Rose Bouquet

11 x 14"
oil on canvas
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This painting is larger than I normally work, and it took all day. Now I'm pretty tired, but determined to get out and enjoy some of the gorgeous sunshine.

Tulips with Lemons

8 x 10"
oil on canvas
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Tall Tulips

6 x 8"
oil on canvas
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Do you feel like you've been seeing an awful lot of these tulips lately? Well, they only come up once a year, so I have to take advantage of them while they're around.

Sake Jug with Tulip

6 x 8"
oil on gallery wrap canvas
NFS
I'm proud of this painting. I've had this sake set sitting out ever since I unpacked two months ago, and I haven't been able to get up the nerve to paint it. I worried that I wouldn't be able to do justice to the beautiful glaze that tempted me to buy it at an arts festival several years ago, but I'm happy with the results.

Pink Bouquet

8 x 10"
oil on gallery wrap canvas
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I've set up some of my recent paintings for purchase as blank greeting cards -click here to see them, or check out the panel on the right side of the blog. Thanks!

Tulips in Blue

8 x 10"
oil on gallery wrap canvas
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Tulips in Pink

8 x 8"
oil on gallery wrap canvas
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Tulip Trio

8 x 10"
oil on panel
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Floral Simplicity

8 x 10"
oil on gallery wrap canvas
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I'm feeling very rushed today. Sometimes, time constraints are a good thing for art. After I photographed this and sat down to write my blog post, I realized I hadn't signed the painting! Not so good.

BIV

6 x 8"
oil on gallery wrap canvas
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Here is how the whole spectrum looks together. They make me happy to look at!

YGB

6 x 8"
oil on gallery wrap canvas
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Working my way through the spectrum. I don't know if I'll be able to do BIV, though - I don't think I have anything violet. Maybe I'll go to the thrift store sometime this week and hunt for something.

ROY

6 x 8"
oil on gallery wrap canvas
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When I learned the colors of the spectrum, memorizing the name ROY G. BIV was the trick suggested for remembering the order. Some lessons, like bad commercial jingles, stick forever. I came up with the idea for this painting, and the title, while lying in bed sometime before dawn this morning, feeling all the crazy karate action inside my belly. This little girl is going to be a gymnast or something!

Citrus Sunshine

8 x 8"
oil on gallery wrap canvas
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My newest trick is the virtual picture frame - I've started making these images for my Etsy store, so people can see how the painting they are interested in might look after it's framed. Maybe my next trick should be figuring out how to align uploaded photos better in blogger...

Bouquet with Sunbeam

5 x 7"
oil on panel
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Every time I walk into my studio and see these flowers, I just want to paint them again. Having one of these paintings around is like having a bouquet that never wilts. I hate throwing flowers away!

Springtime Bouquet

8 x 10"
oil on canvas on panel
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Some tulips from my mother's yard. She has various bulbs that come up throughout spring and summer, and she doesn't mind me cutting anything I want. Moms are great, aren't they? Speaking of which, mother's day is only a few weeks away. Anyone's mom out there like paintings?

Citrus with Leaves

5 x 7"
oil on linen on panel
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I don't know what kind of leaves these are - they came from my flower bouquet of last week. They are almost the same color as the cloth they're resting on, and I tried to capture the subtle differences here.

Plums on Plaid

6 x 6"
oil on panel
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This used to be one of my husband's favorite shirts. Now that it's starting to get warmer, I'm hoping he'll wear it again soon.

In case you missed the new painting video I posted yesterday, here's the link.

Plums and Lemons

6 x 6"
oil on panel
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I bought these plums just because I felt like painting them, but I have to admit, I had a really hard time not eating them in the middle of working on this. I may try to keep them around for one more painting tomorrow, but then I think I will have to eat them all at once!

I made a new painting video - click here to check it out!

Daisies and Lemon

5 x 7"
oil on panel
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This is the two-hundredth painting I've posted since I began this blog back in February 2007. My goals for the future include using more drapery in my still lives - which I usually avoid because it's difficult, but I really like the effect.

Bouquet with Lemons

8 x 10"
oil on panel
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This one was challenging to set up. I think I spent a third of the total time I worked on this painting just setting up the still life and sketching it out in different ways. I love the tall glass vase but it is really hard to "fit" it in compositions because it is so tall and skinny.

