Olives

oil 6x6 inches Purchase info here. It's a lot of fun painting something that is squeezed tight into a jar. The shapes are altered with the squeeze, and there are little tiny bits of light and shadow within the jar. These are Graber Spanish Olives. They are located in Ontario, CA and family owned since 1894! They cure and can tree ripened olives. Yum. If you go to "labels" below, and click on "Graber", you'll see my other paintings/posts related to Graber.

Spanish Olives -a still life painting in oil

oil 8x6 inches magnify/purchase info I'm fascinated by how shape and color change inside a jar. This is #5 in the Strada Challenge, 31 paintings in 31 days, all painted from life.

Golden Oil -a still life painting in oil -SOLD

oil 6x6 This is one of the demos I did at the workshop today. Painted fast because time was short, and I just realized I need to tweak the symmetry of the bottle! Will be for sale shortly. Thank you, Teri Gammalo for hosting us today. What a great group of ladies! So much fun teaching a small group. I packed in the content and worked them hard, but they held up to the end. See?

Mediterranean Diet -a still life demonstration in oil -SOLD

oil 8x8 inches magnify/purchase Thursday night's demo for the Yucaipa Valley Art Association was a blast! What a welcoming and responsive group of artists. Among them were my friends Carol and Joan, pictured below. Thank you, Alan for inviting me. I'm very happy with the way this painting turned out. It's always a bit tricky finishing the next day at home where the lighting is not exactly the same. The Graber olive oil was like liquid gold in a bottle! Such beautiful color. Very exciting! I had my greens pre-mixed as I do for plein air, and they worked here as well. Cad Yellow Lemon and Payne's Gray. One pile with more yellow, and the other with more gray. For the very bright greens, thalo blue and cad yellow light. As usual, the painting looks better in person. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Evening At Graber Olive House

oil 6x8 inches magnifier SOLD The Graber Family has produced delicious tree ripened olives since 1894. On the property are two great gift shops and this little museum. The sun had set while I was shopping and the glow from inside the museum made for a good nocturne. I really enjoyed painting this little scene, first in watercolor and then in oil a few days later. I've been using thicker oil paint lately, which is fun too.

watercolor approx. 8x8 inches Purchase Information and Magnifier

Plein Air At Graber Olive House SOLD

oil on canvas panel 6x8 inches

Not too far from our home, Graber Olive House produces the most delicious tree ripened olives and has been doing so since 1894. They graciously welcomed our fairly large group of painters onto their property today. The mosaic is so representative of the company, I wanted to include it in the painting in a suggestive way, allowing the open door to remain the focal point. The crooked doormat contrasted nicely with all the rectangles.