An artist friend from Hull, MA, Jeanne MacFarland, came to paint at my studio today. We changed the vase from yesterday, and she put this little glass vase in my 'black box' with a black velvet background and a lime cloth under that wonderful clear plastic. I didn't realize all my photos were blurry till I got home and tried to post - I'll shoot another one tomorrow. After painting and eating (very important) we hit a few of Warren's many Antique shops, then went to the local coffee shop so I could see photos on her computer (love that WiFi) of her daughter's SIX brand new pug puppies. I'm going to have to get one of those photos and post it on my studio blog! Wrapping up the day by sipping Coffee Cabinets (do you know what they are? a delectable whirled combo of coffee syrup, coffee ice cream, malt powder and milk - mMMmm!) from Delecta's old fashioned Pharmacy, Jeanne went home, but left me with her painting of the carnations - I'll post that tomorrow!
This looks better in person. Last Summer I was searching and searching for a 2 cup pitcher for milk and this was in my cabinet all along. It was Tim's aunt's and when she broke up her house she gave me this. Perfect. It was a real challenge, because the only 'white' is on the little tiny highlights at the top of the pitcher. I've been rigging up a photo area in my studio, and have surrounded it with white sheets, to avoid the glare, but I had to take this photo at home without it because I'd forgotten my camera today.
When I got into the studio today I couldn't BELIEVE how much I hated yesterday's post of the butterscotch candies in my mother's candy dish. I wiped it right off and that's something I rarely do. I changed the format, to a 6x6 (yes, today I remembered my Gessoboards!), changed the viewpoint ( a little), the color of the background became light blue when I put a piece of blue tissue paper over the white ground. This time I didn't worry at all about the dark side of the yellow wrapper or the twisted ends of the cellophane. I believe (and I was on autopilot when I did this, so I can't say for sure) I made the yellow cooler and darker. So! I also attempted to paint the calla lilies again, too and I'm not happy with it, so I'll put it on the Studio Blog just to show you.
On Saturday I poured these butterscotch candies into my Mom's candy dish. It was a sunny day, and the light from the window lit up the golden wrappers, it was awesome - and without saying anything I turned to my son Conor, who looked at me and said "Daily Painting!" I don't feel I 'got it' and may try again with different viewpoints and backgrounds. I'm particularly challenged by the shadow side of yellow. Remembering Carol Marine's adage : "If you can't figure out what color something is, it's probably a gray...", I attempted a gray-yellow, but I don't think it 'showcased' the highlights enough. And believe it or not, it looks a LOT better in real life! :)
You know, I don't know if my glasses are dirty or there's glare on this shot, but... if it looks 'glare-y' to you, then it's NOT my glasses! I didn't post yesterday because I spent all day painting a bigger (30x30) still life. Still lots to do on it, but soon I'll post it on my studio blog.
Monday and Tuesday of this week are the nights that the Westminster Dog Show is on TV. I've DVR'd it and will watch both nights together. This little West Highland White Terrier is from the Ladies Dog Club Show at the Bayside Expo Center Show from December in Boston. Westies are (and were once grouped with) Cairn Terriers, coming from the same breeding stock in the same area. Some people really preferred the pure white Cairns, and bred them apart, so now they're different 'breeds', but really interchangeable in terms of disposition and structure (watch, I'll get Westie Moms telling me I'm wrong about this, and that the white ones are sweeter...:). I put off painting the white dog because I thought it would be boring, but it was anything but! In person, you can see all sorts of pretty, colorful 'shadows' in the white, that are beautiful grays made of up beautiful roses, and blues and ochres..
This weekend I bought these red glasses that remind me of ones (lost in some move) I bought in Mexico. Added to that I was given a couple of turquoise glass swizzle sticks, a starfish and a seahorse. When I said I wanted to paint the glass, my husband said "Do you realize how many colors of red, plus orange and yellow are in this one glass?" "Yup." I said - that's what I love about it! Also the glass, being hand blown, was lopsided at the top, and inside. I really like the reflections I got on the shadow and on the table, they were fun to paint!
A bit of glare on the background, for which I apologize. I specifically asked the donut girl to be careful, and put this baby in a box because I was going to paint it... and it got squashed anyway. No sense trying to hide it, so I let it be. Although I could have been happier with the red and white drizzles, I like the actual donut better than ones I've done in the past - I guess it comes with experience. It actually looks lots better than in this photo, don't know why I couldn't capture it.
I got this beautiful aqua glass from my son last Christmas - it's so beautiful I'm afraid to use it. I like the way the limes react to the strong light I put on them, too. It looked like they were waiting for a splash of.... San Pelligrino? Hendricks Gin & Tonic? Limeade? Flat Water?
My Dad was a big fan of Bloodhounds. They look so wise. I had my son take the photo for this, as I left my camera in my husband's car yesterday, and when I imported it into my iPhoto, the colors got all weird. I think I've got them now. I loved the look on this dog's face at the Dog Show, so patient. I taped the Eukanuba Dog Show during the Super Bowl and forced everyone to watch it last night. Although I hate those 'best of the best' dog shows (how on earth can you compare the 'best' Puli with the 'best' Corgi?) I think it comes down to the showmanship of the individual dogs and the appeal they have to the judge. What.EVER. I still love to watch them. Something different tomorrow....
