Cup and Ladle

 "Cup and Ladle"

8 x 13 inches, oil on canvas panel

$250

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When I hear the words "canvas panel," I think of those cheap cardboard things - which are great for studies - but not so great for being durable, archival, or really nice to paint on. 

But! I got some canvas panels from Masterpiece recently - they've taken my favorite painting surface and applied it to a masonite panel instead of stretched on wooden bars. Thin, light, and strong. It's the surface I love, but without the bounce. A nice bit of variety for my studio life!

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!

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!

In Case You're Feeling Poorly

"Hot Toddy"

12 x 9 inches, oil on canvas

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Your grandma has a cold, and also she set up my still life today. She told me you should call her! 

Or maybe just text.

Hot, Smelly, and Shipping for Free

  

"Simple Egg"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

click to buy

Hello, beautiful people! It's hot here. I'm wondering how long I can keep this egg sitting out in my studio before it starts to smell. This should be incredibly entertaining to my dear sis-and-bro-in-law who will be spending next week sleeping in my studio's alternate incarnation, aka... The Guest Room. Good thing they don't read my blog! (lol, no, they really don't.)

...To make matters even sketchier, these brown eggs were on 50% markdown at Safeway, so they're definitely not for eating.

  

Want to buy this painting, but shipping charges totally bum you out? I know! With the code SARAH, everything in my Etsy shop ships for free this week. Use it, share it, take care of your summer wedding gift list, or just ignore it. Just try to ignore 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.

"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:

"Apple Season" still life daily painting fruit kitchen art red

 

8 x 8"

oil on canvas

Framed, $300

email me to purchase

There's nothing wrong with some warm Summer sunshine, but Fall is my favorite season. Apple picking (or picking them up really cheap at the store), apple cider, apple pie, and apple paintings....

Pumpkins, too. Halloween, people!

"Purple Bowl of Plums" fruit bowl still life kitchen wall art

8 x 8"

oil on canvas

Framed, $250

Available here

The approach of Autumn means it's plum season, and though I picked these fresh off the shelf at Costco, I'm looking forward to some serious U-pick action in the backyards of my kind friends. Hint hint! Don't make me sneak in there under cover of darkness....

I'm such a garden-stalker. Not sure how many more years I'm going to be able to get away with my line about having no deer fence, and therefore having to snag everyone else's yard bounty. At least I'm not one of those people who knock on complete strangers' doors and say, "Are you going to eat all that rhubarb I see growing in your garden?" (<---true story, that happened to my mom!)

"Simply Bananas" fruit food kitchen decor art still life oil painting

 

6 x 6"

oil on canvas

$100

purchase

Here they are, my first bananas. Just goes to show, you can daily-paint for 4.5 years and manage to leave many stones unturned. Ellie and I stumbled across an extremely impressive banana slug today on a blackberry eating picking expedition. She greeted it in a reverent whisper. That's how big it was.

(Not my picture. You think I'd touch that slimy thing?)

"Black Grapes and Lemons" fruit still life kitchen decor daily painting original oil on canvas

 

6 x 6"

oil on canvas

click to bid

Late summer is wedding season - especially in the Pacific Northwest, where if you don't want rain on your wedding day, you'd better do it in August or September! My lovely next-door neighbors (who keep me supplied with brown eggs to paint) just tied the knot a few days ago, and I gave them one of my paintings for a wedding gift. Next time you need to find a special - and unique - gift for a couple just starting out, think original art! They'll think of you every time they look at the painting!

"White Lilies and Wine" floral flower painting still life wine fruit lemons art daily painting

 

8 x 8"

oil on canvas

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I'm happy with the looseness in this painting, though I don't feel I can take all the credit - my brushes are getting worn out, and until I get down to the art store and replace them (which I do about once every month or two), my paintings may be a bit fuzzy! I'm noticing a pattern here - I posted a WIP of this piece on Facebook, and in the comments, I admitted that the reason I didn't paint the entire lily stalk was that I didn't have any small, rectangular format canvases left. Note to self: I control the materials, they don't control me... Right?

"Lemon Snack" fruit food kitchen art still life original oil painting

 

6 x 6"

oil on canvas

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Here it is, the third lemon painting in the series. Here's a picture of the three of them together!

"Lemon Plated" fruit food still life kitchen art painting original oil on canvas

 

6 x 6"

oil on canvas

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These lemon paintings are going to be a series - of three, I think. Although I haven't made the third one yet. I'm hoping to cram it in somewhere today, but the clock is ticking...! We're heading into the woods tonight for a some quality time away from the internet. Not sure what I'll do, I mean, what, they'll have to have 3G at least, right?! What do you have planned for the weekend?

"Making Lemonade" daily painting still life original oil on canvas fruit lemons kitchen decor

 

6 x 6"

oil on canvas

click to bid

For Ellie's birthday party last weekend, I made a delicious and very simple drink: cucumber lemonade. It consisted of a 2 liter of seltzer, a can of frozen lemonade concentrate, a peeled and sliced cucumber, and a few sliced lemons mixed with ice. Delish! I doubled the recipe, since it was a hot day and people needed to hydrate!

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

 

8 x 8 

oil on canvas

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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.)

"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:

"Ready to Poach" still life oil painting wall art kitchen decor brown egg spoon eggshells

 

6 x 6"

oil on canvas

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 I've never actually poached an egg, but I love the scene in "Julie and Julia" where she learns how to do it. Meryl Streep is one of my favorite actresses, and I also love food and cooking, so it's no wonder I love that movie!