One plant, a "Sweet One Hundred" cherry tomato plant held on through winter last year, and I picked and painted these sweet little gems in April!  So if you're going through challenging times, hang on, Little Tomato!

For a better picture of this painting, see me on Instagram: karenwernerart.  Look thru my page to April. 

Nesbitts No. 2

 

Nesbitts No. 2  oil 8x16 inches

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Here's a conglomeration of things in orange and blue.  I always enjoy painting glass.  It has been a very busy summer for me, making it difficult to get around to posting.  But here I am finally!  In the last few months I've had quite a few paintings sell before I could get them online.  I've included some below if you're interested.  

IN OTHER NEWS:  I have a local solo show up for just one more week.  The show is called "Out Of The Ordinary" and includes 17 still life paintings.  Location: Studio C, Claremont CA.  260 W. Bonita.  If you're local I hope you can stop by to see it.  Closes on August 30.

Demo On Cornflower Blue - 8x8 SOLD

Sunflower & Eucalyptus 6x6 SOLD

Beside Quiet Waters 9x12 SOLD

Quilts On A Shelf  9x12 SOLD

Sunflowers & Bird

 

Sunflowers & Bird oil 9x12 inches

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Like many artists, in March I painted several sunflowers, the national flower of Ukraine.  I felt really upset by the unjust destruction and suffering taking place there. I imagined that had it been the 1930's or 40's the US and our allies would have acted differently.  Time has passed now, and sadly it's no longer headline news here.  How is it that one country obliterated another while the world watched and did nothing to stop it?  I'm not a politician or military person.  I'm just a painter, but my heart goes out to the Ukrainian people.  

Lemon Joy

 

Lemon Joy  oil 10x10 inches

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I hope you're enjoying your summer.  Here's a summery painting from my work in March.  Our lemon tree is perhaps my favorite tree.  It's a Meyer, so the skin is smooth and a rich deep yellow.  The smell of the juice is heavenly!  

Peach Blossoms

 

Peach Blossoms  oil 12x9 inches

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In February our peach tree was doing this.  This is one of the few times I painted what was really in the backgound behind my still life; my studio sink!  For you painters out there, you might be interested in the fact that I painted this with no solvent.  In an effort to be kind to my airways,  I used only Safflower oil from the grocery store to clean my brushes throughout.  I wondered if it would ever dry!  Eventually it did, and wtih  the most luscious sheen.  Since then I've employed a couple of other methods instead to keep the air cleaner in my studio: my trash bucket is a few steps away from me rather than right under me, and after I'm done for the day, I put my trash outside to oxidize rather than in my studio.  

Apple Calls A Meeting

 

Apple Calls A Meeting   oil 6x6 inches

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Here's a small demo from my workshop in February.  

Study After Renoir

 

Study For Discarded Roses  9x12 oil

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In February I completed a commissioned master copy of Renoir's "Discarded Roses."  The painting pictured here is a small study done in advance of the larger painting, 16x20 (below).  This preliminary study allowed me to work out design and shapes, but most importantly color.  I researched Renoir's palette, which turned out to be quite different from mine.  It included lots of Viridian and Naples Yellow, both of which I generally avoid.  I had to ignore my own color harmony sensibilities.  I took a few subtle liberties with flower shapes. The collector was very happy with the finished painting.  

Discarded Roses After Renoir

oil 16x20

SOLD

A Bird With Notions

 

A Bird With Notions     oil 8x10 inches

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I had a lot of fun painting this.  The torn bits and gold are particularly enjoyable.  The books came from a thrift store or used book store long ago.  Three of these little white ceramic birds hang out in my studio.  Curiously, two have shown up at different times hidden in or behind something on my desk.  I have a feeling that one of my friends who visits my studio has left them as a surprise.  And I think I know who it is.

Lovely Yellows -a still life painting of lemon and rose

 

Lovely Yellows  oil 8x8 inches

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A Meyer lemon and rose from our garden.  

Camomile & Lemon

 

Camomile & Lemon  oil 8x8 inches

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My current favorite mug filled with camomile tea.  The variety of yellows set off by the lilac background is positively yummy to me!  How 'bout the cast shadows on that leaf, and then on the mug?!  I love the way this painting turned out!  If you consider purchasing, it will need a floater frame.  That's a frame that doesn't cover 1/4 to 1/2 inch of the painting all the way around as a standard frame does.  Most small paintings need floaters.