Persimmon on Gold

Oil on Canvas

5x7"

$70

     Another orange-red globe, but this time on an analogous background, not complementary. I even tried to put orange in the green leaves. It is really, really warm. I love it. I liked the cool backgrounds, but this change feels good.

Mandarin on Blue

Mandarin on Blue

Oil on Canvas

6x6"

$72

     Orange and blue. They are so great together they should be labeled as "too easy."

     The little mandarins continue to please and delight me and I seem to need something friendly these days. I will save the challenges for another day.

     

Two More Mandarins

Two Mandarins

6x8"

Oil

$96

     This painting is very similar to one I did a few weeks ago, but it is different just as every moment is different. While I painted this one, the other one was completely out of mind. That must be what makes it possible to paint the same thing over and over, like those haystacks.

   

The Cat

The Cat

16x12"

Oil

$336

     It has been a while since I painted the cat. I thought this posture was very engaging. She is so beautiful, with her pure white fur and fabulous eyes, one black rimmed and one orange rimmed. That contrasting patch of dark pigmentation she has above her right eye makes her a little glamorous. In this version, I hardly painted her at all, only her pretty little face. That is where the real interest is for me, so that is what I gave my attention to and let the rest speak for itself.

Mandarin Lineup

Mandarin Lineup

12x36"

Oil

$300

     These mandarins are on a large extreme rectangle, a canvas I like to use from time to time. It is fun because it is an out-of-the-ordinary format. The oranges themselves continue to delight me as I paint them. I will do another, though smaller, before I must go shopping again. I did a little photography of the fruit for later, but painting from life is more personal and I like it better.

Mandarin Pair

Mandarin Pair

6x8"

Oil

$96

DPW $76

     Two bright orange mandarin oranges. Two orange balls would be fun to look at, but I love the complexity the stems and leaves add. The shadows are an important element too. This was fun to paint.

    

Mandarin Single

Mandarin Single

6x8"

Oil

$96

DPW $76

     Imagine a box full of bright orange mandarins with their stems and leaves still on! The box even said, "With stems and leaves." For me that was the best news. Supermarket fruit is so bare. The greenery makes the fruit so beautiful and interesting. Orange--what a color! I bought the whole box. I now have plenty of something lovely to paint for days and days.

Red Gerbera

Red Gerbera

5x7"

Oil

$70

DPW $60

     Here is a cheerful flower. The sun hit it and made it glow. How often nature dazzles our eyes. So, of course, we want to paint it. I think that must be akin to "gilding the lily." Anyway, I had to paint it, and I got to use all my warms. But they would not have stood out without the cool dark background made up of my darkest blues and greens.

Dogwood Branch

Dogwood Branch

8x24"

Oil

$200

DPW $160

     The dogwoods here on our property are white, but I pinked this one because I wanted it to stand out on a greenish background. The dogwoods in this series are from photographs I took last year. In order to paint something other than the color it is, I have to render it in black and white, grayscale, on the computer. Otherwise I would forget what I am doing and start painting the color I see, white. Having photographs that I could alter helped in this case.

Dogwood on Red

Dogwood on Red

8x10"

Oil

$160

DPW $130

     I wanted to paint the simplest thing with as few strokes as I could get away with. I painted the flower itself first and then the leaves and then the stem. Finally, I put in the red background. The painting is small and simple, and because I did not allow myself to go back into the shapes, it remains fresh. I could easily have overworked it, but I am trying to "look more, paint less." (Sure is red.)

Dogwood Pair

Dogwood Pair

8x8"

Oil

$128

DPW $102

     There is a rule somewhere against painting two similar objects without something to unbalance them, and I usually go by the practice of placing the focal point in the upper part of the canvas, in a "sweet spot." But I just thought these little dogwoods were so pretty that I painted what I saw and broke my own rules. I did try to make one more dominant than the other, but it is still a pair of dogwoods. "So sue me. Shoot arrows through me."

Red and White in a Jar

Red and White in a Jar

8x8"

Oil

$128

DPW $102

     Another effort at simplifying the shapes. I found that the parts that I worked on least are the parts that are the best. 

