Fruit Tart

 

Fruit Tart  oil, 6x8 inches

Purchase info here.

Here we have the first painting of the January 2024 Strada Easel Challenge.  Twenty-nine small paintings to follow.  

Poppy Cake

 

Poppy Cake  6x6 oil 

Purchase info here.

This Christmasy looking cupcake was actually purchased near Memorial Day when red poppy is sometimes given out by veterans. Poppies are a reference to the poem "In Flanders Fields by John McCrae" wherein he speaks of the ultimate sacrifice of soldiers, Marines and Sailors who now lie in fields of poppies.  

Cannoli In Blue

 

Cannoli & Blue    oil 6x6 inches

Purchase info here.

It has been a while since I've posted.  I took a few weeks off for family reasons, but I got back to the easel today.  Boy did it feel good to paint!  This little cannoli got painted then eaten back in May. 

 The Balboa Art Walk in September was fun and successful for me.  Thank you to all my followers who visited my booth! 

 At Mission Fine Art Gallery in San Juan Capistrano I have three pieces on display just until October 29.  On Oct.30 I'll be leaving the gallery in an effort to simplify life and slow down a bit.  So if you're in that area, perhaps you can stop by in the next two weeks and see my work in person. Below are some pieces that have sold recently at Mission Fine Art Gallery.  

Laguna Treasure 12x16

Mission Spring Fountain  11x14

Mission Bells 10x10

Cannoli Afternoon -SOLD

 

Cannoli Afternoon  oil 10x10 inches

Purchase info here.

I set this up in my back yard one cool afternoon in May.  It was still yummy hours after I had painted it!  I've had a couple of recent online sales, so I want to take the opportunity to thank all of you who enjoy looking at my art, making comments and making purchases.  Thank you sincerely for supporting my work.

Below you can see a painting I did as a surprise.  This family welcomed us into their backyard garden very early in Spring because I wanted to explore growing in buckets.  They generously shared all their gardening expertise, then picked us some salad greens to take home.  I happened to get a great photo with my iphone that I later painted from.  I surprised them with the painting just before they moved to Idaho.  Gardening in buckets worked well!  We have cucumbers, summer squash, cherry tomatoes, and two heirloom tomatoes all coming from buckets!

                                                     The Family Garden  6x12 inches

Key Lime Pie -sold

oil 6x6 SOLD Key lime pie is one of my favorite desserts. I sacrificed the last piece for this painting. Thank you to Bunny Gunner Gallery, Claremont,CA for the sale of this painting.

Cheesecake & The Big Berry SOLD

oil 6x6 inches Purchase info here. Coming up with titles for so many paintings is always a fun challenge. I thought about the children's book James And The Giant Peach for this one. Maybe this one would fit too: Does This Cheesecake Make My Berry Look Big? LOL! I have a simple contemporary frame on hand if you would like to add it to your purchase. Email for details: karenwernerart@gmail.com IN OTHER NEWS: On Monday I completed the Strada Easel September Challenge: paint or draw from life every day for 30 days. Here is a montage of all my work for the month. (missing one by accident). You can see them all on Instagram, or eventually they will be posted here one by one. In a future post I'll share what I learned by painting every single day.

Mousse On Mint SOLD

oil 6x6 inches Available here. A luscious dessert from The Local Baker in Upland. Painting and life both have their ups and downs. In December I wiped out quite a few paintings, and still have a few turkeys laying around that don't make the cut for posting. On Christmas Eve I had to have my sweet Sandy the studio dog put to sleep. She was suffering so I had to let her go. She is definitely missed. It has taken me this long just to be able to write about it. But things are getting better. I remembered how to paint in January and just returned from a great visit with family in Idaho. I'm excited for my workshop this weekend and to get back to the easel. If you'd like to join us at the last minute for two days of instruction and fun, email me: karenwernerart@gmail.com Sandy in 2015 at Moro Campground, Crystal Cove.

Happy Donut

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

Do-si-dos -a still life painting of Girl Scout Cookies

oil 6x6 inches magnify/purchase info Last painting in March, Girl Scout Cookie season. Yum! This one comes with a sweet little price.

