Monday, April 30, 2012

Red Grapes & Swiss

Red Grapes & Swiss - 6 x 6 Oil on Canvas Board
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After about three days of trying for flowers, I decided to go back to some more familiar subjects and feel satisfied with something.  I'll shoot for flowers again sometime--I really need the practice.

I decided to send two of my paintings to the Circle of Art charitable organization in Saline, Michigan.  'Apples to Apples' (which I renamed 'Apple Variations') and 'Tea Party' will be on display at Saline Picture Frame Co. and online throughout the month of May, and will be auctioned on May 20th.  All proceeds will go to Food Gatherers of Washtenaw County.  Here's the link: http://www.circle-of-art.net   My artwork is not up yet but will be up in the next few days.  You can check out all the other art in the meantime.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Tea Rose

Tea Rose - 6 x 6 Oil on Canvas Board
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Second painting from the bouquet.  Thought it might be easier to get the rose on it's side.  And for some reason I just like the tea cup--I think I'm still trying to get the whites (grays) down.  I got a little tighter with this one--worked it a bit more.  Probably because I watched Abby Ryan's online painting demo yesterday.  Her silver creamer was just gorgeous... wow!

Friday, April 27, 2012

Yellow Daisies

Yellow Daisies - 8 x 6 Oil on Canvas Board

Not so great day yesterday—I painted for about three hours and nothing was working.  So I treated myself to a big bouquet of flowers today, and painted part of it.  This one worked better.  Daisies are pretty forgiving.  I'm hoping to get a couple more paintings out of the bouquet before it wilts :)

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Fruit Plate

Fruit Plate - 6 x 6 Oil on Canvas Board
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Well I had to delete my last post--I thought I could improve on the Red Grapes painting, and I made it even worse :(  But at least I have a new one that I'm pretty happy with, after a couple of days of not being able to paint due to volunteer activities.  When I volunteer for different things down-the-road, they always seem to happen all at the same time for some reason--Murphy's Law or something.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Wine Bottle 2

Wine Bottle 2 - 6 x 6 Oil on Canvas Board
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The second of our wine bottles.  I liked how the first came out so I thought I'd do another one.  This one came out much sketchier, and I wasn't going to even post it, but I'll see what kind of feedback I get.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Tea Party

Tea Party - 6 x 8 Oil on Canvas Board

Well I'm branching out to new dimensions: 6 x 8.  I've tried a few others at this size and they just didn't work out—it's more of a challenge for me because I'm so used to the square format.  I think this composition works.  Unfortunately the photo is a tiny bit washed out in the upper left—it's hard to get a good photo when the paint is still wet.

This painting is now part of the fundraiser "Circle of Art" to benefit Food Gatherers of Washtenaw County. It will be on display at Saline Picture Frame Company until May 20th when all art will be auctioned.  All proceeds will go to the charity.  The link to view and bid: http://www.circle-of-art.net/

Thursday, April 19, 2012

In Your Face

In Your Face - 6 x 6 Oil on Canvas Board
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This is one of our three cats.  I plan to do the other two so they don't get jealous.  Although, all three are female, and you know, there's no getting rid of the jealousy.  At least that's what I've found--the males are more easy going generally?  We actually wanted a boy kitten from the start.  Bo, we were told was a male, but the vet corrected us on that small detail, so she became Bonita.  Belleza... same thing, we just hadn't named her yet.  And Zora, she was too beautious to pass up :)  But no more animals for a while...

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Vintage

Vintage - 6 x 6 Oil on Canvas Board

This is one of about six bottles of wine we have at our house, that we've had for many years. We're not really wine drinkers, but we keep these bottles around because........ ??  I think it's because we have a cool wine rack, and we have to have something to put in it.  Well now I've found a better reason: I can use them as props for my still life paintings :)

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

It's An Earl Grey Day

It's An Earl Grey Day - 6 x 6 Oil on Canvas Board
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It really was a gray day when I did this painting-- a good day to stay in my studio and paint, and drink tea.  I think I was able to loosen up again after the apple challenge exercise.  A really good exercise to do periodically to stay loose.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Apple to Apples

Apples to Apples - 6 x 6 Oil on Canvas Board
This painting, done just the other day, was done for the Daily Paint Works challenge.  The challenge was posted about three weeks ago, but I liked the idea of it: the 'Pare down your Apple' challenge, meaning paint an apple with as few areas of color as possible while still having it read as a three-dimensional apple.  Because I happened to have three different kinds of apples in the kitchen, I decided to do all three.