     "Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify, simplify!" Thoreau's principle is a good one to live by and a good one to paint by. I can fritter away the vitality of an image by detail and overworking. I should put the quotation on a banner and hang it on my easel.

The Amalgam Challenge

Flowers after Lisa Daria

6x6"

Oil

$72

DPW $60

     Jo MacKenzie posted this Challenge on Daily Paintworks. Since I am her fan I wanted to be sure to do it. The challenge is to paint in the style of another artist. Since I am also a fan of Lisa Daria, I knew right away who I wanted to emulate.

     Lisa paints flowers in a loose abstract style. She simplifies the shapes to an extreme reduction and the result is wonderful. I knew I could learn a lot from her, so I was happy to see Jo's Challenge.

     Could I simplify to the degree that Lisa does? Nope. At moments I forgot what I was up to and fell into my own way of seeing. Other times I became intrigued with a lovely little detail and wanted to be sure to include it when Lisa would never have done that. 

     Nevertheless, I believe I still learned something from this Challenge (assignment?). I intend to try for more abstraction and simplification in my next piece. Thank you, Jo and Lisa.

Clementine, Cherries, & Daisy

Clementine, Cherries, & Daisy

8x6"

$96

DPW $76

     This composition is very much like the last post. This one I find more interesting though, probably because there are more objects to look at, and I believe the color carries the eye around the canvas better. It is, therefore, more fun to look at. Another aspect that makes me like this one better is the overall color unity. Mostly warm with some cool; mostly middle value with some light and just a little dark. Aim for a dominant value with a secondary and then just a little of a third.

Glass Challenge

Jar of Red and Yellow Flowers

8x6"

Oil

$96

DPW $76

     This Challenge is to paint glass, so I did, but you can hardly see it. Such a small part of the jar shows. It was fun to paint anyway. It is almost like painting what you don't see. And then suddenly there is so much to see. A lot of looking goes into painting glass.

     This painting presented me with other challenges. I wanted to paint something with lots of blue, a blue painting. Now I am not completely comfortable with it. Is it too blue? Should there be more blue in the flowers? Too much? Not enough? Wrong blue? Sometimes I just don't know. Maybe blue is not my color.

Persimmon in a Tree

Persimmon in a Tree

6x6"

Oil

$72

DPW $60

     I have had this image in my files for a long time and have tried to paint it a time or two but always ended up dismissing it. I decided to give it one more chance, and if it did not work, then I would dismiss it permanently. I guess I decided it turned out all right this time.

     You might think you could hardly go wrong with that simple lovely shape and that great color scheme straight from nature. Nevertheless, I had to try and try and try again before I gave it the OK.

The Something New Challenge

The Cat in Watercolor

8x10"

NFS

Pure Exercise

     The Challenge was to do something you never do. I have occasionally painted in watercolor, but not  for a very long time--and it shows! But I wanted to try it and show it even if it is a little overworked in some areas and underworked in others. Watercolor is an exciting medium. You really have to cooperate with it, give it its head, don't try to boss it around. Much of the painting experience is like that regardless of the medium. But watercolor! Do any watercolorists ever have a clear idea of what will come out of it when they begin?

Mum Jar

Mum Jar

12x12"

Oil

$128

DPW $102

     A flower in a jar. I do it all the time, especially when all the other flowers in the bouquet are dead except for the little mum that hangs on longer than all the rest. But what was most interesting in this setup was the way the light refracted through the water and glowed on the backdrop. That was the very brightest spot in the whole composition. With that lying very close to the almost black stem and leaves, it made a nice contrast. Visual interest is fun to look for even in the simplest scenes.  

Camellia Surprise Make-over

Happy New Year!

 I begin this new year with a fresh face on an old painting.

Camellia Surprise 2

5x7"

Oil

$70

     Last May I painted a version of this flower that pleased me very much. I had been running into stumbling blocks in my work, and the process of painting one small flower was just what I needed. But then as time went by, I began to see problems with it and thought it was not so good. I finally accepted that it was just not OK, so I gave it a "whitewash" by painting a layer of titanium white over it and letting it dry good and dry. Then I repainted my little flower.

