Radishes

"Radishes"

9 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

$400

Click to buy

We've been getting a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box every two weeks, and it's fantastic! These ravishing radishes stole the show last time. Summer cooking has been great - in fact, all cooking has been great since quarantine. I haven't cooked this much in years, literally.

Chopped Choy

"Chopped Choy"

12 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

$450

Click to buy

Another look at this Bok Choy - after the knife treatment! Loved observing the enfolded shapes of the white stems contrasted with that fluttering "skirt!"

Did you get my last newsletter? It's the best way (besides Instagram) to keep up with my biggest announcements. In this edition, I hint around about a sweet giveaway I'm hosting on Instagram this week. Sign up here if you'd like to get the next one!

Bok Choy

"Bok Choy"

8 x 13 inches, oil on canvas

$350

Click to buy

Yet another long vegetable! Happy first of August. ☺️

Bound/Unbound

"Bound" and "Unbound"

Two canvases, each 10x20 inches, oil

$600 each

Link to "Bound" 

Link to "Unbound"

A two-for-one blog post today! I didn't really begin painting "Bound" intending to do a follow-up, but the more I got into those gorgeous leaves, the more I wanted to try them from the other direction - and slice one in half. Those leaves were pure joy to paint, from both angles!

The One That Got Away

"The One That Got Away"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

Sold

I know that when I'm going to the grocery store and painting in the same day, I've got an opportunity to paint radishes - because they don't last long looking leafy green once you get them home!

I always enjoy painting - and eating - this veggie.

I Get A Cooking Lesson

 "Three Turnips"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

Available on Etsy

I bought these out of boredom. Boredom with Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, and yes, even Cauliflower. Produce section fatigue. I took a chance on these Turnips - and they were delicious - but while battling the intimidation of cooking a new vegetable, I thought I'd warm up to them through paint.

I loved these colors! I had to stop myself from buying more this morning (I have some commissions I need to work on, no time for Turnips!) 

We ate them sliced thinly, in garlicky spinach pesto pasta. I highly recommend!

The Shortest Mother's Day Recap Ever!

 "Red Cabbage (sketch)"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

Sold

I had a lovely Mother's Day, spending time with family and friends, and, of course, painting! Now it's Monday, and my week is off to a great start with a model session already under my belt. (Also lunch - lunch is under there too.)

A Treasure Trove

 

"Three Baby Eggplants"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

Sold

I was wandering around my local Asian market last week - where I usually stick to the relatively recognizable soy sauce, noodles, and tofu - when I had a revelation: the produce aisle! It was a treasure trove, the perfect remedy for my midwinter apple-and-orange-painting malaise. 

These little beauties were labeled "Indian Eggplants," and were as delicious in stir-fry as they are to my eye. It's cold enough in my studio that some of them are still hanging around, posing. It's cold enough in my studio that my toes are looking a bit purple, too.

Brr!

I Disclose my Future Whereabouts

 

"Radish Riot"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

Sold

Another weekend is upon us! ...And a freak heatwave in the PacNW to finish June off in sweaty style. Next week is one of my favorites of the year. Not only is it the first official week of summer in Eugene (aka, the week it usually stops raining until October), but it's time for Art in the Vineyard - a huge gathering of artists, crafters, musicians, and wineries - and this year, I get to be (a small) part of it too!

I'll be painting a model somewhere on the festival grounds with my friend Farley next Thursday July 4th, from noon to 3. I shouldn't be too hard to spot - just look for my granny hat! Please don't hesitate to say hi, bug me, distract me...especially if you're sharing your wine!

Meanwhile, look for a fun post on the blog this Sunday, peek in on my current one dollar auction, and take advantage of free shipping on anything in my Etsy shop with the code SARAH. So much to do, so little time!

I Get the Worm

 

"Wilted Beets on a Broken Plate"

8 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

Sold

Sadly, (but happily for the morning after) the title of this post does not refer to me attending an all-night Tequila bash (Veinte de Mayo, notwithstanding). I got up around 3 am to fetch Ellie some water, cuddled with her for five minutes, went back to bed, and could think about nothing but coffee for the next hour and a half. So I got up. 

