Plums and Milk

 "Plums and Milk"

24 x 24 inches, oil on canvas

Plums and Fabric, once again, along with the milk of the muse. 

Here is a color study I made before taking a deep breath and diving into this big beautiful canvas!

 "Plums and Milk (color study)"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

$250

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The pair:

Plums on Pink and Blue

"Plums on Pink and Blue"

16 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

$700

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I'm exploring "Fabric" with my online mentorship students this month. They've already done some incredible things, and I'm discovering a newfound love for the stuff. Go figure!

The Green Line - And Trade Show News!

 

 "The Green Line"

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

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Here's my newest still life! I was drawn to the green line on this pear - can you picture me examining every single red pear on the shelf before choosing just the right one for a painting? 

I like all the triangles and circles in this composition - they echo the shape of the pear, which is nothing more than a circle with a triangle on top, when you break it down.

In other news, I'll be at the Duck Store on the U of O campus all day Wednesday and Thursday, painting and chatting away! Tools of the Trade is a really fun event, with tons of products to try out, and big discounts. I'll have my greeting cards and calendars for sale, too - so come down and say hi!  

"Orange Orbit" oil painting and work-in-progress, notan to finish

 "Orange Orbit"

12 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

$300

Available here

While I had this still life set up, I thought I'd try a vertical rectangle in addition to the square composition I painted first. 

These oranges were really patient! They stuck with me for weeks - and I even ate one of them after I finished this today. So maybe they really were from outer space....orbiting. Hm.

Here's my progression from notan to a 4-value sketch to my underpainting to the finish! No shot of me eating the orange, though. Next time.

Back to (Still) Life....

 "Trio"

16 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

$350

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 It's a new week, and I'm shaking the coastal sand out of my shoes, ready to get back in the groove of life. Still life!

It's been awhile.

Garlic, Snow, and Ice

  "Garlic Braid on a Tea Towel"

16 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

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Another painting of my glorious Thanksgiving garlic braid.

If you're like me, you've had it up to here with snow pictures on Facebook lately. At the expense of boring you with yet another diatribe on local weather conditions, I will say this: I have been snowed in for the past three days, and am now iced in. I live in a city that doesn't plow or salt the roads - also a city with some pretty serious topography - including my neighborhood, which is basically a hill on a hill.

What I'm trying to say is, I'm going crazy! Thank god for home studios.

And just in case you aren't fed up with snow pictures....

At least someone's happy about it!

Pomegranates Everywhere!

 "Red, White, and Blue Pomegranate"

12 x 9 inches, oil on canvas

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Pomegranates are everywhere these days - in paintings, in viral videos, haunting my dreams... 

I love it that they look so much like Christmas ornaments. Every autumn they remind me that the joy of painting those shiny little orbs is mine for the having just as soon as I gather the nerve to face the leaning tower of tote bins that is my seasonal storage area.

Title Tryouts

 "Daydream"

18 x 24 inches, oil on canvas.
$1000
Click to buy
 

Here it is: the second installment of my new series, tentatively titled "Everybody gets to rest but me." Alternate tentative title: "Where did November go?"

I painted the model from life, over two sittings, about seven hours total. Then I painted the drapery from photo reference and I don't even know how long that took. I was in the zone.

Coming soon: the third installment! And I can guarantee a spoiler on Facebook sometime today...

Painting Patterns and Persimmons on Periwinkle. Period.

 

 "Persimmons and Periwinkle"

20 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

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I've been working hard and loving it. The only downside of working on larger, multi-day paintings is that I miss my small still lives (and my #2 round brushes). I still have my preparatory sketches, though! Here's the sketch for this piece: 

"Persimmons and Periwinkle (sketch)"

10 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

As you can see, the blue-on-white patterns look a little more polished on the larger canvas. Sketching them wet-on-wet is fun, but if you have the patience to paint the fabric and let it dry a day or two, patterns go on quite a bit more smoothly!

Flying out of the Studio!

"Nestled"

18 x 24 inches, oil on canvas

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Well, I feel blessed! Blessed to have such a wonderful model, a comfy couch in my new studio for her to pose on, and wonderful collectors who rush over to view my latest paintings fresh off the easel. 

The feedback I've gotten has been overwhelmingly positive, and I really appreciate it. I'll be taking suggestions that I turn it into a series to heart!

In the meantime, here are my in-progress shots:  

The figure was painted entirely from life, but I did use photo reference for the drapery.

Preparation Pays Off

 

 "Persimmon Plenty"

20 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

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When I sat down in front of this groaningly overloaded platter of persimmons, I knew I'd better start with a get-comfortable sketch. I wasn't working out the composition as much as familiarizing myself with the interaction and movement of the fruit within the dish. The larger painting just flowed off my brush - I even enjoyed the drapery - which makes me think I may be entering another drapery phase. It's a good way to spend chilly late-fall afternoons, really: cuddled up to my studio space heater, immersed in the details of folds.

This preparatory sketch is the final offering of my One Dollar Auction week, and bidding is open for a couple more days:

"Persimmon Plenty (sketch)"

8.5 x 6 inches, oil on paper

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