     I suppose some people would think the first one was better than this one. Well, it is too late now. This is the one I have. I think it is more fun to look at, so I am glad I did it. Here is the original:

Hibiscus Cat

Hibiscus Cat

12x9"

Oil

$216

DPW $172

     We all know that cats stalk their prey, but when I am visiting my sister, I stalk her cat. She is very beautiful with wonderful markings. I have taken so many, many pictures of her and have painted quite a few. This time I was lucky to catch her peeking out of the bushes with the evening sun making her fur glow. I tried to keep the white as pure from the tube as I could on those illuminated places. I did not adjust the composition. It is just as it was, a gift. I love it when Nature provides.

Fruit Bowl Close Up

Fruit Bowl Close Up

12 x 12"

Oil

$288

DPW $230

     The fruit in this bowl looks very nice when seen as a whole bowl and all the fruit, but I found it more interesting close up. It looked even better the closer I got. Then when I allowed the edge of the bowl to leave the canvas, I really liked it. 

     My friend says to always have part of your shapes go outside the picture frame. I believe she is right, but I must be careful not to cut things in half, and definitely do not go just to the edge and "tickle" the edge of the canvas. Then I must be sure that what I have left is not stuck right in the middle.          

     Composition can be such a juggling act.

     

Cherry with White Teapot

Cherry with White Teapot

6x6"

Oil

$72

DPW $60

     White. Now there is a color for you. What paint do you choose? Certainly not white. 

     In this little painting, I had to work with white and with gray. I wanted the cherry to be brilliantly red. The "big idea" was the red against the white. I did what Carol Marine teaches: I mixed red, yellow, and blue to get a gray. I like the way it came out a little greenish to complement and emphasize the red. So the white is not really white, but green. It also had to be not white so that I could put a highlight on that showed. 

     This white business is very challenging. I will try to do more. I have always enjoyed looking at paintings that have lots of white done well.

Cherries Two and One

Cherries Two and One

5x7"

Oil

$70

DPW $60

     So many non-art duties keeping me away from the studio lately, so I decided to warm up with friendly cherries.

     I have been studying Carol Marine's lesson on color and the importance of gray. I have always known that color stands out against neutral, but I usually end up just painting with color wheel colors.  Here I tried to gray down the shadow on the creamy background so that the red cherries will glow.  I like it, but now what am I supposed to do about that other teacher who said to use warm shadows in a warm painting!?

     If you listen to too many people, you can really get messed up.

Golden Pear

Golden Pear

8x8"

Oil

$128

DPW $96

    Here is another example of an analogous color scheme. I enjoy doing them, probably because the color harmony is built in. I have tried doing blue ones and violet ones, but I just cannot manage to like them. There is something about the golds and reds that makes me feel good. I guess they are my favorites, but I am sure a cool green or blue would be pleasant to look at if it is done right. In my efforts to develop, I must give them another try.

     (I did not do the Challenge this week. We had to paint a blue object. Mine turned out bad.)

Cherry with Stem

Cherry with Stem

6x6"

Oil

$72

DPW $60

     Here is just what I need for a daily painting. A simple subject and a simple color scheme. I really love setups like this because I can devote all my looking to the smallest variations in value and the tiniest detail. 

     I painted this and thought I was finished, but something kept bothering me about that highlight. Today I decided to look again and see what I could see. I found that the highlight was not bright enough and yet had very hard edges. I thought that was what I had seen in the cherry, but now I think I was wrong. I softened the edges and left some halo around a very bright spot for the highlight. Now I like it so much better.

     Simple setup does not mean simple work.

Lily the Cat

Lily 

12x12"

Oil

$288

DPW $216

     It is easy to see how ancient Egyptians could worship cats as gods. And I bet the ones they worshipped most were Abyssinians. This one lives here in Nevada County and was kind enough to say I could paint her picture. 

