Macon Music Festival

When we visited France last year we attended a couple of music festivals, which are held throughout the year in many European countries. This was a little cafe in downtown Macon. Notice the beautiful architecture. I love Europe. They don't tear down their beautiful buildings and drop ugly ones in their place. Instead they build with quality materials, maintain the structures and restore as needed.

Perhaps the recurring was have taught them how easily things can be destroyed, so they tend to value their history a bit more than we do.

9" x 12" oil on canvas

Michigan Barn with Herefords

This is a barn in Lenawee County, Michigan, that I photographed the last time we painted in the area. Michigan is full of old picturesque and unique buildings and barns, many of them constructed of stone. This barn seems to have been abandoned and the Herefords weren't actually there. I added them because I like to see a little bit of life in paintings and I think animals add interest. I'll often throw in a cat or someone walking their dog if the picture is too static.

9" x 12" Michigan Barn

Another Holly Jolly House Painting

This is a traditional brick style ranch home that looks like it might have been built in the late seventies or early eighties. Nothing special about it, although it is beautiful. The photo I was given lacked contrast and the plants were fading. The leaves had lost their leaves. I magically returned the leaves to the trees and brightened up the shrubs and grass, giving the painting a late summer appearance.

After I showed her the proof she mentioned that she might not want that little pine tree in front of the house, so I'll probably be doing an edit.

11" x 14" oil on canvas

REVISED

Removed the tree. It took about three minutes. 

Loving Lemons

When life gives you lemons on sale at Krogers for 99 cents a bag, you buy them, and if you like to paint- you paint them! Then you make lemonade or lemon bars!

9" x 12" oil on panel

6" x 12" oil on canvas

Another still life with fruit! The limes will become key lime pie shortly. The avocados are guacamole already.

Summer Vegetables

Looking at the date of my last entry, I can see that it has been almost two weeks since I posted anything to the blog. A pretty long time to go without painting... for me. Well, I have been painting, just not posting. Weddings, reunions and other stuff just gets in the way. Life, I suppose. My daughter is back in school now and my house guests have returned to Texas so it's time to catch up.

Last night I painted some produce that was gifted to me by my mother when I stopped at her house earlier in the week. I used a blue film over my spotlight as an experiment to simulate north light. I'm not sure it worked but it did make my carrots look awfully pale. So pale that I touched them up with some orange this morning when I took another look at it.

The reflective copper kettle is one of my favorite props and I'm getting pretty good at painting it. The very first time i painted it I spent over two hours on the kettle itself. This time I spent about two hours on the entire painting and called it done.

I started with a blue underpainting because I thought it would give the warm tomatoes and carrots a little kick. My favorite part of the painting is the onion because I spent two minutes on it and I was happy with it.

Summer Vegetables 11" x 14"

Oil on canvas

The Old Standby---one of my Copper Kettles

I pull this prop out - well actually I own three copper kettles- whenever I want a quick and challenging addition to a still life composition. The pears are naturally beautiful but I like to add reflective items.

8" x 10" oil on canvas

Saturday model at Hyter Group

Jennifer

11" x 14"

oil on linen

Jennifer posed for our portrait group when she was eight months pregnant. I decided to just do a portrait but quite a few of the artists showed the baby bump and did a full-figure piece.
I love painting redheads-- or "gingers" as they're now known- courtesy of the TV show "Glee", I guess. Somehow I ended up with a good position too; I was right in front of the model. That never happens. Great model and fun to paint.