Chocolate Eggs

"Chocolate Eggs"

12 x 19 inches, oil on canvas

$600

Click to buy

Low key, or overall dark compositions are rather rare for me. I wanted to explore the brown-on-brown, and I do like the velvety darkness of that background.

Nest

"Nest"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

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 I've been painting a lot and having a great time. Hope your August is off to a wonderful start as well!

Thanks for reading.

Tomato Time Machine

"Spilled Spoons"

9 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

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We all have one: that thing we just CAN'T seem to paint. And mine is tomatoes. Or, at least, that's what I've been saying to myself, and plenty of other people, for years!  But! After watching my students create amazing tomato paintings in a workshop I taught last weekend, I thought - maybe I'll give it another try....

So this is my first big red tomato since... 2008! I love getting in the painting time machine. Definitely an argument in favor of keeping an archive of ALL your old work!

"Heirloom Tomato No. 3"
5 x 7 inches, oil on ...hmm, I can't remember. Maybe Raymar canvas panel?
2008

Green Olives and Tea

 "Green Olives and Tea"

12 x 12 inches, oil on canvas
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Here is my thumbnail sketch for this painting:

And here is a studio shot with my work-in-progress - the still life, my thumbnail sketch on the floor, for reference, and my easel cuddled up close to all of it, for a bird's eye view. In the background, by the window, you can see the still life setup for "The Pattern Beneath All Things," which I was painting at the same time as this one, in the afternoons, with the blinds open.  I had tape marks on the floor, and I just shifted the easel over.  

The thumbnail sketch for this piece snuck into this random shot of my studio desk as well - along with some objects from the painting - the garlic, the blue-rimmed plate. The olives are even hiding in this shot. (Hint: they're in their jar.) I think my motive for taking this picture was to document the excessive number of sketchbooks in play at once. Or maybe I just found the overall scene pleasing. I do love a good jumble of objects.

Bright Breakfast

 "Bright Breakfast"

10 x 20 inches, oil on canvas
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A couple of weeks into my residency at Playa, it suddenly felt like my studio was full of paintings. How did that happen? It was the elves. I came into the studio every morning excited to see what they'd been working on overnight....

....and stopped on the way to snap heartbreaking sunrise pictures like this one! 

 

Garlic-Stuffed Olives

"Garlic-Stuffed Olives"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas
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I may have forgotten certain things when packing for my artist's residency last month, but the powers that be saw fit to sneak some random items into my luggage that came in very handy - like a jar of olives. Olives? Not exactly one of my go-to studio snacks, though I like them. 

 And I like them as painting subjects even more.   

Here's my setup, with some preparatory sketches. All three of these sketches became paintings. So you're actually getting a preview of my next two posts - click on the image to scrutinize at close range!

 

A time-lapse video of my underpainting. If you're reading this in your email, you may need to click this link to watch it:

Avocado and Tomatoes in Black and White - and More about Notan

 "Avocado and Tomatoes"

approx. 8 x 11 inches, oil on Arches oil paper

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After reading this post by James Gurney, I decided to try some notan sketches on brown cardboard as a warmup for this painting - and it was fun! It's so satisfying to put thick white paint over a midtone surface. Why? Who knows - but I'll be back for more. 

The idea with notan is that midtones have to get lumped into either dark or light - you only have two values to work with. These forced choices remind us that we are interpreting, not copying the subject; composition is something we impose on nature. Two artists will not come up with the same value scheme in a notan sketch. There is no right or wrong way to do it. 

Also, it looks cool!

Avocado Appetizer

"Avocado Appetizer"

12 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

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I'm really doing the yellow thing lately - well, always - and it doesn't get much more gorgeous in the yellow-green department than an avocado!

Work-in-progress:

No video of this one, but if you're interested in my process for beginning a painting, I have a new video on YouTube. Watch it here!

Strangely enough, my last avocado was posted on July 24th....2008!? Exactly 8 years ago? There are no coincidences....

 

Apricots, Fake Milk, and Art Mentorship

 "Apricots and Milk"

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

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A very good example of a complementary color scheme: yellow-orange and blue-violet. Limiting the range of colors within your painting is a great way to keep it simple and harmonious - and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with using a limited palette (though if you're looking for color harmony, there's no easier way to find it than to use one). 