     In this painting I tried to get that upward turn of the head with the light coming from below, glowing on her beautiful fur. She is looking up and I wanted her eyes aimed at that interesting something, but one eye is dominant. That is usually the case. I still paint them at the same time, or else they might look they belong to different cats.

Persimmon Extreme

Persimmon Extreme

18x6"

Oil

$100

DPW $90

     These extreme rectangles are fun to do. Choose to place the subject at the top, bottom, left, or right. I love choices, but not too many. I have not chosen to place the subject in the middle, but if I did, I would then have the choice of horizontal or vertical. The possibilities!

     However you place a persimmon, you will have that fabulous orange color to paint. It can go from pale yellow to deep scarlet. And then there are those goofy little petals at the stem. I find them to be a challenge, but if you get them right, that fruit is none other than a persimmon even if you paint it blue.

Sutter Creek Cow

Sutter Creek Cow

16x12"

Oil 

$384

DPW $200

     Aren't cows cute?

     A girl can paint still life just so long before she needs something to look back at her. This cow gave me a good long look. California is full of cows who like to have their picture taken. 

     This painting is roughly rendered; did not fuss with it much, but I loved how the reddish coat went with the green background so easily, so I decided to just let it paint itself and let it be.

Bowl of Red Fruit

Bowl of Red Fruit

9x12"

Oil

$216

DPW $170

     I have been painting many solo and trio fruits lately, and although there seems to be only three fruits in this picture, there are really six (you can see them if you look around) and one flower, plus bowl. So this is a much more complex composition for me.

     The "big idea" here was to make that front fuji stem part stand out. That meant making the apple to the right very dark. How do you make red really, really dark without losing the redness? I used alizarin and transparent iron oxide red--not dark enough. If I used viridian with alizarin, I could get that really dark, but I was afraid of muddying my pure red. 

     I finally knew I would have to use black, but which one? Ivory or Chromatic? I decided on Chromatic because it is transparent. Transparent paints recede and opaque paints advance. Since the dark is mainly on the turning side, I thought transparent would be the best choice.

     I try to find my answers in books, but sometimes I am just on my own, doing what I can with what I have.

Apple Edge

Apple Edge

6x6"

Oil

$72

DPW $50

     How best to make an apple interesting? Once again, I tried placing it on the very edge, letting the shadow drift over and off. I am hoping for some tension that will add drama to the still life.

     I want my little fruit paintings to be somewhat poetic, not telling everything, but more like a haiku than Paradise Lost. I enjoy finding the colors that make up the white of the apple insides and the range of reds on the outside, and then paying meticulous attention to that seed.

Pears Yellow, Green, Red

Pears

12x16"

Oil

$384

DPW $288

     These pears are starting to log on the mileage. They just turned out to be the right size and color, with leaves. I will probably paint them again before they are lunch.

     I like the way the red is in the green and the green is in the yellow and the yellow is in the red, etc., etc. I did not contrive the fallen leaf. It really did fall from the pear, so I just nudged it a bit into the picture.

     

     

Begonias

Red and Yellow Begonias

8x10"

Oil

$160

DPW $120

     As I have often said, flowers and landscapes are not my best subjects. Yet here I am again giving it another try. So stubborn.

    "Paint the color and value, not the flower." In the first effort, the yellow flower was more interesting than the red one. Stepping back I could tell it was because of two important things: first, the yellow-white paint was fresh, hardly worked or blended at all while the red one was overworked, flat; next, the yellow-white one had shadow because of the light source while the red one was flooded with light rendering it flat to begin with.

     In the second effort, I expanded the shadow around the red one, hoping to give that light source even more presence and hoping for the fresh interest I originally saw in the pale petals.

     I won't even begin to discuss painting the pistils and stamens in the flower centers.

Pink Pears with Leaves

Pink Pears with Leaves

6x18"

Oil

$100

DPW $80

     I work very hard to find fruit with the leaves still on. Adds interest. Pretty.

     I am continuing to work with the warm shadows in a warm painting, but I am also trying to use MORE PAINT! I love the look, but how out of control I feel! With practice should come control, so I do not mind having a few paintings with a chaotic quality. What if I start to like it?

