Finally Moved In

The studio is coming along. Hard to believe after three years I have my own space all on one floor with frame storage and a framing space and two sets of flat files! Plus room for all my books. Oh yeah and my easels too and desk. I am ecstatic! Just need to put stuff away and pitch what I don't want.
Stopped to do a painting this week, using one of the cool fabric backdrops I bought two years ago and FOUND last week in a box. 

I consider it a plus that I get to share the space with three cats. I do wish they would stay off my lap though. My clothes are always full of hair and it's not mine.

This is a small piece; 

6" x 6" oil on gessoed Masonite

Same Pear--Different Background

I'm not lazy. I just don't have much energy left after moving all these canvases and frames around so I painted the same pear a couple days later. Yes, now it has turned yellow. So I suppose it is ripe and will need to be eaten. Things are beginning to look more organized in the new studio.

A New Year and A New Studio

I am in the process of moving my studio form the first floor to the lower level-- a fancy name for the basement. It doesn't look much like a basement anymore, thanks to the hard work of my husband, who built some closet space, added a drop ceiling, dry walled and carpeted it. It's actually quite an attractive setting and I'll try to use drop cloths so it stays that way.

I did find a few minutes to paint something the other night --other than a wall or some trim, and believe me, there is plenty of that left to do.

It is the ubiquitous pear, a frequent subject, but one I never tire of. I think pears are like people. Each is unique. Some need to be propped up and others stand on their own. Many are bruised from being knocked about, while others have a hard shell which is relatively unblemished. And of course they age like us too; acquiring dark spots, soft places and wrinkles, which lower their chances of finding a suitable mate -- I mean diner-- you know- someone who wants them-- to eat.

Anyway, I've picked on pears enough so I'll just post it.

6" x 6" oil gessoed panel

Strange Stuff

I think it's fun to paint things I've never painted before. There's a challenge in matching colors and textures. A friend gave me some homegrown sweet potatoes a few days ago and I ended up boiling most of them but a few ended up in this still life. I'm not sure it was a wonderful idea, because they're not the prettiest things I've ever painted, but they are unusual, very unlike the ones you buy at a supermarket.

I'm sure I learned something from this exercise, even if it was only not to paint ugly vegetables that look like invaders form another planet.

UPDATE:
I couldn't stand this painting. The sweet potatoes resembled hungry creatures from another planet and the pear on the side did nothing for the painting. I really learned a lesson about how important it is to set up appealing objects and not just paint something for the sake of painting it. I did have fun painting the textures of the sweet potato, but there is a reason you don't see many paintings of these vegetables, and the reason is that they are ugly.

Last night I pulled out my vase and the copper incense burner and resolved to fix it or pitch it. It was relatively easy to paint the offending pieces out of the picture and just leave the ones I liked. When I was finished I noticed a benefit of the pinkish underpainting under the vase left by the itinerant potatoes: a nice little sparkle appeared where the potatoes had rested, accenting the bright greens and making the piece more lively.

8" x 10" oil on canvas

Green and Copper 8" x 10"

Still Life with Red Onion

Light and shadow; that is what makes a still life painting interesting. I'm working on how to play this up differently in each painting.

Colors need to be dramatic, with one color dominant. In this painting it is obviously the reddish color of the onion.

11"x 14"oil on canvas

Two Small Still Life Paintings

Just a couple small still life paintings done from life. The first explores the relationship between yellow and violet. The second is a more colorful painting that looks at analogous reds and violets on the warm end of the color wheel.

8x10 oil on canvas

6x6 oil on gessoed masonite

Drama with Still Life

I love this painting. In it I have finally achieved a level of expertise that allows me to think I might be on the right track. What did I do differently than normal? Not a lot. Perhaps it is just my love for the curvy objects and the way they are arranged that somehow transmits itself into the piece. It is definitely a keeper and I will need to figure out what makes it so interesting. Is it the push/pull between warm and cool? The composition or the background. or maybe a combination of all three.

Shades of Green
11" x 14"
Oil on canvas

This is the Vase I bought in Patagonia

I buy lots of art pottery, always with the idea in the back of my mind that I will put them in a painting. I look for earthy organic colored vases and pots. Handmade is better. The irregularities of hand-thrown pots and vases are charming. Plus I like the idea that I am supporting another artist.

I purchased this lovely vase in Patagonia, AZ. I love the unique design and the muted glaze. There are hints of rusty orange in the glaze so I paired it with an orange and a Bosc pear, setting up a split complementary color scheme.

The lighting is simple. No drama necessary when the color is my focus.

Orange with Green Vase and Pear

10" x 8"

Fruit Basket Art

A friend dropped off a basket full of fruit, nuts and other great snacks before Christmas. I hadn't painted anything in almost a week because Christmas does kind of push you out of the studio and into the kitchen, so I welcomed the opportunity to paint what was left of the basket today.

Just three pieces of fruit but I was inspired. OK, I am more easily inspired than most people, I will admit to that. I just need some colorful objects and a bright light. This time I took a picture of the set-up because I'm teaching another painting workshop next month, I don't think you can ever overemphasize how much better things look when you paint from life. The visual below will prove it to the students: a picture of the actual boring looking fruit and my representation of what they really look like. (At least to me... :) )

Artists are collectors too!

If you're an artist, you are probably a collector too. I know that I am. I love pretty things and I especially love pretty things I can put into my paintings. This lovely pot is hand-thrown and I purchased it because it's hand-made and unique. I know most of the people who buy my paintings make their purchases for the same reason!

Although all paintings need to be based on a strong composition, a secondary consideration can be color, or tone, or theme.... just about anything you as the artist and creator can dream up. You are the director! The pear is there solely to pull the eye into the piece but this painting is really about warm rust colors and how they relate to cool greens and warm yellows.

Composition with Yellow-Greens

14"x18" oil on canvas

$350

 

Conspiring Pears

had this little conversation going on in my head when I was painting this.
Pear No. 1: I heard she was making lime Jello tonight.
Pear No. 2 (shrilly): No!!!
Pear No. 3: You don't think she'll be putting you know what in there, do you?

8 x 10 oil on canvas - a quickie about an hour.
(I did make the Jello)

I am posting a photo of the pears before they became dessert as well. I will talk later about why a painting is usually a more accurate representation of reality than a photo ever can be and this painting is a great example of why this is true.