Fruit & Bottles

 

Fruit & Bottles  oil 8x10 inches

Purchase info here.

Here are some of my favorite items for painting arranged in my favorite design: cruciform.  This design form goes off all four edges of the picture space, to create interesting negative shapes (empty spaces). 

Four Mushrooms

 

Four Mushrooms  oil 6x8 inches

Purchase info here.

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

Summer Tomatoes

 

Summer Tomatoes   oil 10x10 inches

Purchase info here.

We had a nice crop of tomatoes last summer.  Our favorites are cherry tomatoes called "Sweet 100's."  One plant gives us enough to share with others.  The yellow fruit is a tiny lime.  Surprisingly,  when the limes ripen they turn yellow and fall off the tree.  Good thing, because the tree is so thorny, you'd tear your arm up trying to pick them.  We get hundreds for making limeade or margarita mix.  

Bottle & Glass

oil 12x9 inches Purchase info here. A painting from May. Some of my favorite subjects are here; wine bottles and glass. The small white flowers are fun too. When I paint small flowers, I know it's futile (and not at all fun) to try and paint each petal. Instead, I squint way down to see each blossom as just a basic shape. I usually paint the greens first, leaving the blossom shapes unpainted. I then paint the shadow side of the blossoms the right shape, value and color. Last, I paint the light side of the blossoms the right shape, value and color. I also focus on varying the size, shape, and placement of each blossom. A random look gives flowers a natural appearance.

Fruit & Wine

oil 8x8 inches. Purchase info here. In these small still life paintings I like to have objects (or their shadows) go off the edges. This divides the negative space nicely resulting in different sizes and shapes. Often, I use a wine bottle to take the scene off the top. You might think I drink a lot of wine! No, I just find the bottles useful and pretty. Here's a painting that has a variety of fresh color and high value contrast. I'm quite happy with this one. I hope you like it.

Demo In Yorba Linda

oil 8x8 Purchase info here. Please see the picture below for a more accurate view of this painting. I was quite happy with this demo when I finished, but when I got home I noticed that the tomatoes were floating. The next day in the studio I got them to sit down. Maybe you can see the difference in the two photos. For my fellow painters out there here are my tips to avoid floating objects: Correct shape and placement of shadow, gradating value in the shadow. The shadow is darkest right up against the edge of the object. In fact, it is usually as dark as the bottom edge of the object. IN OTHER NEWS: A "Paint the Lively Still Life" workshop is scheduled for April 21 and 23 at my studio in Upland, CA. Open to beginner and intermediate painters. If you'd like to register or for more info, just email me. karenwernerart@gmail.com

Bottles

oil 6x6 inches For a closer look and purchase info, click here. A painting from back in January before the Strada Challenge. Found it floating around in my studio.

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.

Debbie's Bowl -a still life painting in oil

oil 6x6 inches magnify/purchase info A great group of enthusiastic ladies joined me for my weekend workshop. I guess I was having too much fun to take pictures! Here's one of the demos I did for them. I painted about twice as fast as I normally do so they'd have more time to paint. No time to fuss over this one, resulting in fresh, chunky strokes. Tonight I'm off to demonstrate for the Tustin Art League.

Three Times Three -a still life painting in oil -SOLD

oil 6x6 inches magnify/purchase info Our camping trip was great. While I get back to normal, here's a painting I did last month but never posted. These little dried pomegranates have made it into more paintings than I can count. They seem to be just the bit of color I need. MORE ON BRUSHES: Last post I realized that by comparing Rosemary's Master Series to Silver's Bristlons it was like apples to oranges. I suspect Rosemary has a line of bristle or synthetic bristle that hold a chisel shape nicely. I only intended to discuss how important it is to consider the different types of marks made with various brushes. Recently I was asked via email how I clean my brushes, since they last so long. So here's what works for me. First, I use turpenoid to get as much paint out of the brush as possible. After trying three different brush soaps, Jack Richeson's Linseed Studio Soap works best for me. I dip the brush in the soap and scrape the excess off on the rim of the jar. Then I work the brush on the bottom of my sink, quickly turning it over, back and forth pushing it into the sink while adding just a tiny bit of warm water. (Don't push it around in a circle. That will ruin the shape.) When it looks like no paint color is coming out of the brush I do the same movement in the warm water to rinse. Then with some hand soap in my hands, I rub the handles to get them clean. Then rinse the whole brush and dry with an old towel, squeezing the excess water out of the bristles, and shaping them. I lay them flat to dry. I used to do this after every painting session. But now if I know I'll be using the same brushes the next day, I just get all the paint out with turp. I try to make sure I don't leave brushes around that haven't been washed. I've heard Murphy's Oil Soap works for a lot of people, but I don't like the smell. Please let me know if these practical tips are helpful, and I'll keep them coming.

Balboa Art Walk

We had a great day at the Balboa Art Walk yesterday! I always meet the nicest people and their dogs too. I'm a happy artist when I get to display a "full rack" of my work...20 linear feet on that tiny little island. Thank you to friends and relatives who visited, and to all the folks who enjoyed and purchased my work. Pictured are a mother and her two daughters visiting from Utah who were buying my paintings as gifts to each other. So sweet and fun to be part of that! I think they bought a couple more after these shots were taken. I told them I'd recently gotten back from Utah and wished I could go home with them. Special thanks to my hubby who helped me schlep all that stuff and set it up, then hung around all day and took care of me. :-) IN OTHER NEWS: Here's the revised version of "Golden Oil".

oil 6x6 magnify/purchase info

Pink Daisy, Little Bottle

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches
Spring is here in Southern California. In spite of the recent colder temps some of my bulbs are blooming and the calla lilies too. Must...paint...flower!

Three Little Bottles SOLD

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches

Glass is appealing to me as a subject because of it's obvious sparkle and shine. In this set up I also liked the way the bottles infuenced each other's color....and then there's the light coming from behind between them. Fun to paint.