Strawberries & Sugar

 

Strawberries & Sugar  oil 6x8 inches

Purchase info here. 

This is a sweet little painting that looks SO much better in person!  If you're a painter you'll know that transparent pigments like ultramarine blue and transparent oxide red create a beautiful transparent dark color and make for rich dark backgrounds.  The drawback, however is that they dry glossy and are quite impossible to photograph well.  No matter what I did, I had glare on this painting.  I tried my best to edit the photo to eliminate glare, but it takes the life out of the work.  This is as close as I could get!  If you like it enough to click on the link to purchase, you'll see that I guarantee your satisfaction.  I'm pretty sure you'd love this little gem.   

Look At Me Lemon

 

Look At Me Lemon   -an original oil painting 8x8 inches

Purchase info here.  

I painted this from life in my studio back in March.  Back then it was just the beginning of what has turned out to be a long, long attempt at staying hidden from a virus.  The carnations held out for several paintings, which will follow here on my blog.  I am grateful every day that I'm a painter.  It's a somewhat solitary endeavor anyway.  I hope you are well and keeping busy.  Thank you for following my work here.  

Demo For Rancho

oil 12x12 inches This was a demonstration I painted from life for Associated Artists of the Inland Empire in Rancho Cucamonga. I was able to complete it mostly within the 1 1/2 hours allotted to me. It's a fresh-looking painting because I had to paint quickly and leave my strokes alone. This is a great exercise for any painter who wants their work to be loose and fresh, not overworked. Give yourself a time limit. Use big brushes and paint faster than you normally would. Keep going forward. Don't go back into an area and mess with it. This brings a memory to mind: I had lunch with a couple of accomplished watercolorists more than a decade ago, and one of them shared a quote I've always remembered: "I want my work to be like fresh sushi, not well-done beef."