This painting (now named 'Apple Variations') is now part of the fundraiser "Circle of Art" to benefit Food Gatherers of Washtenaw County.  It will be on display at Saline Picture Frame Company until May 20th when all art will be auctioned.  All proceeds will go to the charity.  The link to view and bid: http://www.circle-of-art.net/

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Chicadees

Chicadees - 17 x 14 Mixed Media on Paper
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Here is the other Chicadee piece I promised I would post.   I love the black and white patterns on these little birds, and could do a whole series of them.   I sold this to a friend of mine who is decorating her brand new home, just built after her old home burned down.  We went over there last week to see it for the first time, and she has an impressive collection of art already.  Wow, I feel honored to have my work amongst some really beautiful pieces by Heiner Hertling, Mike Todoroff, and of course my friend Janice Dumas herself!!

Friday, April 13, 2012

Sugar Bowl

Sugar Bowl - 6 x 6 Oil on Canvas Board
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I've been noticing that even though my finished paintings are coming out ok, I sometimes go through a mid-painting crisis, and I think I have another 'practice' painting.  But hanging-in-there has been a good thing.  I just have to remember... patience and persistence... patience and persistence...

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Apple Slices

Apple Slices - 6 x 6 Oil on Canvas Board
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This painting reminds me of a picnic table, and makes me want to go on a picnic... in warm weather... by the lake... with family and friends.  Even though we've had an extremely mild winter here in Michigan this year, I am still impatient when it comes to cold weather moving out and warm weather moving in.  But I remind myself... cold weather makes us appreciate warm weather SO much more :))   I'm hungry...

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Pretty Pitcher

Pretty Pitcher - 6 x 6 Oil on Canvas Board
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This pitcher was a gift from a friend a few years ago and has been sitting on the top shelf in my kitchen ever since.  I haven't used it nearly as much as I should, but now that I've got it down, maybe I'll make more lemonade :)

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Apple Casserole

Apple Casserole - 6 x 6 Oil on Canvas Board
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My husband brought home a whole set of these brown dishes from our neighbor when he was getting new dishes.  At the time I wasn't all that amused, and wasn't sure where we were going to put them, but now I'm glad he did—I've used them twice in paintings (second one to come).  I really like how reflective they are, and how it adds to the interest of the painting.  I'm sure I'll use them again.

Monday, April 9, 2012

At The Breakfast Table

At The Breakfast Table - 6 x 6 Oil on Canvas Board
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The creamer is from my mom--I got it out of storage and it was a little tarnished, but I was lazy and painted it without polishing it first anyway.  That painting didn't make the cut.  So I polished the creamer, painted it again and it made a huge difference.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Chicadee

Chicadee - 7.5 x 9 Mixed Media on Paper
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I've been working on a mixed media series—mostly birds—for quite some time now.  I thought I'd post one of the smaller pieces.  I use charcoal, gesso, oil glaze and sometimes pastel for accent color.  I liked how this one came out so I did a larger version with two chicadees, which I will post soon.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Pink Daisies

Pink Daisies - 6 x 6 oil on canvas board
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Flowers are not as easy as you would think to paint.  I had issues with this one, and wasn't sure I would even post it, but here it is... you can let me know what you think.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

A Few of My Favorite Things

A Few of My Favorite Things - 6 x 6 oil on canvas board
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My sweet husband got me the chocolate-covered strawberries and some flowers for valentine's day (no, the strawberries are not that old... I did the painting back in February :)

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Sweet and Sweeter

Sweet & Sweeter - 6 x 6 Oil on canvas board
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I'm about ready for one of my summer favorites: strawberry shortcake... mmmm :)

I think I'm starting to get a little better with the color mixing, which has been a struggle--that and getting the darks dark enough.  The squinting is really helping.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Red, White and Blue

Red, White and Blue - 6 x 6 oil on canvas board

Another great exercise in white on white values and ellipses--I may be a glutton for punishment.  But I love my berries.