Wok'in, 6x6 Oil

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My Challenge group is doing a 'mushroom' theme this month. So I thought about a stir-fry... also I loooove snow peas, and was getting hungry in the produce aisle ;) So if you're in the Challenge group - close your eyes! Mushrooms might seem boring to paint, but they are actually, if you study them, lustrous and reflective. These positively lit up with the orange reflections. Slaving away getting ready for a show I'll tell all about this weekend!

One Tomato, Two Tomatoes, 6x6 Oil

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Thanks so much guys, for your support of yesterday's post - I had responses immediately (and a sale!). I will continue to play and learn with more of that texture and transparency painting. Today, though, a set of little tomatoes from our garden. I loved the light shining through the tomatoes, and their long, curling ... what are those things near the stem? First I painted the background too warm - it didn't let the tomatoes have the 'spotlight' so much.

The next post will have a step-by-step series of images... maybe you'll enjoy that - I enjoyed thinking about it and doing it!

Cumpcake, 6x6 Oil

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Well, it looked a bit better BEFORE I dropped it and smashed it against the easel and had to repair it! When I was a little girl my best friend was this adorable little girl whose first language was Portuguese. She only spoke English at school, and for some reason she stuck 'm's in a lot of words, one I remember is 'cupcake'. She called them 'cumpcakes'. ;) Hey, she was little!

Anyway today was my first 'real' full day at the studio with Paco. All I can say is I STARTED putting paint on the panel at 4 p.m. There is a video and short take on Paco's Blog.

Sugar Jar, Oil 6x8

Although this is kind of 'tonal' and lacks a lot of color, I enjoyed it because it was such a challenge. I realized when I got to the studio yesterday that in our round robin of car assignments in our family, I had the car without my backpack with my dog show photos in it! So I had to find something to paint that was already IN my studio. Now you've already seen my cell phone, so I had to come up with something else. I keep sugar packets in a little jar that has 'handles' on the sides - just sculpted glass, but it's cute. So with this on a creamy background at first I said "NOOOOOO!", but then I said - let's just give it a try and see what happens? So this is what happened. I wanted to keep it kind of loose and not get into the words on the packets - you can go either way and still have fun with it.

Just the Peaches, 6x6 Oil

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I did do a painting over the weekend, but it was not successful, it was OK, but nothing to write home about.  Then this morning I grabbed this jar of peaches and had a great time painting it! I wonder if there's too much of the mid tone, that being the golden color of the peaches.  I guess it's one more thing to think about, and not jump in and paint till I've got it settled in my mind.  As Ken Auster says "Intellect, then passion, then intellect".  I was running with the passion, forgetting to plan, plan, plan!

Mushrooms, 6x6 Oil

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This little 'Daily' took about 6 hours, if you count the first attempt and subsequent wipe off!  The whole time I was thinking I really wanted to go for a walk, casting my eye out toward the sunshine that was slipping away, and not really focusing on my painting.  The first design was all, all wrong, and nothing I could do could pull it out.  Finally, about 3:30 in the afternoon, I wiped it off, said "To heck with it!" and went out for a stroll during the most beautiful part of the day.  When I got home I switched from the 6x8 format I was using, grabbed a trusty 6x6, and this painting fell off the brush.  I love to paint whites that aren't white, and these mushrooms fit the bill.

 Then back home, where they became part of a mushroom-spinach-rice concoction that gets scooped into a pita with a slice of cheese, and grilled till the cheese melts, mmmmMMMmm!

Red Wine Vinegar Cruet, 6x6 Oil

Reserved

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Away from flowers for today, and on to food! This is one of my mother's cruets, which, though not expensive, mean a lot to me. So since the only salad dressings I like are home made, I'm planning on doing a series, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, cider vinegar, and olive oil. I'm discovering the joy of painting glass, too. Don't worry, I'll mix it up with flowers & fruits & veggies, too. I think I could paint for 3 lifetimes at least and not run out of things I want to paint!

I spent today in Southie (South Boston) with Paula Villanova and Ros Farbush. I'll post that plein air piece on my Studio Blog. It's great to paint with Paula, always, and Ros, having celebrated her 80th birthday this year, gives me such hope - that loving painting can go on for a long time and bring a sparkle to our 'golden years'.

Peppers In A Bowl, Oil 6x6

I spotted these little peppers in the market and just loved them - of course I don't know exactly what I'd cook with them (and wouldn't now that they've sat under my light to 'pose' for me!).  Anyway the light and shaded portions of them were interesting to work with.  I tried to keep the light parts very saturated with color, letting the shadow part get darker and 'grayer'.  They have such great shapes, too!

Just Nuts, Oil 5x7

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In the studio today I couldn't find anything I really wanted to paint. Like many others, right now politics is on my mind.  And, in the words of my dear friend Joan Brancale, it's "just nuts".  Whichever 'side' you're on, I bet you agree with me that you wish it were over.  I bet the CANDIDATES wish it were over, too!  Anyway, these 3 little cashews, one hazelnut, one almond and one pecan are anthropomorphicized (how's THAT for a good made-up word?) into the voting ranks.  Or rants, which is what it seems like these days!  I thought it would be boring to paint the nuts, but there are so many colors that you have to really pay attention to see.  

The Last Of The Harvest, 6x6 Acrylic

The very last eggplant and little Heirloom tomato posed this morning.  This will be my last post before Carol Marine's Worshop in Santa Fe.  Fighting off a cold and trying to organize myself and my house (heh, heh... only kidding about that last thing) before I go, I have to stop painting.  **sigh**  Well, I'm going to try to blog from Santa Fe, and I'll take pictures and show what I've accomplished through the week.  I'm excited because I've never been to Santa Fe, and I've been wearing out the pages of "American Art Collector" magazine trying to pick galleries to visit.  Hmmmm, and Harry the cat was snuggled into my suitcase yesterday, between the t-shirts and the shoes... I think trying to be a stow-away.  The cats definitely know when I'm going away and start acting all crazy as soon as I pull out the suitcase!  Anyway.. it's supposed to be wonderful weather here and in Santa Fe, so I'm definitely counting my blessings!

