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

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

I Buy Pottery

I buy pottery with the intention to use it in still life paintings. That's how I justify the purchases. Most of it is acquired at art fairs or on eBay. Some of the pottery I get on eBay does not arrive in the condition it left the seller's house in. I wish people were more careful when they pack fragile items. I have shipped over 500 paintings via the Postal Service and NOT ONE has been damaged, thanks to the generous use of BUBBLE WRAP. Bubble wrap creates a cushion of air between your object and the box. I use two layers of the stuff. Unfortunately the person who wrapped my pottery last week did not and I found pieces of shattered ceramic in my box when I opened it yesterday.

Oh well, I am digressing. Here is a pot I bought at a local gallery that represents myself and other artists. It is beautiful. The two pears HAD to be painted because they were picked from our very own dwarf pear tree. It's only three years old and I really did not expect fruit so I had to record this for posterity.

Blue Pitcher with Pears

I need a break between large paintings sometimes so I set up a few pieces of fruit, which can always be found in the house of a perpetual dieter like myself. I add a piece of pottery for color, texture and contrast and arrange the composition into what i think are interesting shapes. I tackle the painting in the morning when I'm fresh and usually have an hour to work before I leave for work. When I get home I view the piece with fresh eyes and the paint is just dry enough to address some edges and tweak the values if I need to.

Painting from life is ALWAYS educational, not to mention fun.

6" x 8"

oil on Pintura Canvas ™

One Little Pear and a Couple of Plums

So this is the remaining pear, which I have placed behind a "pair" of plums! The violet color of the plums makes the (now even more) yellow of the pear really pop. Composition is important in this painting and I honestly had a lot of fun with it, mostly because I have never painted plums. So it was interesting to experiment with color and try to get that blueish haze that is so characteristic of this great tasting fruit.

This was another occasion where I had less than an hour to paint before I had to leave for work. You really have to think quickly and not "overthink" the painting when there is a limited amount of time to get it done. At least overworking is not an option. :)

What will I do when I retire and I have all the time in the world to paint? Well... maybe I just won't... it might make me lazy.This is my favorite of the entire series of March fruit paintings. They are a welcome relief as I struggle to paint two children's portraits from photos. Kids are not easy to paint- at least for me. Their skin is so delicate, their eyes so luminous and their hair so fine. I am almost at the point where I will send mom an image to view. Painting the subtle transitions in color of fruit is also great practice for painting human skin tones, so while it may seem like I'm just procrastinating, I am actually getting in some quality education time.

A Pear and Two Plums

6" x 6"

$95 unframed

And Then There Were Two

One pear became a snack so I had two of them left and an hour to play with my paint. This was the result. I have dozens of these small 6"x6" gessoed masonite panels in the studio. They are great for quick studies and also for miniatures. I kept the whole piece on the warm side and when I look at it beside the earlier painting I can see how much the color of the fruit has changed and turned more yellow in just two days.

SOLD