556 Lemon Squeeze

Lemon Squeeze

oil on canvas

8x10"

$160

     I am trying to develop my still life painting, and I love to paint fruit, but utensils are a different story. In my kitchen I use the reamer regularly as I do my steel bowls, but I bet I will not paint them again any time soon. The bowl was not as hard as I expected it to be, but the reamer was ten times harder.

555 Sliced Boscs

Sliced Boscs

oil on canvas

8x16"

$256

     Although bosc pears look quite brownish, they sometimes also have a lovely orangey color that goes well with blue. Because orange and blue are complementary, the orange came out really, really orange, and the blue really, really blue. They could have used a little neutralizing or some split complement work. Aside from that, I love that little star shape in the center when you cut a pear crosswise.

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.)