Three Pomegranates

oil 6x12 inches magnify/purchase A fellow artist brought in a branch from her pomegranate bush. The variations of color made this one especially fun. I used thalo red rose mixed in for some of those bright hot pinky reds. We're off to go camping for a few days at the beach. I'm looking forward to some rest and ocean air! Be back in a few days.

Sanctuary

oil 12x9 inches click for purchase information and zoom This is the last of the four pieces painted from my photos of Mission San Antonio de Padua. The mission is located within the perimeters of an Army Base. On Sunday morning it was great to see service men and women arriving for mass. Inside the chapel a patriotic bunting is always kept over one of the front pews in honor of fallen soldiers. The day I visited, light was coming in onto that pew.

Mission Courtyard

oil 12x9 inches click for purchase information and zoom Just five days remain of the Los Angeles County Fair. So far I've completed twenty paintings. Talking with the general public who come to see what I'm doing has been rewarding and interesting. Visitors have lots of compliments and questions too. Questions about my materials, and of course, how "long does it take you to do that?" Well, "five hours and eight years of study and practice." And there are stories about their aunt, or dad or grandma who paints. On Sunday I got the most insulting question ever, which I refused to answer, and won't repeat here. But soon after, a family from Upland came by. Ten year old Jordan has been following my blog and came to meet me. She found my blog a while back by searching "artist". Surprised and delighted, I shook her hand, we talked briefly and they were off to enjoy the rest of the fair. Wish I'd taken a picture! So here's a shout out to Jordan from Upland: Thank you for finding me! It was a delight to meet you, and you made my day!!!

Mission Sunrise

oil 9x12 inches click for purchase information and zoom Last spring while visiting the Mission San Antonio de Padua I stood in this damp field early one morning and painted. I also took some great shots of the light just beginning to strike the buildings. I used one of those shots as my photo reference for this painting. I loved the light and shadow of course, but also how the dew on the grasses turned them a dusty blue green. In my photo of the painting the greens are soft like I painted them, but when I post it to Blogger they look yellow and garish. As usual, better in person.

Mission Hallway

oil 8x8 inches This is the first of four paintings from reference photos taken at the Mission San Antonio de Padua. I visited there last spring with fifty fellow members of the California Art Club. I'm holding onto this little painting to use it for painting a larger version. I might put it up for sale at a later date.

Solvang Windmill

8x10 inches click for purchase information and zoom While painting at the Fair I have time to draw from my backlog of resource photos. In my travels last spring I found this sunlit windmill early one morning. The little town of Solvang was just waking up and the smell of cheese danish was in the air.

Still Life With Amber Bottle -SOLD

oil 6x12 inches click for purchase information and zoom Another still life "landscape." This little amber bottle has starred in a few of my paintings. In this set up, I loved the muted tones in the apple sitting in the shadow of the amber bottle.

Still Life With Baby Shoes

6x12 inches click for purchase information and zoom I like the idea of a still life with objects lined up. This wide format is perfect. Think of it as a still life landscape, if you will. I painted these baby shoes once before, a few years ago. It was even more fun this time. I'm very happy with how this one turned out. This painting is available at Vander Molen Fine Art, Arcadia, CA

Natural Snack 2 -SOLD

oil 6x8 inches click for purchase information and zoom I had this "landscape cotton" panel with me at the fair. A rougher texture than I usually work on, I thought it would lend some texture to another "natural snack" painting. The fair is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so I just enjoyed two much needed days at home to catch up on things. On Monday laundry, and I took two naps! Just like a baby, one in the morning and one in the afternoon! Guess I was tired. Today I took advantage of our temps in the high 80's (instead of 100's) while I beat back the backyard jungle, planted more jungle, killed some ants and periodically jumped into the pool. Now I'm high on vitamin D and fresh smoggy air and ready to paint at the fair again tomorrow. This painting is available at Vander Molen Fine Art, Arcadia, CA

Sill Life With Doll

oil 12x9 inches click here for purchase information and zoom These objects made a nice muted green and violet color scheme. I also liked the contrasting textures of metal, ceramic and fabric. The doll's small face was difficult. My first two attempts were pretty scary looking. I thought it was funny how just teeny tiny touches of paint could make a mouth or eye go from wrong to scary, to deformed, then finally right. Pardon the glare around the cup handle.

Pleasant Valley Oranges

oil 10x10 In the Gallery Store at the Fair we have beautiful citrus crate labels for sale. I borrowed one for the backdrop to these oranges. Since I didn't include the Pleasant Valley text at the top of the label, I knew it might read as a window, or who knows what. Painted on an oil primed Gessobord, the surface was not what I was used to, so this one was a fun experiment.

Still LIfe With Sunflower

oil 8x16 inches In three and a half days of the Fair I have done five paintings. This is the largest and my favorite. I love the neutral greens and browns possible when I mix transparent red oxide, cad yellow medium and ultramarine blue. Don't know if I'll put this one up for sale or not.

Mom's Cup

oil 6x12 inches click for purchase info and zoom Just a quick post. Here's my first day effort at the Fair.