578 California Apple

California Apple

oil on canvas

12x9"

$216

     It is harvest time for apples and persimmons in Northern California, so I must hurry to get my photography done before they are all gone to market. The trees are beautiful fully laden with their fruit. I just take lots of pictures of the trees, go home, download, and look for the paintings in the trees. One tree can give me several compositions to choose from. I feel so rich.

Three Galas

Three Galas

Oil on Canvas

12 x 12"

$288

     Bill enjoys Galas and I enjoy Fujis. He says tomaytoes and I say tomahtoes. In any language, red apples, upside down or right side up, are wonderful to paint.

Red Apple Pieces

Red Apple Pieces

Oil on Canvas

5x7"

$70

     I am happy to say that I have something in common with Qiang Huang, an artist I admire very much. He likes to paint apples when he needs to regain his bearings. I find that it is helpful to me too. Apples are usually on hand. They are simple and familiar, yet they possess qualities and subtleties that are delightful to pay attention to. When a little out of focus, paint an apple.

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.

     

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.

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.

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."

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.

Apple Challenge

Apple

5x7"

Oil

$72

(DPW Auction $50. Click to bid.)

     This week's challenge is to paint one of my favorite things, an apple. How simple can that be? Apples, however, surprise you with their unround shape and subtlety of changing color and value. At first, I thought I would be finished with it in just a few minutes, but as time went by I found more and more to give my attention to. Such a simple object but possessing riches for a painter to put her hand to.