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.

Sunny Side Up

Sunny Side Up

Oil on Canvas

11 x14"

$308

     The matilijas near me at Sierra College, Nevada County Campus, were in such a huge, dense array that people slowed down to look, got off their bikes to take pictures. I liked the way this shot showed them in a sort of tumbling cascade.

Matilija 2

Matilija 2

Oil on Canvas

12x9"

$216

     The matilija poppies are big wonderful wildflowers growing everywhere in early summer. They are known as the Queen of California Wildflowers. (Some people think they look like fried eggs.) They are large, maybe 6" or more across. They are pretty fabulous to see growing in huge clusters as you drive along. Painting them is a good discipline in painting white.

Susans Bunch 2

Oil on Canvas

12x9"

$216

     Black-eyed Susans, there must be hundreds of them in that little corner of the yard. One photograph yields dozens of compositions. Nature provides.

Susans, Bunch 1

Oil on Canvas

14x11"

$308

     Another gift from this good garden. One corner filled with woody dead stalks came forth in a profusion of black-eyed susans. A series on each of the flowers I discover here would keep me happily occupied for a good long time.

Floppy Roses

Oil on Canvas

8x8"

$128

     We have roses at our new place, and they are where the deer cannot get them. I am hoping for many poses from these roses. 

     This little painting took four tries. I just knew it could work out although I decided to give it up over and over again. I really expect a lot from my canvas to withstand the scrubbings it sometimes has to go through.

Citrus Challenge

Citrus Bowl

Oil on Canvas

5x7"

$75

     When I saw that the Challenge was to paint fruit, I was glad. Painting fruit is one of my favorite things, but I found creating an interesting set-up difficult. Finally, I chose the green bowl and the painting became a painting of the bowl, not the fruit. That is OK. A Challenge should be challenging after all.

The Resting Stump

The Resting Stump

Oil on Canvas

20x16"

$640

     Monte goes up on the madrone stump to sun himself. I think he looks cute when he does that so I wanted to paint him, but I had to try four times before I got this one and decided to keep it. I think the reason I like it lies in the limited palette: prussian blue, burnt sienna, yellow ochre, and of course, white. I found it exciting to watch those few colors create the harmonious color scheme for the painting.

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.

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.

     

     

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.

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 Yellow Challenge

Yellow Dahlias

5x7"

Oil

$70

DPW $50

     This week it is the Yellow Challenge. Yellow is like other colors in that there are warm and cool versions of it. In this painting it goes from green/yellow, a little cool, to orange/yellow, a little warm. Even though the painting is based on yellow, the warm end of the palette, the green makes it a cooler painting with a warm focal point. This is an example of the 25/75% rule. 

     Yellow is such a cheerful color. You can hardly make it sad. I have at least three times the number of yellows in my studio as any other color.