For me, setting up a still life is an exercise in color mixing - before I even take my palette out of the freezer. (What, you don't keep your palette in the freezer? You actually have food in there?) 

Speaking of food....in the interest of full disclosure, I admit that this is not real milk. I gave up eating dairy products four months ago, so almond milk is the model here. I never knew changing my diet would have such a profound impact on all aspects of my life! Ha.

Before I end this post, I will sneak in an announcement: I've begun offering online art mentorships, and I'm pretty excited about it! More information here. :)

My First Zorn Palette Still Life

 

 "Turnip Bowl"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

$50

Click to buy

I had some paint left over after Tuesday night's portrait session, so I decided to try a Zorn palette still life. It was a good fit for these flesh-colored turnips. I'm always amazed at how blue the mixture of Ivory Black and White can feel with this limited palette!

Citrus Catch-Up

"Orange on Yellow"

8 x 10 inches, oil on canvas
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I painted this a few weeks ago, when I was working with this set-up. Somehow it slipped through the cracks and never got blogged. So here it is! No statute of limitations in painting.

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!

A Treasure Trove

 

"Three Baby Eggplants"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

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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!

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!

An Audience of One

 "Sunny Egg"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

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This morning I had company in the studio, and not my usual, mostly feline, company either! Luke Fannin, an arts writer and journalist with Create Eugene sat with me during the entire start-to-finish process of making this painting. He'll be writing an article about it for the blog Handmadeology. I'll make sure and link to it when it's published!

I've demo-ed in front of students and other groups, and been joined by models and friends in the studio before, but I doubt I've ever been so closely observed and documented while painting - even when I was professionally photographed! It was interesting, especially as I approached the end-stage of the painting, which can be a tense time even on a normal day. Under questioning, I noticed things I hadn't before - like how I hold my breath when executing more precise passages, and then exhale and breathe deeply once they're completed.

My Time Comes

"Happy Apricots"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

click to buy

Apricots have been on my mental to-paint list for quite a while - but they are always so expensive, tiny, and beat-up-looking in the grocery store.  When I spied some lovely ones at Costco last week - on sale, no less - I knew my time (to finally paint apricots) had come. 

My Costco membership should be a tax writeoff. I mean, really - who can create great art without enormous bricks of cheese lying around? Not me.

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?

"Green Apple Stack" framed fine art still life food fruit kitchen decor commission custom painting

  

8 x 10"

oil on canvas

framed $200

available in my Etsy shop 

I'm starting a commission today, a portrait of a lovely young woman. I moved my desktop computer into the studio so I can work from a digital photograph. Upheaval! So, for today's post I've pulled a painting from the vault, a personal favorite. I like it so much, I'm "storing" it in on the wall of my upstairs hallway. It would really make more sense in the kitchen/dining area, but that space is already taken.

Are you thinking of commissioning a painting for a holiday gift? Whether it's from me (why yes, I'd love to), or another artist, now is the time to get started!

"October Arrangement" still life oil painting thanksgiving decor pumpkin squash apples

 

8 x 8"

oil on canvas

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Ok. I think I may have worked through my obsession with the stripes on this funny little gourd, but no promises regarding my melange of different apples. Especially that orangey one, it's still calling out to be painted. Some people experience religious revelations as voices in their heads. I'm hearing the call of the produce aisle.

"Autumn Apples" Fall fruit pumpkin squash still life art oil painting

 

9 x 12"

oil on canvas

$200

click to buy

This unsubtle play on current seasonal decorating themes also has the honor of being daily painting number 600! According to my highly scientific folder-within-folder-on-the-desktop record keeping method, I have posted 100 non-figurative still life type works in only the last nine months. Here's no. 500, for a trip down memory lane.

 

 I got my restaurant show all framed and installed! It was a bit of a crunch at the end, as the winter rains have arrived in a big, soggy way, and I could not get the final painting to dry for the life of me. I finally slapped a frame on and dropped it off this morning, two hours before they opened for service. 

 And now for the grand experiment I promised to tell you all about in my last post! My friend (and coworker at the firm of Stay-Home-Parents & Co) Alan had the brilliant idea of putting QR codes on the wall labels for each painting. Scanning them with your phone (there are numerous free apps for that) takes you straight to my Etsy shop. You can buy art while you sit there eating dinner! Will this result in more sales? I have no idea. But I do know this: people love an excuse to play with their phones in restaurants, as socially unacceptable as it may be.