Sweet Red Pepper, 4x6 Acrylic

This pepper is from our garden - Tim and I thought it was a Bell Pepper, but... no!  It's sweet and beautiful, too.  We've been having a nice summer harvesting all kinds of tomatoes, eggplants (which I'll try to paint this week), and some sort of globular cucumbers.  I tried actually not to be conscious of what I 'should' and 'shouldn't' do as I painted this... consequently it went very fast!  I think sometimes I 'think' paintings to death.  But after a while you can kind of let it go and paint on autopilot.  Let me know what you think...

Cherries, 5x7, acrylic

Loved these massive cherries on a plate on my turquoise table in the sun!  They are really black cherries, and very sweet, groups of 3 and 2.  Did a big plein air painting of cows today on my Studio Blog, with 2 other painters from the South Shore - beautiful day today!

Red Plums, 6x6 Acrylic

Taking a break from my big painting of Isolated Showers, which you can see on my studio blog, I set up 3 little red plums that I bought just to paint.  I always have loved the purple plums much more.  Well, when I was done with this set up I punctured one of the red plums and I figured I should eat it and .... delicious!  Now I'm a red plum fan, too.  These were very difficult and I wiped it off a couple of times, but then just said "Oh, just PAINT it!", so I did.  :)

Just Yolking, 5x7 acrylic on linen

I was too busy running around dropping off and picking up paintings yesterday to paint, so I'm using a small one from last week.  My sister's favorite cake is white, with white frosting (really, she could forgo the cake but it gives the frosting something to stick to!), and for her birthday on August 1, I made her a cake.  So the cake, to remain 'so so so' white needs only egg whites, I had these three yolks left over.  I rolled them on to a white platter and painted them  Interesting thing, as they sat there, the leftover white that clung to them pooled around them, making an interesting reflective surface to paint. At first, however, when I painted these, it was nowhere to be seen.

Scattered Blueberries, 6x6 Acrylic

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So many things to paint for Daily Paintings.  I was a little 'stung' when a more accomplished local artist reviewed my work this Spring, and about the Daily Paintings she said "Food has been done and done.  It's old.  Thiebold had the last word on food.  You should do other things."  Well, I do other things, but the shapes of food, especially fruit, are a 'wonderland' to me.  People eat berries all the time, but when you really examine one, you find all sorts of patterns and reflective surfaces, as well as undercurrents of, for example, reds and greens in the blueberries.  So once again ignoring good advice, I set up a handful of blueberries this morning.  Here they are.

Eggs-actly! Oil, 6x6

Here I was working with two green eggs and one brown egg.  I kept wanting to make the brown egg much lighter, I don't know why.  Also I hate that the eggs are matte and don't have a great reflection from the light - s-u-b-t-l-e..... is what they are.  so I put them on a pink plate, and laid them on a purply surface....  trying to stay loose.  Missing my clams...

Also got a couple of new things on my Studio Blog.

Radish Rainbow, 5x7 Oil

I found these multi colored radishes at the Fruit Center in Hingham, MA yesterday (one of the reasons I love the South Shore of Boston!).  Jim Kubiatowicz, a wonderful artist and the President of the Art League of Rhode Island, checks in on my blog periodically (he says every day, but... sure :) to see what's for dinner!  Well, tonight is going to be Radish Salad with these gorgeous little veggies.  They look like a bouquet of flowers in my favorite colors.  I really want to do a BIG one of these, too, like my big clams on my Studio Blog.

AND if you're in the neighborhood of Marshfield, MA this weekend and want to see some spectacular art, stop in at the North River Art Society Festival.  If you come on Sunday afternoon I'll be painting there, so stop and say 'hi'!

 

Green Eggs, No Ham, Acrylic, 5x7

Do not adjust the color on your set!  These eggs are (naturally) the palest green.  Gorgeous.  I will paint them again.  I also have a few new pieces on my Studio Blog and would love feedback.

AND I'm demo-ing at the North River Art Festival in Marshfield MA on Sunday all afternoon.  If you're in the area, it'd be great to see a friendly face!

Steamers-To-Be, Oil, 6x8

You know, I don't even LIKE clams.  To eat, that is.  I have no opinion of clams personally.  But at our Labor Day Clamboil last year I took a few out and positioned them on the counter and took their pictures, and in looking at the images this week I was intrigued by the subtle colors and the glistening of the neck things.   And then the shapes grew on me and I started drawing clams... after I did this I took out a bigger canvas, 14 x 18 - and sketched on it, but it was not big enough.  So I grabbed a 16 x 20, but once again... not big enough.  I think I finally settled on a 20 x 24 in canvas - let's see how that goes!

Garlic Cloves, Acrylic 6x6

Sometimes I can only wonder at the things that occur at the easel.  If you compare this with my "Orphans' Day Out" on my studio blog you'll never believe they came out of the same studio.  I had every intention of proceeding in a loose, but controlled manner, when I started.  Then I just started slathering on the paint, layer after layer.  I started with a wet black canvas, and the black kept bleeding through and getting picked up by the brush, so I started gathering lots more paint and putting it on gingerly, then using the palette knife on the background.  Inspired by Carol Marine's garlic cloves of about a year ago, I guess I made a departure.  Oh well, this is what happened!

Also, as recommended by Katie May on the comments of yesterday's post, DO check out Ed Carson, a Massachusetts painter - very nice work!