The Rest of the Apple

Sliced Apple

18x6"

Oil 

$100

DPW $80

     Same apple slice as before, but this time I added the rest of the apple and I used my extreme rectangle. I did not know if the orientation would work with the subject at the top of the vertical canvas, but I think it does. In fact, I love it.

     Please see below, the image of the slice from last post. I learned a very wonderful thing and made a change to the painting. I learned that if your painting looks "dirty" check to see if the temperature of your shadow is correct. Mine was cool in a very warm painting and it should have been warm. I warmed it up and it looks so much better.

Apple Slice

Apple Slice

6x8"

Oil

$ 96

DPW $72

     Here is something as simple as can be. I think a slice of apple is pretty and subtly challenging, but it becomes even more so when it sits on the very edge of the table.  I will do more of this type of composition. It creates tension in an otherwise static arrangement. Fun.

Fig Trio

Fig Trio

6x18"

Oil

$100

DPW $80

     I continue my work with the extreme rectangles. I find the compositions interesting, odd but simple. I am putting very little into the subject matter, freeing myself to invest my effort in the smallest and subtlest details. With these canvasses, I concentrate more on color theory and character of paint in a brief process. This is the idea behind the daily painters: paint small and often and learn.

Another Cherry

Another Cherry

18x6"

Oil

$100

DPW $80

Another cherry from the nearly empty summer box.

Is it as red as the wine-dark sea?

Or as red as the cheeks of my beamish boy?

Is it the cherry my mother gave me?

"Don't swallow the seed!" she warned.

It is the cherry I have right now,

As bright  and pretty as a cherry can be,

With its stem reaching over far for something desired

And upward for the thing unattained.

Three Cherries

Three Cherries

6x18"

Oil

$100

DPW $80

     Two neat things: cherries and extreme rectangles.

     When they speak of stepping outside the box, do they mean the traditional rectangle? We already did that with the square, the darling square. Now these extreme rectangles are capturing my heart. I am stocking up.

     Carol Marine paints cherries, cherries, cherries. I can see why. How varied they are in shape, size, color, attitude. I loved painting these and using the complementary green, a color I rarely use much of. See how the red cherries are so at home against the green. They are so strong, the open space on the canvas seems essential to the composition. (That is, if you are thinking outside the box.)

Strawberry

Strawberry

5x7"

Oil

$70

DPW $50

     The primary colors: red, yellow, blue. Complementary colors: red/green. Strawberry, a simple shape. Lots of fun to be had here. Now what do I do about those little seeds all over it?! 

     I considered leaving them out, but I knew I had to include them. If I painted them just as they really are, the painting would be a portrait of strawberry seeds, so I tried to simply suggest a few and ignore the rest. I just felt that you cannot have a picture of a strawberry without those seeds anymore than you can have a picture of a cat without whiskers.

A Cherry

A Cherry

8x8"

$128

DPW $96

     Cherries have been delicious this summer but will be out of season soon, so I thought I better get some paintings done right now.

     You think of them as deep, deep red, but they have many colors. Look closely and you will see. You can stay just on one end of your palette and have a lot of fun. Another part that I enjoy is the stem. It will surprise you too with all the colors in that little skinny stem.

     Nature provides delights great and small. A cherry can be as rich in expression as an expansive landscape or a big fat floral.

     

The Complementary Challenge

Tipsy Bartlett

8x24"

Oil

$100

DPW $90

     Complementary colors, an idea we learn in elementary school and a lesson well worth learning. This week we must paint with complementaries and I chose orange and blue. Be careful. If they mix, you get neutral, but sometimes that is exactly what you want.

     I liked this Challenge, but my big fun was not in the color. It was in the format. Not so long ago I thought the square canvas was a little oddball. Then I began to love it. Now I am using extreme rectangle. A little oddball. I think I might love it too although it will demand more of me than the square. Even so, I am eager to try again.

Small Scene of Nature

Orchard Bunch

18x24"

$775

DPW $545

     Many of my recent paintings have been small, as "Daily Paintings," so my collection has become out of balance. To even that out I decided to try for a size I used to like very much, 18x24.

