Couldn't plant them ... so I painted them

On the last of the gloomy rainy days I painted this 10" square painting of Dahlias still in the flat that I bought them in at the garden centre.   Finally the sun is out now and I have no excuse for not planting.

I hope this flat of Dahlias will give me many more flowers to paint this summer. (Just finished a 6" square of the single pink flower this morning too)

Before I move on...

The second image (the rectangular one measuring 6" x 8") was the first of the series of paintings of our cat.  I just returned to the finishing touches on this one this afternoon.  The photo below is my favorite, although the tuft of fur in her right ear is bothering me as I look at it here.  I may do something about that.  I find it distracting.  Otherwise I am happy with the likeness.

This one is so dramatic with the black background as she looks into the light.  My paintings can only be as good as my references.  Thanks to my daughter for taking the photo that provided me with this one.

A Cat Named Ribbon

Don't know why we named her Ribbon.  Having three children under the age of 6 probably had something to do with it.  My children are 23, 25 and 28 and we only this past Fall had Ribbon put down.  She was so achingly beautiful but the last year and a half we watched her literally disintegrate into a skinny little thing until we realized we had to do the right thing and have her put down.   She was no longer able to take care of herself and we fooled ourselves into thinking we could but she wasn't doing very well.  So now it's Spring and this week I've been doing these little paintings of her.  

6" x 6" Oil

Dreama's Cat

This is my entry to the Daily Painters Challenge.  Once a week on Saturdays a new image is posted.  It's interesting to see how the same photo can be interpreted by many different artists using their preferred media.  This past week I had also painted several paintings of my own cats so I was happy to see this week's subject was also a cat and a very pretty one too.  The light falling across the kitten and the chair

provided the most challenge for me.  The rendering is a little tighter than I wanted but all in all I'm happy with the result.

I'll post more cat paintings this week...

6" x 6" Oil on Masonite panel

Sold

Chickadee

Right outside my window, waiting for the feeder to be filled....I loved the little ruffle in the feathers.

6" x 6"

Oil on masonite panel

$75

My new favorite fruit......to paint

I love the range of color when painting grapes.  The muted hilites on the exterior and the semi translucent interior that absorbs the light seemed daunting at first but I found it enjoyable.  Would like to do more soon but I have a few new subjects to explore first.

6" x 6" on wood cradled panel

Oil

$80

Three Pears in a Bowl

I love the coloring of this one; the pale gray blue background and the yellow pears.   Could've used more impasto brushwork though since that is what I had set out to do originally but for the time being I may just move on to new subjects and possibly go back and work on this one in the future.

Three Pears in a Bowl

6" x 6"

Oil on Masonite  $70