Tuesday, March 26, 2024

The Busker's Dog

 


Click Here to Buy for $400 - 10x10in. - oil on panel

This is a slightly larger piece I did recently of a scene I came across last year in Freiburg, Germany. There were quite a few small, awkward things happening in the reference photos, and I used my ipad and an art app to try out alternatives before and while I was painting. For example, the guy on the left was standing right at the edge of the ground shadow, so I moved him forward a little, which involved changing the shadow on his shoes, among other things. I thought the painting would be about the buskers, but when my husband saw it he said it was about the dog. Which, in hindsight, is perfectly obvious.

Monday, March 25, 2024

Particular Pears

 


Click Here to Buy for $200 - 8x6in. - oil on panel

I don't often paint in a vertical format. For some reason it's harder for me to compose this way. But these pears insisted on it.

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Hide the Last Apple

 


Click Here to Buy for $200 - 6x6in. - oil on panel

When I have a bunch of fruit, I have a hard time not painting them in a glass bowl. I've done it lots of times. Here's one of my very first ones, from 2007.

Friday, March 22, 2024

Standing By

 


Click Here to Buy for $200 - 6x6in. - oil on panel

In case you don't know, Daily Paintworks (the website my husband and I created and run) has a monthly contest with cash prizes! There are only 29 entries so far this month, so there's a real chance to win. Please consider entering soon (it can be any 2-D fine art - no theme - and you don't have to be a member). The top 15 picks get a free month and a featured spot on the front page. : )

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Alone Together

 


Click Here to Buy for $200 - 6x6in. - oil on panel

I was enamored with the little bits of pure blue in the bowl and its shadow where it meets white. Colored glass is so fun to paint. I keep looking for new bowls, but they are hard to find.

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Ready for my Closeup

 


Click Here to Buy for $200 - 8x6in. - oil on panel

I found the reference for this regal creature on one of the royalty free sites. I don't know what kind of dog she is. Any ideas?

UPDATE: The consensus is - Irish Setter. Thanks, everyone! : )

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Peaceful Pears

 


Click Here to Buy for $200 - 6x6in. - oil on panel

Pears can vary in personality. These have been pretty chill so far. They couldn't stand for very long, so I told them they could do a lying down pose. They fell asleep but they didn't snore.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Bored on a Bench

 


Click Here to Buy for $200 - 6x8in. - oil on panel

Here is group of bored teenagers in Florence, Italy - probably waiting for the rest of their group. I'm just happy to see they aren't looking at their phones!

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Standing Together


Click Here to Buy for $200 - 6x6in. - oil on panel

We have a fabulous little junk shop in downtown Missoula with bottles galore displayed in the front window. We walk by it pretty regularly, so I get to see any new additions. I just acquired this tall, skinny one from there for my collection. You'll definitely see it again.

Monday, March 11, 2024

Don't Be Blue, Bells

 

Click Here to Buy for $200 - 6x6in. - oil on panel

I've probably said this before, but whenever I am painting a shadow going into a shadow, a softer edge usually works better than a hard edge. For example, the little bowl at the bottom-left, with the bell pepper in it - where the shadow side of the bowl meets the shadow that the bowl is casting, the edge almost disappears. Same with the shadow that the top bell is casting on the plate, where it meets the shadow it's casting on the paper to the right of the plate. Did you notice before I pointed it out? But you read it as an edge, right? Our brain fills in the details even if they are fuzzy in the paint.

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Oil Painting Supplies

 


Click Here to Buy for $200 - 6x6in. - oil on panel

Here are a few of my art supplies. I don't often think to paint them because ... I'm using them. Haha. But it's fun to do occasionally.

Friday, March 08, 2024

Take a Load Off

 


Click Here to Buy for $200 - 6x8in. - oil on panel

Here is another one with these two teenage bell peppers. I call them that because they are a little small, and stubborn (ie. difficult to compose). And they didn't have super solid bases, so they kept falling over. I have a teenager, so I know all about this.

Wednesday, March 06, 2024

Florence Spotlight

 


Click Here to Buy for $300 - 6x12in. - oil on panel (click image to enlarge)

This was painted from my favorite reference photo from my last trip to Florence, Italy. I admit I stood there and waited for people to pass through the shaft of light until I got the perfect shot. But I was also waiting to paint it! Why? No idea. So here it is. I kind of completely love it.

Tuesday, March 05, 2024

Kitty Cat Clean

 


Click Here to Buy for $200 - 5x7in. - oil on panel

This was a fun one to paint. I mean, that tongue! I just couldn't lose.

Monday, March 04, 2024

Seeking Love

 

Click Here to Buy for $200 - 6x6in. - oil on panel

I went to the store and found these adorable, little, orange bell peppers. I thought they would be a cinch to paint, but they put up a fight. It took me an hour and a lot of frustration just to come up with this one. Maybe they are teenage bell peppers. That would explain a lot.

Sunday, March 03, 2024

Ode to Green

 

Click Here to Buy for $200 - 6x6in. - oil on panel

Often it's the simplest compositions that are my favorite. And always the most difficult to compose! Strange to say, but true.

Saturday, March 02, 2024

Pig Want Egg

 

Click Here to Buy for $200 - 6x8in. - oil on panel

I'm enjoying playing around with little, leaning, bits of paper in my still lifes. They make especially nice shadows, and throw lovely reflections back on things.

Friday, March 01, 2024

Green Drink or Coffee

 

Click Here to Buy for $200 - 6x6in. - oil on panel

I've been looking for products at the grocery store with interesting labels. I don't usually buy this sort of thing - a fruit and veggie drink - boy was it expensive! We used to do our own juicing back in the day. My favorite was carrot & ginger. Yum!

Thursday, February 29, 2024

The Last Two Yolks

 

Click Here to Buy for $200 - 6x8in. - oil on panel

I feel like with every painting I get closer to capturing the essence of things. The trick is to see them as abstract shapes, actually, to see the whole thing as interconnected abstract shapes that don't necessarily end where the objects end. Look at the left side of the egg shell - it melds right into the plate. And shadows often bleed into each other, with the edge sometimes disappearing altogether. If I see all this as a series of puzzle pieces, without my brain getting too involved, then I can see what I need to paint. It's taken 25 or so years to get this far, and I'm sure I have much still to learn!

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Almost

 

Click Here to Buy for $200 - 7x5in. - oil on panel

I found the image for this cat on one of those royalty-free sites. I felt it needed something, so I searched around for images of butterflies. Then I used my ipad and an art app to experiment with size and placement. The hard part was finding a butterfly in a similar light.