"Sisterhood" Still Life

oil on canvas panel 8x8 inches

These two big events I've been working on have prevented me from painting for over a week. It will be a great day when things settle down and I can get back into the daily routine.

Meanwhile, I've posted this painting done back in March. There's a story behind this one: A group of women artist friends got together in January and loaded a suitcase with about 9 old junky items. We dubbed ourselves "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Trunk". As you might guess, the "trunk" is making it's way from house to house where each artist uses her choice of at least six items to create her art piece. Just about every medium will be represented in an upcoming exhibit of these works. We get together once in a while to see how it's going and share food (of course) and laughs...a great idea from a creative whirlwind, Melanie Phillips. Hey artists out there, you could start your own group!

Summer Ripe -sold

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches
not for sale
This natural looking cluster of grapes from my daughter's backyard really got me excited! You don't get clusters like this in the store--leaf and all. My goal was to capture the translucency and varied color in the grapes. I also wanted to practice painterly edges: more softness so the fruit seemed part of the setting rather than cut out and pasted on. I'm especially happy with the feeling of light on the grapes below the leaf.

I didn't post yesterday due to internet connection problems. Thanks to Jyoti by phone from India, my uploading and downloading resumes! Amazing. From India. Also, just letting you know, in the next six weeks I'll be very busy working on two events: Mom's 90th Big Birthday Celebration, and Associated Artists of the Inland Empire's Fall Art Show. Though my posts may be sporadic, I'll get back in the daily routine as soon as the dust settles!

Jug & Citrus

oil on canvas panel 8x8 inches
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Well, my painting pendulum has swung in the opposite direction from the last post! Here we have a more classical arrangement with dramatic lighting. The jug came from Oak Glenn, where delicious apples are grown. It has a charming "less than perfect" hand made look, and it's deep color dictated a dark background so it could have those lovely lost edges.

Bloomin'

watercolor on paper 14x12 inches
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I had a wonderful time demonstrating for Santa Ana Ebell Society today, a welcoming and interested group, some of whom stayed on way past time to see me finish. Thanks, ladies! The format is a larger version of a previous painting in the hopes that everyone could see, but to finish I had to paint much faster than usual! A cactus in bloom always interests me--tough and prickly yet with such beautiful flowers. Two of my favorite color pairs are here also: pink with orange, and yellow-green with red-violet. Yummy combos!

Reception Flowers SOLD

watercolor on paper 10x14 inches

Tomorrow I'll give a watercolor demonstration at the Santa Ana Ebell Society. While getting ready, I thought the above a fitting post for today. This painting was purchased recently by my aunt in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It shows off the beauty of that preserved white paper--so crisp and clean. The loose and fresh approach while still being representational make it a personal favorite.

Oranges & Blues

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches
SOLD
Well, I missed two days of painting and posting. Sometimes other things are more important than paint on canvas, but painting has become so habitual for me that it feels like something is "off" if I haven't painted. I was so glad to get back at it yesterday.

These oranges are from Orange County where we visited family on Saturday. I paired them with the complementary blue cloth and blueberries remembering also the elements of "line, dots and areas." Yesterday's sorry attempt is below, but I'm quite happy with today's above.


Being backit, most of the orange was in shadow. I decided I wanted a bright, fresh and clean look with more blue in the surface cloth. The stems and leaves are successful, but the orange is perhaps a bit larger than life size, which makes it less convincing. I added more oranges in today's painting to make them smaller.

Just Glass

oil on canvas panel 8x8 inches
Third Place in Oil, AAIE Fall Juried Show, Sept. 2010
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I'm just having a great time with these little glass trinkets! Some larger glass objects lent some size and shape variation to this composition. I capitalized on the colored light coming through into shadows, and of course the backlight coming forward between objects. The highlights are a blast because there are so many! There's a lot to look at in this painting. I hope you like it.

Day Lily Peach -sold

oil on canvas panel 8x6 inches
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Another painting from my peach series, it amazed me how similar in color the peach and lily were. The main attraction here is the light, first shining through the lower part of the flower, then the jar, and between the jar and peach. I love little shafts of light coming from back to front between objects.

By the way, I want to sincerely thank all of you who make comments on my posts. Several of you out there even comment on a regular basis. I really appreciate everything you have to say. Thanks so much!

