Orange Party -sold

oil on canvas panel 12x9 inches

click here to bid

Every once in a while an analogous color scheme appeals to me: orange, yellow orange, yellow and yellow green are all next to each other on the color wheel. Trader Joe's had these ranunculus on sale, and a good assortment of interesting orange, peach and red-orange little buds with their characteristic squirrelly stems. Even the yellow-ochre background is a cool version orange.

One Serious Apple -sold

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches

click here to bid

It might seem the teacher in me emerged and painted this one! Actually, the rich color scheme was my first motivation. Then the set-up interested me in so many ways: reflections in the deep shadow side of the apple, the print receding in space, and the shadows imposed on the printed fabric. It does look teacher-ish....maybe it would make a nice gift for a teacher.

Red, White & Bluebird SOLD

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches

I'm sure the bird is playing some kind of game with the strawberry, but I didn't hear a thing.

Berries On The Grid- SOLD

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches

sold

Okay I lied when I said I was done with strawberries. You have to understand...we have strawberry fields within walking distance in three directions. Our season is long...from late January till the 4th of July. I like the little extra dark one in the back, and the shadows falling on the blue stripes were fun too. Looks like part of a stripe is missing on the right side. Actually, it wasn't visible because of a fold. I'm debating about putting it in anyway. If I hadn't mentioned it would you have said part was missing?

Oranges & Blues SOLD

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches

This big blue salt shaker caught my eye at a local antique shop. In this set-up the orange on the salt shaker side and top pulled it all together.

Sparkle & Shine Freesias

oil on canvas panel 8x8 inches

not for sale

I got the idea for this painting when I noticed a jar of freesias that had ended up next to an old silver pitcher on my kitchen counter. I upgraded the jar to a small vase in keeping with the formal looking pitcher. The black gives it high contrast and drama. I painted slowly and had a blast.

Rooty Reds -sold

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches

click here to bid

Our local vegetable stand had these radishes, and after a full week in the fridge the greens were just as fresh as when I bought them. Amazing. This was loose and fun.

Rack'em! Tomatoes -SOLD

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches

click here to bid

We had a pool table when I was a kid. I have no other explanation.

Blue Plate Tomatoes -sold

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches

click here to bid

This is the second in a recent mini-series of tomato paintings. Red and blue are complements on the Munsel color wheel, which explains this painting and the previous. I liked the reflected red in the blue trim, and the scattered bits of dried stem material seemed to give it a natural, not-so- staged look.

Color Notes - SOLD

oil on canvas panel 9x12 inches

sold

My long-time friend, Carol in Oklahoma is a music teacher. She sings, plays the flute and piano, and teaches elementary music. What a talent! She requested a painting with a flute incorporating red. Wow! This was darn hard...but I like a good challenge. My favorite aspect are the little notes of red reflected in the flute.

Later note:

Okay, so this was practice for the next one with a flute! The blue is a bit much for Carol. (I don't blame her!) So now it's up for auction...anybody want a flute painting?

Abigail SOLD

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches

sold

A dear friend commissioned this portrait of her Yorkie, Abigail. Don't let the sweet name fool you...she is also referred to as "psycho dog". She goes right for the face, licking your ears and planting her tongue on your front teeth before y' know what hit 'ya. She keeps the whole pack of five pint-sized dogs upset with her deranged antics. For the painting, I capitalized on her crooked mouth, and kept my brushstrokes energetic....like the dog.

Not So White- DPW Challenge

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches

click here to bid

The Daily Paintworks challenge this week is to paint a white object sitting on patterned fabric with the resulting reflected color. In addition, no earth colors may be used...just the primaries and white. I learned I could mix yellow ochre easily, but I did miss burnt umber for making a quick rich black. The challenge, while about reflected color poses another challenge: draw the pattern receding in space so the object appears sitting on a horizontal plane.

Follow Me & Stay Together -sold

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches

click here to bid

I don't usually hear my subject matter talking, but this time I did.