Fall Cupcake

oil 6x6 inches magnify/purchase info I loved the subtle color of this cupcake I found at a local bakery back in the fall. It sat in my fridge for a couple of months before I painted it. Hard as a rock, but looked just the same as the day I brought it home! Wish you could see this one in person. It's a sweet little painting, no pun intended.

Chocolate Cheesecake -a still life painting in oil

oil 6x6 inches magnify/purchase info I started painting desserts several years ago, and still they are among my favorite still life subjects. In a nice frame they make great little kitchen paintings whether on the wall or counter top in a decorative easel. This painting is a personal favorite of my 31 January paintings. "Did it taste as good as it looks?", I'm often asked. They usually don't, according to my husband.

Cupcake -SOLD

oil 6x6 inches magnify/purchase info Here's a treat from the Local Baker in Upland. This morning I'm packed up and headed to Balboa Island for Just Plein Fun. I'm SO looking forward to a week of painting in one of my favorite locations!

Cannoli -sold

oil 6x8 inches A fellow artist in the gallery at the Fair saw my paintings of desserts and brought me these treats from his favorite bakery. "Here, paint this." It's always a challenge to paint chocolate. I used burnt umber altered with cad yellow medium and cad red light where needed. I added some berries for color. Then Elizabeth and I ate them.

The Magic Donut -sold

oil 6x6 inches click here to bid It's National Doughnut Day! The fabric pattern reminds me of a magic carpet. I love donuts and doughnuts. Found out you can spell it either way. Go get some donuts. I'm pretty sure the calories don't count if you eat them today.

Fudgy Charm Bar

oil 6x6 inches
click here to bid

This lump of gooey deliciousness came from Stater Brothers Market. The title is theirs. I thought it was kinda funny. The bakery girl packaged it up so carefully after I told her not to smash the whipped cream 'cause I'd be painting it. (What a weird customer.) Then it fell over on the trip home and again on top of the green beans in the fridge. Oh well.

Tuxedo Cake SOLD

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches
private collection La Quinta, California

The grocery store had this pretty little dessert yesterday. This square plate with the rounded corners can be tricky to draw so this time I considered that when I placed it. Part way through my painting session, the power went out for almost two hours. I resisted painting for about 45 minutes, then I couldn't stand it anymore. I painted the fork and gray-blue with not much natural window light. I knew it was risky, but when the power came back on it looked pretty good. I added highlights, and was done. I'm especially happy with the fork. The power outage forced me to paint it without fussing.

Cherry On To-sold

oil canvas panel 6x6 inches

click here to bid

shipping available after Sept. 30

Monday and Tuesday I had a delightful visit with fellow artist Susan Denison from Arizona. She and her standard poodle have been traveling in her camper van hither and yon, and took time out to meet me and paint with me. She arrived subject matter in hand: flowers and this large luscious cupcake. Found out two can paint in my little paint cave quite nicely. We painted outdoors on Tuesday. Will post that painting later. What fun! Thanks, Susan!

Other news: Tomorrow I'll be driving my mom and I to Denver to visit my brother. No painting or posting on this trip. I'll be back in about a week.

Sprinkled On Blue SOLD

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches

click here to bid

National Donut Day continued over the weekend at our house. Interestingly, Hubby was not impressed with this painting. He said it lacked a hole, and "everybody knows donuts have holes." The hole, small to begin with was full of frosting. This explanation did not satisfy. He said I should have made one up even though I couldn't see one. Humpf. Accountants. I paint 'em as I see 'em. I don't paint what "everybody knows". I still love him.

Striped & Glazed -SOLD

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches

click here to bid

Sometimes figuring out what to paint takes a while. I fiddled around with different stuff 'till I gave up and went back to my first thought, a donut. I drove to the donut store. Maybe subconsciously I just wanted to eat one, but after I got that out of the way painting one seemed right. The striped napkin adds color, line and interest as the stripes go in and out of shadow. It just so happens that tomorrow is "National Donut Day." No kidding. Maybe another trip to the donut store!

Strawberry Cheesecake SOLD

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches

click here to bid

I picked this up at The Local Baker in old downtown Upland. The shiny glaze on the strawberry and the white of the whipped cream really caught my eye. You can't really see it in the photo, but there's a glow of light passing through the far right edge of creamed cheese. I had lots of fun capturing that and also loosely indicating the wrapper. Hubby got to eat it. Yum!