     Now I do not know if it is the size, the subject, the color, or what, but I slaved over this. I was willing to wash it down, but since I worked so hard on it, I can no longer tell if it is really OK or not, and so I decided to let it live.

     This is probably a good decision because I had a specific idea for this painting and it would not cooperate with me. It kept taking over. If it is that way about it, it deserves a chance. Picasso said, "Begin with an idea, but it must be vague."

Some Shastas

Some Shastas

12x16"

Oil

$384

DPW $269

     Flowers. I am starting to feel more comfortable with them. But, as always, there is an issue to deal with. Here, it is white. How to paint white without it looking like a polar bear in a snow storm.

     I used viridian as my main color and just treated it as a value painting, adding the smaller percentage of warm for the daisy centers. I put a lot of viridian in the flowers and they still look white, but I believe I could have put even more for a richer effect and still ended up with white Shasta Daisies.

The Rose Challenge

Red Rose

5x7"

Oil

$70

DPW $50

     This week's Challenge is to paint a rose, any way at all. Flowers are not my strength so this Challenge is a good thing.  I could have chosen to paint just a petal or a leaf, but I decided to be very traditional and paint a rose, thorns and all.  How interesting that the thorns really were the color of the rose! I did not know that about thorns. Another bit of fun was painting on a turquoise canvas. Red has become my favorite imprimatura, but experimenting is a must. Generally this was a good time in the studio, but I am disappointed that the front leaf does not glow with sun against the red rose the way it did in real life.

Primary Challenge

Bright Apple

8x10"

Oil 

$160

DPW $112

     This week's Challenge: paint using the primaries--red, yellow, blue. I tried to keep the colors pure, but some yellow leaked into the blue giving me a green leaf. (Well, OK.) The way the sun fell on the yellow leaves really did make them look yellow, almost white. 

     Painting with three colors is a triad color scheme, which I usually enjoy. The thing to watch out for is not to make the three colors equal. I want the painting to be either one color or another. I worried about this one, but I think it turned out to be a blue painting. Blue with red and yellow. That is good.

     The Challenges time and again push me out of my comfort zone. Now I want to use this color scheme again soon.

Mamacita

Mamacita

9x12"

Oil

$216

DPW $150

     My sister's cat is so photogenic, but then all felines are "masterpieces." They strike poses and walk like ballerinas. I like cats and would have one of my own if I did not dread the "trophies" they might bring me after their trips into the woods. How fine it would be to have my own personal model to paint all the time. I don't think I would ever tire of it.

     I rarely paint with Cad Red, but this time I wanted pure red, red, red, and the Cad gave it to me. Cad Red Light is my favorite red, so I had to add just a stroke or two to break up the flatness of the background without losing that redness I wanted. It really is red.

The Phone Challenge

Delta

The Phone Challenge

8x8"

$128

DPW $85

     Here is another Challenge I was glad to see. My landscapes are my nemesis and I need to practice them more.

     This is from a photo taken on the run with a cell phone and given to us to paint anyway we want. This week's Challenger reminds us that a good photo does not always mean a good painting and vice versa. A good reminder, but how well I know that to be true. So many photos of landscapes with so few paintings to show for it.

     This is the first landscape I have done this year that I like and that I did not have to wash down several times before I arrived at a finished product. Thank you, Elaine.

Happy 4th of July!

Stars & Stripes Cowgirl Angel

Sierra Artisans Craft Pattern

20"

     This is my Independence Day greeting. Happy 4th of July!

     This is one of my craft patterns that I sell on Etsy under my Sierra Artisans label. She is one of ten western-themed figures that I have enjoyed designing over time. It all began with a Cowboy Santa. I thought he would be cute and never expected more from it, but when your imagination is triggered, you don't want to stop it. Now I have a variety of Cowgirl Angels and other seasonal and holiday characters. I like to think of them as a family. The Sheriff is already drawn and Sidekick in taking shape in my head.

     How to find time to finish these ideas and paint every day too! Time--that slippery element. It gets away from me so easily.

     Please visit my website or Etsy to see all the characters.