Jar, Freesia & Fruit-SOLD

oil on canvas panel 8x6 inches

sold

Three friends who take watercolor classes from me came over and watched me paint this morning. We had a lot of fun...and food...(it's all about the food.) I offered them "brunch with entertainment". Above is the result. The jar was requested subject matter, and a good challenge. It has been a while since the last jar. I really enjoy demonstrating, but this week I've learned that while I can paint and talk at the same time, I may not be doing either at optimum level! I'm ready to go alone into my little paint cave and stay there. And I am done with freesias, strawberries and off-white backgrounds.

Spring Demo

oil on canvas panel 8x8 inches

click here to bid

While they seemed friendly enough, Associated Artists made me paint as fast as I could, and in the dark! (See below photo for proof.) Since they were so mean, :-) I spent this morning trying to rescue my painting. In case you were there, no, there were no blueberries in the painting when I started. I forgot them when I set up my still life...probably because nobody offered me any cookies! Photo below is by my friend Mary Jo, who managed to get me (8 feet tall now, apparently), my set up and the gigantic screen all in one shot. Whew!

Old Baby Shoes

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches

click here to bid

In nearby Ontario there's a still life painter's treasure trove called "Treasures And Junk"...two buildings full of cool old stuff. I bought these shoes there a while back. They looked like they'd been worn by about ten kids. The painting is full of neutrals so it had to be about the light...on the tongue, going inside, on the lace backed by darkest dark. If I don't have bright color, dramatic light can do the trick.

My demo at Associated Artists today was fun as predicted. I'll finish up the demo painting and hopefully post it tomorrow.

Abe X2, Paintworks Challenge SOLD

oil on single canvas panel 6x8 inches

This week's challenge was posed by Raymond Logan. He said it would be tough, and it was. I painted right from the photo on my laptop, following the rules: paint a black and white using only burnt umber, ult. blue and white, while simultaneously painting a full color portrait from the black and white reference. It was the first time I tried inventing color from a b&w. Fun!

Tomorrow I'll demonstrate at Associated Artists of the Inland Empire's monthly demo meeting. I got lucky...the scheduled demonstrator couldn't make it, so I'm the stand-in! Should be lots of fun because I consider them all my artsy good friends.

Big Red Onions

oil on canvas panel 6x8 inches

click here to bid

Our local stand had these big onions. Don't know how to eat 'em but I can paint 'em! About my last post...when I said click on the icon on the right, I forgot my subscribers don't see an icon! So subscribers, you'll have to go to my blog to hit the link to Daily Painter Originals. My bad...I'm still learning my way through cyberspace.

JUST PICKED! Rosa chose this painting as her favorite of the day on Rosa Picks...check it out! Thanks so much, Rosa!

Freesia Bottleneck-SOLD

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches
sold
As you may have guessed by now, my backyard is full of freesias. The reds are just glorious...put them with green and...POW! Yummy color.
I have great news! I was recently juried into Daily Painter Originals, another group of top notch painters. Be sure to check it out by clicking on the icon on the right side of the page.

Head Study

oil on canvas panel 9x12 inches

It was great fun painting the male figure in class on Tuesday night. One of the students in our class graciously volunteered to take the place of our usual female model. He did a wonderful job, probably because he's a fabulous painter himself. I'm really happy with the forehead and lips.

Fruit & Freesia II

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches
click here to bid
Same favorite objects as a few days ago...but a different arrangement. Here the flowers become part of the sugar bowl shape. The background white is also a bit warmer.

Happy Bluebirds-Daily Paintworks Challenge

oil on canvas panel 4x6 inches
click here to bid
I've been wanting to paint these for a long time and decided they were perfect for the current Daily Paintworks Challenge. The challenge is to complete the painting stroke by stroke while mixing a new color for every single stroke. It's a very powerful exercise that makes every stroke deliberate...it combats noodling! The result is a painting like fresh sushi as opposed to well-done beef.