"Midsummer Bouquet" flower vase lily sunflower still life daily painting original

 

8 x 10"

oil on canvas

click to bid  

A new-to-me vase, proving once again that when I need inspiration, I should always head to the thrift store. Click here for a closer look at the portrait in the background.

My latest $1 auction ends tonight - a chance to pick up a Sedwick original for pennies!

"A Quiet Summer Afternoon" interior scene still life original oil painting daily painting

 

11 x 14"

oil on canvas

click to bid  

I've started noticing "Grab my Button" graphics on several other blogs I read, and I thought it might be cool to try making my own. So, last night, for several hours - and with the patient assistance of my web developer husband - I made a few. If you'd like to add one to your blog, copy and paste the code under any of the three design options. You'll find them on the right------------>

(And if anyone is interested in making their own blog button, I'll be glad to share the code with you. Just email me!)

"Shades of Red" floral flower still life original oil painting daily painting

 

6 x 8"

oil on canvas

$100

click to buy

When I first painted this one, I thought it was a wiper. Then I kept tweaking it, and now I like it! Good story, I know. I think I've got a little bit of blogger-block today!

"Pomegranate Halves" framed art original oil painting fruit bowl

 

6 x 8"

oil on canvas

maple frame 

$200

purchase

I just brought a few paintings home from a show. Some of you, my loyal followers, might recognize them. They were all painted in 2010! Time flies when you're making art.

Wishing you all a great fourth of July. I'll be running a 10K in the morning and then enjoying some cold beverages and BBQ! (Not that it's going to be hot. I hate to rub it in, East Coast, but our high tomorrow is 75!)

The four new additions to my Etsy shop

"A Profusion of Lilies" floral flower bouquet oil painting one dollar auction

 

5 x 7"

oil on canvas

Sold 

So, it turns out my illness from last week was Pneumonia! Argh. I am getting back to normal life after almost two weeks of no painting, no running, and lots of coughing. As you can see, I gave myself some challenging subject matter for my first paintings. The studio is FULL of flowers. It's just that time of year. It's cherry season, too - I guess I could have started there, but no, I ate them all.

"Pink Peonies" floral still life flower vase bouquet orignal oil painting

 

6 x 6"

oil on canvas

Framed, $200

click to buy

I started on a larger version of this lovely bouquet, but then I got sick, and I've basically been in bed since Thursday night with a high fever and a hacking cough. Still am, actually - in bed! God, I hope I feel better soon. Although I'm afraid it will be too late for these pretty peonies by then.

"In Cool Light" Male nude figure painting original oil on canvas

 

 14 x 18"

oil on canvas

$400

purchase

I consider this more of a sketch, even though it is a larger painting. My goal was to keep it loose, not worry too much about facial likeness, and achieve some kind of movement or overall feeling in the piece. I like it.

"Fuchsia Cuttings" floral oil painitng original still life flowers and limes

 

8 x 8"

oil on canvas

Sold

Well, I googled it - Fuchsia is the correct spelling! Apparently it was named after a botanist named Fuchs. Who knew? I have a huge gorgeous basket of this plant hanging on my front porch this summer. It must like our shady yard.

"Going Green" still life daily painting of limes and plant original oil on canvas

 

8 x 8"

oil on canvas

Sold

Yep, that's a paintbrush sticking out of the plant. I've been known to use worn out paintbrushes as stakes for droopy plant stems. Supposedly, if you have to stake a houseplant, it should really just be trimmed back, but I can't always bring myself to chop them.

Frames, new markdowns, and a Secret Sale!

Here are a couple framed pieces that are currently hanging in my house. Above, "Lemon Bowl with Knife," and below "Black-Eyed Susans and Peaches"

  

Yesterday I launched yet another epic studio cleaning spree. Every time I do this, I get the urge to reduce. Plus, summertime means garage sales, and I'll admit it, there are paintings in my garage. So! New markdowns, new paintings added to the Studio Sale section of my Etsy shop, and for you, dear readers, a secret code for 20% off anything and everything. (It's STUDIOSALE - enter it on the Etsy checkout page). Pass it on! Let's keep my garage art-free.  