Easter Bouquet

8 x 10"
oil on panel
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This is not really an Easter Bouquet - I got it from Jesse for our third anniversary, on the 9th. I painted it on Easter Sunday, though, so there you go.

Tulip Dancer

5 x 7"
oil on canvas on panel
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I'm calling this one "Tulip Dancer" because of the graceful curve of the flower's stem.

Tulip Medley

5 x 7"
oil on canvas on panel
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One thing I love about painting my collection of colored glass vases are the highlights within the shadows - they are just as bright, if not brighter, than the highlights on the vases themselves.

Fraternal Teapots

8 x 8"
oil on panel
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I thought of calling this one "Fraternal Twins," but I didn't want to alarm anyone. We are NOT having twins - although we thought we might be at first because there's a strong family history of them on my mother's side.

Gold Mirror, Spring Tulips

6 x 6"
oil on canvas on panel
$60
Click to purchase

I wanted to show some examples of how great these small paintings can look framed and hung up - especially in smaller rooms. These are all in my house - from left to right: front entryway, half bath, full bath, office. I am always interested to see pictures of how others are displaying my paintings in their homes - (hint, hint!) Click on the image to see it bigger:

Vanity

5 x 7"
oil on canvas on panel
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This is the first time I've used this gold mirror in a still life. It seemed like it would be a difficult thing to paint, but it turned out to be the most enjoyable part. The darkish section in the bottom left of the reflection is my knees!

Daffodills and Roses

8 x 10"
oil on canvas on panel
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I thought I'd put all the elements I painted this week together onto a slightly larger canvas.

Orange Roses with Teapot

5 x 7"
oil on linen on panel
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I'm getting used to my new studio, though I'm not 100% sure I like the setup yet. It feels like a complicated math problem trying to figure out how to position myself, my palette table, and my still life - all without wasting space, and using natural light from windows to light everything just so. Of course, I don't have to use natural light for these still lives, but I prefer it (no fooling with lamps), and since I haven't put up curtains or shades in that room yet, the sun's coming in, whether I like it or not.

Daffodill in Green

6 x 6"
oil on panel
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Yellow has to be the most difficult color to paint. I love yellow - don't get me wrong - even though I can't wear it without looking seriously ill. You just have to be really careful to keep it separate from the other colors on your painting, and to keep your brushes clean while you're working with it - not always my strong suit. All that being said, it's a challenge I enjoy.

Daffodills in Blue

5 x 7"
oil on panel
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It's been a long time! Since my last post, we've renovated and moved into our new house, and things are finally getting back to normal. Well, as normal as can be with a baby on the way. I'm 22 weeks along now (more than halfway there), and feeling great. It's really nice not to be sickened by the smell of absolutely everything anymore - especially the smell of oil paint!

Citrus Bowl

6 x 6"
oil on canvas on panel
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I've had money on the brain lately, what with buying a home and getting ready for tax time. I added up all the numbers, and was pretty surprised to see how much money I spent on art supplies in 2008 - somewhere in the realm of $1500, in fact! Many people have told me over the past year that my prices are too low, and in what I consider a mild response to that, I've raised the price of my 2009 paintings on this blog to $60 a piece - a $10 increase. Ebay auctions will still begin at $49, and 2008 paintings will remain at their original prices, available through this blog, and through my Etsy store.

Four Oranges

6 x 6"
oil on canvas on panel
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I painted these oranges very slowly and carefully, with a small brush. By contrast, I painted the brass vase loosely, with a larger brush. I loved putting the splashes of orange in the reflective surface of the vase.

Red, White, and Gold

6 x 8"
oil on canvas on panel
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On bright, sunny days it's not only easier to take better quality photos of paintings, it's easier to create paintings full of vibrant color.

Tulips and White Rose

6 x 6"
oil on canvas on panel
$60
$5 s/h

It's been quite a while since I've had anything to post - but it hasn't been for lack of trying! Life has thrown several wonderful distractions in my path in the last month, and to say the least, my focus has been elsewhere. Jesse and I found out that we are expecting our first baby in August - and we are also in the process of buying (and renovating) our first house! Many thanks to those of you who have emailed to ask if everything is OK - everything is perfectly fine - but my posts may be a bit sporadic in the coming weeks as I continue to deal with all the tiredness and other fabulous physical symptoms of early pregnancy. I'm really looking forward to moving into my new, much larger studio, and doing lots of painting in the coming year.