553 Pitcher with lemons

Pitcher with Gold Trim

oil on canvas

9x12"

$216

     I wanted to paint a still life in an analogous color scheme. The yellow lemons and napkin set the stage. I got my inspiration from Janet Rickus, and I plan to borrow more from her wonderful vision. One problem I have with that is I do not have a lot of crockery. She says she borrows from friends. I may have to do that too.

552 Persimmon Scatter

Persimmon Scatter

oil on canvas

6x18"

$162

     I have always enjoyed round orange fruits for my paintings. It is perfect when they still have a leaf or two on them, but that almost never happens unless I do the picking myself. The thing about persimmons is that stem section. Only four little leaves, what could be so hard? I don't know, but it is.

551 Army Phone

Army Phone

oil on canvas

9x12"

$216

     My friend found this phone for me at an antique fair. Working rotary phones are very rare now. I just love them. The sound, the weight, the way a secretary would use her pencil to dial because her nails were too long, things like that.

     This one happens to be an army phone. I can just imagine someone using it to call home and tell us all that wars are no more.

550 Marlene

Marlene

oil on canvas

6x6"

$100

     Marlene embodies that look I love from the 30's and 40's. In this image she is so proud and defiant looking. I almost got it, but not quite.

548 Lola

Lola

oil on canvas

7x5"

$100

     Lola, beloved kitty. Prettiest eyes in the whole world.

548 Persimmon Lineup

Persimmon Lineup

oil on canvas

6x18"

$162

     Breaking rules again today. This time it is the "Rule of Odds." There is an even half dozen persimmons in my lineup. Maybe it would have been better with five or seven, but it is six and I do not mind. It looks OK to me.

    

547 Four Fuyus

Four Fuyus

oil on canvas

6x18"

$162

     These extreme canvases, 1:3 ratio, are really too long for good compositions but still fun to do. I like the challenge of arranging the subject, and I find that people enjoy them for just that crazy space on the wall that will not take a traditional canvas.

546 Persimmon Extreme

Persimmon Extreme

oil on canvas

18x6"

$108

     A funny thing about a persimmon tree is that all its leaves can drop and the fruit still hangs on. You see an old bare tree full of fruit. Persimmons are a good crop in California. The Fuyu, the kind shown here in my painting, is my favorite for eating because it is nice even when a little firm.  The Hachiya, the longer pointy ones are often bitter and make your mouth pucker up unpleasantly. But both can make a lovely painting. Such a color!

545 Eleanor

Eleanor

oil on cradled canvas board

6x6"

$100

     Eleanor Powell was a fabulous dancer. She had such a sweet, wholesome look that made me like her, but she was not much of an actress, which probably explains why she was rarely a leading lady. She was still a bundle of talent. I love the one where she dances with the dog.

544 Redbud Leaves w Rose

Redbud Leaves with Rose

oil on canvas

8x24"

$300

    The leaves here are more interesting to me than the flower. I liked the way they leaned far over to the right (our right, their stage left).

Inktober

Inktober 1801

The Conversation

dip pen, ink, bristol

8x10"

  This is my first ever pen and ink drawing for Inktober. I used a dip pen and a pot of ink. When I make my Zentangles, I use pencil for shading, but here I used hatching and cross hatching for the value changes. It was fun. I looked at Dan Nelson's You Tube video for a lesson in hatching.

     I will not be able to do a drawing for each day of the month during Inktober, but I will do as many as I can and I will use my own theme as I did here. 

     I will post also on my Sierraink.blogspot.com

543 Zhou Xuan

Zhou Xuan

oil on cradled canvas board

6x6"

$100

     Zhou Xuan is a Chinese actress and singer, very popular from the 30's. She is so pretty and delicate. You Tube has a recording of her singing. Hearing it made her come so alive for me.

542 New Bottle with Plum

New Bottle with Plum

oil on canvas

12x12"

$288

     I found the bottle at the Habitat for Humanity Restore. The little vase is a gift from a friend. The plum is from my refrigerator and I thought it picked up the pinkish buds on the leaves so beautifully. I was excited and happy with the set up. I used an old used, failed canvas. (I love rescuing them when I can.) And then when I tried to paint, it was crummy, over and over again. So many false starts, but the set up was so beautiful I could not give up on it. Finally, I had to say that is the best I can do.

541 Deer in the Forest

Deer in the Forest

oil on canvas

12x12"

$288

     Getting the black really black for his eyes and nose is a surprising combination of prussian blue and transparent iron oxide red. Alchemical magic I guess. It also works with ultramarine blue.