A peek inside the Studio Sale

"Rocky Shore" Plein Air landscape ocean beach painting of the Oregon Coast

 

9 x 12"

oil on canvas

Sold 

Sorry for dropping off the face of the blogosphere like that! We spent the past few days having a very relaxing and unplugged vacation at the coast. Took our little one to the aquarium, found out that I love running on sand, ate my weight in cheese, read some books, you know, vacation! And I painted this, outdoors - en plein air, as they say - and I didn't die! I didn't even have any strange characters approach me (my greatest fear), though I suspect my picture was snapped once or twice. My feet got cold, and I packed it in. It was great! 

"Bouquet on Black" floral still life daily painting of flowers in a pitcher

 

8 x 8"

oil on canvas

Sold

I love the challenge of simplifying a big, complicated bouquet of flowers into something that can come across on a small canvas.

"Brown Eggs and Tea" still life daily painting fine art original oil painting

 

8 x 8 

oil on canvas

Sold 

Jesse and Ellie are chicken-sitting for our next-door-neighbors this week. There are five of them! Suffice it to say, there are a lot of eggs around here right now. (And they are delicious.)

"Kai" Female nude figure painting from life asian chinese woman fine art

11 x 14"

oil on canvas

NFS

I don't consider this my most "beautiful" figure painting, but I am pleased with many aspects of it, like the painterly/design-ey treatement of chair and the floor/background. In this painting, I tried to make every part of what you see on the canvas as important as everything else. I hope that's coming across. I "brought it all up" together, which is something I was taught to do in college, and something I teach my students now. Another way to say it is "Paint all around the painting." Someone should anthologize the language of art school. It would give linguists a laugh!

 

"An Apple for Tea" still life fruit coffee tea teacup mug daily painting

 

8 x 8"

oil on canvas

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My blog is going to be getting a facelift over the next few days. I'm feeling the need for a new look! I'll be adding some new content, too. Hopefully there won't be too much disruption while I tweak things, but if there is, just bear with me! Thanks.

"Lemons and Limes" fruit bowl still life oil painting original

 6 x 6"

oil on canvas

click to buy

It's been a great weekend so far. The run yesterday was out of this world! As in, my brain went to another universe when I came down out of the woods and was told by a course marshall in an oh-so-cheery voice that I was at mile 9.2! With three miles left to go, I've never wished for a race to be over so much, but hey, I finished it, made my goal time, and hope one day soon to be walking pain-free. Here is a self-portrait from the finish line:

"High Spirits" liquor vodka martini glass olives bar decor oil painting

 

8 x 10"

oil on canvas

Sold

I'm posting this at exactly 5 pm, which seems appropriate! Does anyone else have exotic mixology-type plans for the long weekend? I'll be running a 20K trail race in the morning, so I think I'll save the martini for tomorrow night!

(Also, I have to add that the vodka bottle top does not touch the top of the canvas in "real life." Not sure whether it's Blogger or my photog skills to blame here.)

"The Striped Leggings" female figure portrait painting woman girl fine art

 Alternate post title: "I painted someone with clothes on!" 

 

11 x 14"

oil on canvas

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This morning I headed over to the Art Center for their clothed figure open studio. I've never attended on Thursdays before - 9 am to noon can be a tricky time frame for me - but I had a blast and I'll definitely be going back. I really love painting portraits. In fact, I prefer clothed models to nudes, but I'm going to have to learn how to simplify those fabrics if I want to get a painting done in 3 hours. The folds and patterns of drapery over a form can be so much more engrossing (and time consuming) than, say, a stomach! Below are my work-in-progress pictures - the second one was taken at the end of the session, and I finished up at home.  

Ooh, another perk of the clothed model - I can post a photo of the sitter! Head over to Facebook to see.

(click on the image to see it bigger)

"Ali with a Rose" Female portrait painting from life

 

9 x 12"

oil on canvas

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Another go at this lovely pose. I was floundering around with the likeness a little bit in the beginning. It looked exactly like any one of my failed self-portrait attempts (they occur periodically, and never turn out well enough to keep), but then I found her! None of you would know if I didn't capture the likeness, but the challenge of getting it right is part of my fun.

"Morning Coffee with Iris" still life oil painting floral

 

6 x 6" 

oil on canvas

Sold 

Well, it's the end of the weekend, and I'm tired out - but I do feel like I fit a lot in! Running, painting, family time, friend time, book club - wow, I didn't even realize how much I really did until now. And it's not over yet. Jesse is off tomorrow, and we're heading to the big city to take our little one to the zoo!