"FAKE"

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches
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These little glass gems sit in a crystal dish in my living room. Sounds fancy, but I'm really not a fancy person. I just like the sparkle...so do toddling grandkids, until they find out they're FAKE and they can't eat them. Real "eye candy."

Waiting To Sail SOLD

oil on canvas panel 8x6 inches

Yesterday was a perfect day of painting with friends on Balboa Island. I chose this scene for sentimental reasons, but also to gain practice at conveying distance and ocean water. I can see progress compared to my first attempt..which was, oh my gosh, more than a year ago! I've got to get out more often!

Baby Lemons & Branch -sold

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches
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Still on my lemon yellow kick, this time I cut a branch from my neighbor's bush to pair deep red violet with the yellow. The bright flower centers are perfect for the color scheme. The light coming through between the lemons infused the shadows with lemon. I tried to execute the leaves and flowers simply to show off the lemons.
By the way, the branch was hanging over our fence--fair game for my clippers. This neighbor "shares" lots of his plants! That's okay---it gives me more subjects to paint!

Baby Lemon & Blues SOLD

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches

This one is more sensible than my last post. I loved the lemon yellow and deep blue color combination. The creamy yellow surface gives the painting a soothing feel. Custard maybe...with blueberries and lemon and a mint leaf garnish!

"Vegemina" -sold

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches
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A bit of whimsy on this Friday afternoon--Vegemina is here to remind us to eat our vegetables. (Salsa counts.) As with all my subjects, she looks better in person.

Demo At Artists of the High Desert

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches
Here's my demonstration painting for High Desert Artists--a friendly bunch who share a pot-luck lunch before their demonstrations. My kind of people! Food is good. Not wanting to venture into uncharted territory in front of people, I chose subject matter I've been working with for the last few days. It was too much fun painting and talking at the same time...my two favorite things to do!

Viki the orchid loving artist won the raffle, and chose "Three Little Orchids". Thanks, High Desert Artists, for your warm hospitality.

Blueberries & Peach-sold

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches
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I love how this painting turned out. A long time ago I read on Qiang Huang's blog that a good design has lines, dots and areas. Blueberries are deep blue dots just as they are, so I added the mint leaves counting on a few veins for lines. Even the peach has a line, so I made it evident. The viewer's eye moves all over the painting, enjoying the shapes and fresh color.
Tomorrow I'll be demonstrating for Artists of the High Desert, 16930 Main St. Suite 3 in Hesperia. If you're in the area, come out and join us. Potluck and meeting begins at 11:00 and demonstration follows.

Peaches-sold

oil on canvas panel 6x6 inches
click here to bid
These peaches are yummy to paint and to eat--big and juicy. The edges of the napkin made a nice linear contrast to the round shapes. I especially liked the little upturned frayed corner and resulting shadow.

African Violets -sold

oil on canvas panel 8x8 inches
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Last night's Fontana Arts Festival was fantastic---a well organized event with awesome musical performances and a variety of visual arts on display. The best part for me was painting and interacting with curious onlookers. You can see my subject on the table in the next photo below. As the sun set the foliage was more and more backlit. I stuck with the black tablecloth for my background, letting my pink ground peek through in places. I finished just before the sun went down. Whew!




I had two tables loaded with my daily paintings in oil, my print rack with prints and original watercolors, and framed pieces hanging at the back. My hubby helped me throughout---thanks, honey! It was a wonderful artsy evening.

Patio Cactus II

watercolor on paper 7x10 inches

Here's the same subject matter as the previous post done in watercolor from a photo reference. The vantage point is more from above. The rust and blue are so yummy, and that little bit of Peacock Blue (by Holbein) on the rim really makes me happy.

Patio Cactus

oil on canvas panel 8x8 inches
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Equipped with my trusty viewcatcher, I went into my backyard late yesterday afternoon itching to find a painting there. This favorite little potted cactus garden made the nicest shadow...perfect! I stood in the shade, enjoying the breeze and chirping birds...plein air just a few feet from my back door!

Summershine-SOLD

oil on linen panel 6x6 inches
sold
Red and orange are so juicy together! Compositionally, if the objects were stepping stones, you'd step on the strawberry and follow the path to the steel ring.