Yum Yums -an oil painting of donuts -SOLD

oil 12x12x1 1/2 inches magnify/purchase info Yesterday was National Donut Day. By 10:00 am the girl at the donut store was worn out and the two bottom shelves were empty. I took two glazed home and went back later for these beauties. They were still warm when I got them home. I wanted to eat one so bad!!! For this painting I toned my canvas with Indian Yellow and Thalo Red Rose which gives it a warm glow. This is painted on gallery wrapped canvas with sides painted and ready to hang. Wouldn't it look great in a contemporary dining area or kitchen?

Still Life With Crimson Ribbon -sold

oil 12x12 inches magnify/purchase Reds and violets with greens seem to be one of my favorite color schemes. This one was kind of "gaggy" until I added the earthy vintage photo and especially the lemons. The lemons provide happy relief from all the reds and greens. The main players in this piece belonged to my mother; the photo of her as a young child, the iridescent tea cup and the flower pot. Think I should keep the painting? No, because I have the objects themselves. It's the act of painting them that's the real joy for me. The BALBOA ART WALK IS THIS SUNDAY! I'm really looking forward to the cool temps, the music and the happy crowd! If you're in So Cal I hope you'll come and say hi. I'll be pretty close to where the ferry lands on the island. Turn left as you walk off the ferry and walk along the sea wall to Pearl Street. I'll have 20 feet of display space. Wooo-hooo!!!

Ball & Pocket

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches
not for sale
A pair of my hubby's jeans plopped down with a beat-up baseball on top. Last night as I contemplated my next painting, he was watching baseball on TV, no doubt adding data to the baseball encyclopedia in his head. Today is his birthday, so we have a little celebratory painting.
No, I did not ask him to take his pants off so I could paint them. Painting texture was the "funnest" part of this one...and finally a painting my hubby really likes.

Lazy-Eyed Egg-sold

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches

sold

Lots of daily painters paint cracked eggs. I've always thought it was an odd subject, but it was fun to paint. I did this one just before we left on our trip. Maybe it's just me, but I almost always see a face in them...hence the title.

We had a wonderful trip, but it's good to be home and tomorrow I'll get back to my painting routine. Hooray!

Succulent Western Beef SOLD

oil on canvas panel 12x9 inches

Tonight I'm posting from Sprindale, Utah, just outside beautiful Zion National Park. We drove most of the day, but late in the afternoon my grandsons and I enjoyed a fabulous hike. No time to paint today so this is one I did last summer when I began small almost daily paintings.

Oranges & Cherries SOLD

oil on canvas panel 6x8 inches

This one gave me trouble. Not the oranges or cherries, but that dastardly background! The cutting board surface was a blah color that looked fleshy in the painting. The foreground worked, but not the back....so I painted it black! That made for some nice contrast with the oranges, but upon a fresh look this morning...a Halloween look! Ugh! I painted it over--whew! I think it works well.

On another note: For those of you watching my figure painting studies, a week ago tonight was our last class. Over the ten weeks I started out strong and thought I would just do better each week. It seems logical, but last week was a struggle and I wiped it out! It was frustrating and humbling. Over the long haul we daily painters get better and better, but over the short haul we still have ups and downs...a lesson I have to learn and re-learn.
"PAINT A LOT OF PAINTINGS AND SOME OF THEM WILL BE GOOD." Unknown

Silver With Green Grapes -sold

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches
click here to bid
Wanting to paint green and violet again, I placed the grapes and silver baby cup on a lavender cloth. I toned my canvas with yellow-green (you can see peeking through slightly). The undertone grayed the lavender which worked nicely with the silver. The cup had a "bump" around it which reflected my orange shirt and painting arm. I'm really happy with this one.

Nile Queen In A Jar SOLD

oil on linen panel 8x6 inches

My little furball and I went scavenging the neighborhood landscaping and came up with these Queen Of The Nile lillies. At least I think that's what they are!!! I don't classify 'em--just paint 'em. They were just starting to open. The subtle grays make for a calm feel overall.

Cherries & Chilies SOLD

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches
sold
I don't usually post on Sundays, but I am so pleased with the painting from last night I just had to share! With the day's chores done, hubby happily snoring upstairs and no ringing phone, late at night is probably my most enjoyable time to paint. The color scheme is strong, so I carefully considered placement for a strong pattern of lights and darks. I wasn't sure I could get the reflections in black glass, but "it's just value and shape" I told myself---it worked!

It's fitting especially today that I sincerely thank Carol Marine for her encouragement and instruction. I attended her workshop in February, which gave me the tools to start my blog. She mentioned my blog on hers recently, and I'm so grateful for her continued support. Her influence is visible in the above painting! Check out her blog---especially if you are a painter!

Just Cherries

oil on canvas panel 8x6 inches
click here to bid
This painting is about diagonal line and playful shadows. Not just cherries!

Freesia And Cherries

oil on canvas panel 8x6 inches
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This is a black depression glass sugar bowl I found at a junk mart. It turned out to be quite powerful in the painting despite the cherries and flowers. Looking at it now, it could be a teacher, hands on hips telling all those little scattered cherries to "Line up!"

Cherries And Cream -sold

oil on linen panel 8x6 inches
click here to bid
Cherry season is here---Hooray! I've been waiting. Adding them to my paintings gives both deep color and a linear element. Here I've used the stems to move the eye through the painting. This composition a strong one, as is the black, white and red color scheme. The little bits of red tone peeking through unifies it all.

In Process

With this painting, I'm using a more classical realistic approach which I think is well suited to painting old stuff. The books and copper pitcher I picked up recently at an antique mall. Chosen just because they looked old, the books turned out to be quite interesting when I got them home. They are primary grade text books published in 1934, language and math. The young girl who used them did a lot of coloring, and some drawing throughout. This with the wear suggests that perhaps she was the last student to use them. On a back page there is a drawing of planes, bombs and tanks--her world in the early forties?


Here you can see my setup and start. I really like the color scheme and dried flowers. I know the striped drapery will be a challenge, but I like the colors.

"I Wub You" SOLD

oil on linen panel 8x6 inches

Immediately upon entering the jar, Mr. Goldfish planted a fish kiss on Butterfly. I documented the event on canvas, and now it's all over the internet :-).

Oranges and Grapes

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches
click here to bid
I plucked these oranges from a tree at the La Verne Heritage foundation a few days ago, and they still look good enough to paint. I paired them with the grapes because I noticed how translucent and multi-colored the "red" grapes were, so I could use some of the same oranges in the grapes for unity. The complementary blue gives it some extra punch.

Red Onions SOLD

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches

Here's a fresh one. Yay! Lucky for us, there's a local farmer with a roadside stand just walking distance from our house. I'm sure it was the red-violet and green that caught my eye. I gravitate to reds and greens a lot. These smelled strong and fresh--they were probably picked just hours before.