     I liked the way his face and long throat showed up in contrast against his body as he looked over his shoulder.

540 Poppies

Poppies

oil on canvas

8x24"

$300

     These are California Poppies that came up in my yard at the beginning of this summer. They grow everywhere. Sometimes they cover a hillside like a thick golden blanket. Sometimes they grow through a crack in the sidewalk. They are dear flowers, but they make painting difficult because they are so simple that your eye does not believe what it is seeing; and their orange and yellow against a blue sky looks almost childish, though beautiful.

     In this painting, I tried for a "surprise color" and surprised myself with the periwinkle blue that showed up in the stems.

539 Gold Slippers

Gold Slippers

oil on canvas

8x10"

$160

     I saw a picture once of Fred Astaire en pointe, so I know men can do it, but in ballet, no. Only the ballerinas. How utterly feminine, satin and ribbons on shoes that enable you to go tiptoe.

538 Leila

Leila

oil on canvas

6x6"

$100

     I have just recently discovered Leila Hyams from the early talkies. IMDb gives her a glowing write up. I think she is adorable and look forward to trying her again a few more times.

     It is funny how when you are painting, you begin to concentrate on one thing or another and forget about concentrating on so many other things. I would have thought it would all be second nature by now, but for me, not so.

537 Coffeescape with Moonrise

Coffeescape with Moonrise

oil on canvas

6x18"

$216

   Edgar Payne, the American painter so known for his western landscapes, says to express your composition in one word. When I looked at my setup, I said, "skyline." I liked that and so I went with it.

     (Painting white on white can sure be a lot of work.)

536 Pear Leaves

Pear Leaves

oil on canvas

12x12"

$288

     I sometimes save the greenery from fresh bouquets. They can be so interesting after they have dried. I found them beautifully delicate as they cast their shadow on the background. And I liked how they had not lost their red stem color even though they were quite dead. Mother's antique pitcher was just what I needed to put them in.

534 Golden Girl

Golden Girl

oil on canvas

16x12"
$384

     This delicate creature is awaiting adoption at the Palomino Valley Wild Horse and Burro Center in Reno, Nevada. She looked straight at me and my camera as if to pose. I loved her right away, but I am in no position to be giving my heart to a horse, so I remained all business and came home with a few good shots for studio work.

     For this one I aimed for her long, slender grace in gold in the key of green.

535 Linda's Toe Shoes

Linda's Toe Shoes

oil on canvas

9x12"

$216

     How good of my dear sister-in-law to loan me her shoes for a few paintings. Ballet slippers have an essence of magic. They make dancers twice as beautiful, and I know that only the chosen few from another world are able to put their toes in that box and be graceful about it.

     Here, I wanted to show the shine on the satin and the nature of the loose ribbon laces. I could not quite paint the magic.

Sliced Red Pears Extreme

Oil on Canvas

8x24"

     In trying to use my new information on composition, I found it liberating to place my central pear right smack in the center of the canvas with other elements radiating from there. Still so much to learn.

Shy Buck

Oil on Canvas

16x12"

$384

 

     My photograph of this deer shows his full body at the edge of the woods as he peeks out looking at me. There was something about the mood of it I knew I wanted to paint, but I did not know how to compose it. I wanted it to be special because I felt he was special, and that made me afraid to begin. After more than two years I have finally put brush to canvas. I think he was ready at last to be painted. I love him.

Girlfriend Flowers

Oil on Canvas

6x18"

$120

     When you have your girlfriends over for lunch, it is a nice touch to have some fresh flowers on the table. (de rigueur) All the better to have something to paint after lunch.

El Santo

Oil on Canvas

14x11"

$308

     El Santo, the jaguar who lives at Animal Ark, was resting in the sun on a log platform, and I could not see quite all of him. When I do see all of him, he takes my breath away because he is so powerful and beautiful.

Gingkos with Blue Marble

Oil on Canvas

9x12"

$216

I like to buy a little bouquet from the market and then see how long it will last. I got some good mileage out of this one from Trader Joe's. The leaves are from my new tree which I love, and the marble is from Bill's childhood Chinese Checkers game. I think ordinary things can be very beautiful.

Cougar Jog

Oil on Canvas

24x18"

$864

     George Lepp, the wonderful photographer and teacher, took the splendid photograph that my painting is based on. I give him full credit for capturing this fabulous creature in mid-lope. Usually, I take my own photographs of cougars at Animal Ark, but this image was irresistible.

     Next month I will be visiting my friends at Animal Ark and hope to have lots of material for painting this summer.