Citrus Basket

oil 6x12 inches To get a closer look or purchase info click here. Oranges and lemons from our backyard trees. Our ten year old granddaughter, Emily, was painting nearby as I worked on this painting. About an hour in we exchanged reports on how our paintings were going. I told her I wasn't sure and might have to wipe it off, but that I was trying to do what I have told my watercolor students, "just keep going." "Yeah," Emily said, "just keep swimming." (Disney) Good advice. Sometimes we can throw in the towel too soon. I'm happy with the result.

(That stuff beyond the still life was temporarily stored for my son and his family.)

Violets & A Pear

oil 8x8 inches Get a closer look and purchase information here. Oops! Here's one more painting from April that I never posted! This little pot of African Violets are from my kitchen. This is a pretty little painting, especially seen in person all because of that lovely subtle shadow.

Sizzlin' -a still life painting from my kitchen SOLD

oil 8x8 inches Get a closer look & see purchase info here. I had some pre-cooked bacon. Dropping the egg in, it became a still life right there on my stove. I took a picture with my iPhone. Later and for the first time, I used blue painter's tape to stick my phone up onto an mdf board just inches from my painting panel. Since that day I have taped my phone up to paint a few botanicals. It makes painting from photos practically painless. (It helps if you have a big phone, and you have to set your display auto-lock to "never") I'll try to include a picture of this in a future post.

Still Life With A Knife

oil 8x8 inches magnify/purchase info Here's another painting I reworked. Back in October I painted this as a demonstration for the Tustin Art Association. At the time, I was in the midst of an unexpected long recovery from oral surgery. Turns out I don't paint well with jaw pain. Go figure. Originally I had an empty glass bottle in the back to add a vertical going off the top edge. It just didn't work, so I painted it out, and fiddled with a few edges here and there. If you like it, check out the price. Very low for an 8x8.

Fountain Rest -a plein air painting from the Orange Circle, City of Orange, CA

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase info Seldom do I go back into a dried painting, but on this one I did. My aim was to bring more attention to the figure. Below is the painting before reworking it.

Imposing Pears -SOLD

oil 6x6 inches magnify/purchase info I love the subtle color shifts in pears. In the past I've found them very difficult to paint well, but I've been working on letting color blend on the canvas. I'm happy with how that worked here. I mean applying paint with deliberate brushstrokes into the previous strokes, not blending it after the paint is applied. Does that make sense? These pears are ganging up on the little grape, or cherry, whichever you like because it was a grape that looked like a cherry. :-)

Juicy Fruit

oil 8x8 inches magnify/purchase info Is there any more luscious color than in a strawberry or and orange? I wish you could see this one in person. My camera doesn't capture the deep red color shifts well at all. This shot from my iphone is just a bit better. It seems a painter also needs to be a photographer.

Still Life With Asparagus

oil 12x12 inches magnify/purchase info I prepped this panel myself with gesso, muslin and acrylic paint. The toothy surface gives a slightly rough texture to the painting. Thank you to my biker/painter friend Lorry for the little blue vase. I'm very excited about tomorrow's demo for Westlake Village Art Guild. For more info see my post on May 26th.

Bowl & Creamer -sold

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase info The metal creamer and bowl were accidentally left in my studio after workshops. I'm taking good care of them until their owners return.

Happy Donut

oil 6x6 inches magnify/purchase info Happy National Donut Day!