And, since I was up, caffeinated, and bagel-ed, I decided to warm up for my Monday morning "teaching" gig. I use the (air) quotes because truly, we're all learning from each other in this group. I may be learning more life lessons than art lessons, but they are precious to me. My students don't know it, but I'm absorbing as much from them and their talk of young-adult children, aging parents, world travels, and husbands - it's always the husbands, isn't it? - as they (hopefully) are from my harping on lost edges and perfecting your ellipses.

So here's this (early) morning's warmup. 25-20-15-10 brushstroke sketches:

Believe it or not, I got up SO damn early that I still had time to take - and edit - photos of everything I'd done that morning, and my painting from the weekend, besides. Which is a good thing, because my Classy Painting Ladies kept me busy until until 3 pm today. I've just run in the door with time to write this little missive before having to move on to the dreaded dinner question.

And the answer is: pizza. 

But maybe a word about this painting before I go? The title says it all, I'm hoping. But I wanted to explain that I'm not really trying to be dark and serious on purpose. Mom brought me the beets, fresh and glowing, from Saturday market, and of course I had no time to paint on Saturday, what with putting on mascara and other unpleasantries, for my ladies night out (book club), and other random Saturday things. The leaves were so gorgeous, springy, and so many shades of green that I really wanted to drop everything and go paint them, but beauty duty called, and I left them for Sunday. By which time they were as tired as I was after yakking until all hours with my book club buds.

The broken plate is sad, in its way, though it got that way honestly. My dish-doing is spotty, and my dishwasher-loading even more so. I pulled this one out of said dishwasher so elegantly cracked that I knew its next life would be in my studio. At least this week.

And now I present to you your honorary degree in comparative literature (because compared to good literature, you know this is a mess), since you basically just read a novel. That's what happens when a blogger gets cooped up with a sick baby for a few days. A word purge. Thanks, as always, for reading.

Supermodel, Me

 First, a painting:

"Baby Bok Choy"

8 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

$200

click to buy

Second, a picture of me painting it:

 

And third, an explanation of why I suddenly have such GORGEOUSLY made photos on my blog instead of my usual crappy iphone pictures:

A while back, I got inspired by a collaboration I saw online between a running blogger and a photo blogger (don't ask, my blog-reading interests range far and wide), and so I hopped on Craig's List and put out a feeler. 

---  Perhaps I should say here that Craig's List found me my house, my husband his job, and is basically the reason for everything in the universe.  ---

I was pleasantly shocked to get a response almost immediately from a team of serious professionals whose work I've seen all over town - and they were excited about working with *me*!

Rob and Tracy Sydor of Digital Latte Photography really are artists. I enjoyed getting to see their massive warehouse studio at our first meeting, and then it was time for them to come to my studio.

 

The photo shoot was fun, if a little weird for someone who is usually the observer, not the observed. They made me feel totally comfortable, and I loved seeing the lights and all the equipment they brought.

Here are a couple of my favorites:

 Rob and Tracy also do this really cool boutique package for their clients - they dress you up, do your makeup and photograph you at the location of your choice. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

"Autumn Bounty" fall thanksgiving decor harvest vegetable fruit oil painting fine art and an announcement

 

11 x 14"

oil on canvas

Framed, price $400

available in my Etsy shop

You know I wouldn't leave my dear old blog hanging for this long without a good reason, so here's the latest: I'm busy getting ready to install a show at Noli Italian Cafe's brand new location here in Eugene. (For the locals, it's right next to Sweet Life).

 The grand opening is next Tuesday October 16th, and my work will be on display through the end of the year (in case you have plans that night, or something)!

I'm also excited to try out a new idea (the inspiration for which, if it actually ends up working out, will not go unaccredited) with this show. Here's a hint:

Thanksgiving Painting Giveaway!

"Sprouted Onions"

6 x 8"

oil on canvas

Want to win this original oil painting? Simply leave a comment on this post! Tweet or Facebook the giveaway and get an extra entry - just mention that you did in your comment. I will randomly pick the winner a week from today - so that's Sunday November 21st. Please enter, and share with friends!
-Sarah  ❤

Radishes

10 x 10"
oil on panel
Sold

This one kind of goes with the one I painted yesterday - they are the same size, on the same type of panel. They have a built-in hanging slot on the back so they don't need to be framed to hang on the wall.