Pears en Rose

"Pears en Rose"

12 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

$450

Click to buy

I've been getting some painting in before I head to my next workshop, in Sacramento, CA. There are still a few spots open, at the fabulous Patris Studio and Gallery, if you know anyone in the area who'd love some Oil Painting Boot Camp! 

Boot Camp is a three-day workshop with an emphasis on loosening up your brushwork - and using a limited palette of three colors and white. Looking forward to it! More info here.

Pink Milk

 

 "Pink Milk"

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

$350

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I noticed, after the first session of work on this painting, that the milk looked very pink - especially before I filled in the pinks on the plate. I toned it down a bit, but the name stuck! 

(Work-in-progress:)

Thanks for reading!

Pears and Cream

 

 "Pears and Cream"

10 x 10 inches, oil on panel

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When I set them on this plate, the pink blush on the pears just came alive! 

 

Pale and Glowing

 "Pale and Glowing"

9 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

$350

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I picked this pear from amidst the jumble at an antique mall on the Oregon coast last week...

...and it's since made itself right at home with my other still life objects. It's an ever-changing menagerie!

Did you know I sell these black and tan sketches? Usually to followers on Instagram, since that's where they are most often posted. If you see one you like, send me an email! They are $50 a piece. 

Thanks for reading!

Pear Power

 

 "Pear Power"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

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This pair of pear paintings were painted with the same limited palette - three tubes of color, plus white (OK, two whites). 

It looks like a lot more, doesn't it?!

You can click on this image for info on the colors I used:

It's Holiday Sale Time!

"Brown Pears"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

$250

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There are so many holiday sales, and I'm here to announce yet another one! But, in my humble opinion, if you only visit ONE this year, the Whiteaker Printmakers Holiday Show and Sale is the one to see. I was there last night setting up, and let me tell you, the studio is crammed full of amazing art. 

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!  

River Stones and Reds, and a Time-Lapse Video!

 "River Stones and Reds"

16 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

$400

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I picked up some stones last weekend on the bank of the Willamette river. I was out there at dusk, and all the stones looked white - or maybe they were just dusted with dried mud. When I cleaned them off, they were pleasingly multi-colored. 

I also really enjoyed the yellow line on the red pear.

Here's the very beginning of my process - you can see me fiddling around with placement a bit:

Plein Air for the Still Life Painter

 "In the Pear Orchard"

14 x 18 inches, oil on canvas

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After a morning of painting landscape, this still life painter was ready to get back to more familiar territory. So, I found some fruit to paint - plein air! it even had a tree attached.

I continued using my palette from the morning, now with some lovely leftover greys all mixed up.

 I parked my easel in back of a U-pick farmstand, in a shaded spot between three pear trees. No plein air umbrella needed - perfect!           

I began with those patches of bright sunlight hitting the pears - the very first stroke on the canvas (after my underpainting) was the bright spot on the central pear. Everything else got keyed below that, to really make it pop!

Fresh off the easel. This one was really fun!

Fall is in the Air

"Red Into Green"

9 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

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Well, I had my birthday, and I've broken out the legwarmers, so it must be Fall. I spent yesterday painting outside in some gorgeous weather at the Plein Air Washington County event, and will be heading back up there tomorrow for some more - including their quick draw with costumed models, which I love.

Here's a work-in-progress that shows how this apple came together. Specifically, how I painted out beyond the contour lines and then used the background to refine the shape of the apple, working back and forth to create the edges that I want.

 

I'll also mention that this was painted with a limited palette:

hansa yellow, alizarin crimson, cerulean blue, titanium white.

Peaceful Pears, Primary Palette!

 "Peaceful Pears"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

$150

Available here

I painted these peaceful pears alongside a private student of mine, in her tranquil, sunny home studio. 

We both worked from a limited palette of three primary colors, plus white. For my three primaries, I picked cadmium yellow, azo coral, and ultramarine blue. 

 

 Working with a palette like this has so many benefits - like simplifying your color mixing, and creating nearly automatic color harmony in your finished piece. If you'd like to learn more about this method of painting, I've got a workshop coming April 23-24th, in Eugene. Click here for all the details!

 

Painting Pretty Pears

"Three Red Pears"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas, framed

$200

Click to buy

Another painting of these beautiful pears. They lasted a long time in the studio, but went from unripe to rotten, so I never got to eat one. Oh well, I bought 'em for looks anyway. You know that feeling you get when you're shopping for produce to paint, picking up 20 different apples to find the prettiest one --- like people are looking at you funny? Yeah, me too.

Here's a halfway point work-in-progress:

I'm teaching my last three-day still life workshop of 2015 next weekend, October 17-19th, here in Eugene. All the info can be found here. Thanks!

Five Red Pears

 "Five Red Pears"

12 x 12 inches, oil on canvas, Framed

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I got lost in all the colors-within-colors on these pears - orange, green, red, crimson, purple....and blue in the highlights.

This is a rare offering for me - a ready-framed painting! The canvas has a "gallery profile," so it's 1.5 inches deep on the sides as opposed to the 3/4 inch canvases I usually work on, and I happen to have a frame that fits it perfectly. So:

Thanks for looking!

A(nother) Trio of Pears

"A Trio of Pears (no. 2)"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

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Another little pear painting. Loose brushwork, happy colors! Both pear trios are up for auction starting at One Dollar - click here to view on DailyPaintworks.

A Trio of Pears....A $1 Auction!

 

"A Trio of Pears (no.1)"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

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 A colorful little pear painting. No. 2 coming tomorrow!

"Plums and Asian Pears" fruit food art still life oil daily painting and color palette

 

6 x 6"

oil on canvas

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More of the lovely plums, alongside the lovely but basically inedible Asian pears. Below you can see my work-in-progress, about halfway done:

 ...And here is the finished piece with the palette I used right alongside. If you click on the image, you can see it bigger. This my basic go-to set of colors. Sometime I add in some extras - like the Pthalos - to spice it up, but for most subjects, this is it. And yep, that's a disposable paper palette. My fave.

"Asian Pears" fruit food kitchen wall art still life daily painting original oil

 

8 x 8"

oil on canvas

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No one in my family particularly likes to eat these little pears. They are a bit mealy and not very sweet. My mom has a tree that literally breaks itself every year overproducing them, though, so I thought I'd see if they'd make a nice painting, if not a nice snack.