Green Pear in Pink Paper

Oil on wood cradled panel

6" x 6"

This is a re-visit of a painting I did maybe 3-4 years ago. You can see the original in my banner at the top of the page. This time on a collaged background with my calligraphy of a quote that I like a lot..."Fill your heart with what's important and be done with all the rest".  I decided to re-do this image because I wanted to see how I might have evolved after a dedicated effort to improve my brush strokes.  I like this one as much as the first but I have to say it

developed a lot easier this time around.  

Zoe in a Basket in Progress

Zoe was a stray that we took in almost three years ago now.  She doesn't like to be held but she loves

to be petted and begs for attention.  Possibly one of the most beautiful cats I've ever had.   Almost finished this one and pretty soon she's going to need a wall all to her self with all the others that I've painted of her.  

Single Pear From Above

Single Pear From Above

6" X 6" x 1.5"

Oil on Wood Panel

The last of the four pear paintings from last week.   I've enjoyed this colour palette.  I may shoot some more set ups with this tablecloth and perhaps some blue bottles.  I will be putting them up on
Etsy tomorrow.
P.S.  I've just noticed that my page is loading a little crowded looking.  I'll look into that tomorrow.
I had been trying different page templates and in returning to my original, I may have disturbed a few
elements.

Three Pears on Linen

6" x 6" x 1.5"

Oil on wood panel

$80.00

This is one of those paintings that is deceptive.  It's the third one I've done of this pear series so I felt confident going into it.  But...the lighting was subdued and therefore it surprised me how dark the "white" of the linen had to be painted.  I knew if I kept going, it would work out and it did.  I knew the pears would really come forward against the sombre background and it did.  I can still see a tiny bit of tweaking to do but otherwise I'm happy with it.

I also generally avoid wiping out portions of a painting but I did this time.  I had to wipe out two of the three pears because I used a brush that was too small for the area.  I had forgotten one of my
intentions was to simplify and work more loosely and that means working with a larger brush and
choosing my strokes carefully rather than fussing.  So that necessitated wiping out.  And I'm glad I did.  The switch to the larger brush kept the pears more interesting than they started out.   I will
remind myself to not hesitate wiping out and re-working.

As always, comments, critiques and constructive criticism is always welcome.

Pink Geraniums in Silver

6 x 6 x 1.5

Oil on Wood Panel

$85.00

It was tricky to not overdo the geraniums as they are made up of small petals to create the full flower but having painted hydrangeas before, I was confident going into it.  Not too simple but not too complicated either.  I love
painting silver objects. Will definitely follow this one up with another containing something silver soon.

Sweet Geraniums

I enjoyed painting the silver bowl with pears a few weeks ago and had looked forward to painting more silvery things.  I'm also conscious of the fact that it is now Fall and my geraniums will have to be protected from frost until I can bring them in.  So the cycle begins, cut, arrange, photograph and hopefully soon after, paint!
I'll post the proper photo after I've contemplated this one.

And Here's Charlie

Charlie

So Charlie is one of two portraits completed last week.  I did ask about their names. Puppy was the other one.  A happy little dog with a crooked smile.

RED SHALLOTS

RED SHALLOTS

And this is the final image.  I am in danger of over working my small format paintings.  Lately I've been going back to them a day or two or three later.

Which defeats the purpose.  Start strong, stay strong and walk away!  I do like this one though.

On My Easel This Monday Morning

And I thought this one would be a walk in the park!  Lots of greys in the cloth
and a constant battle not to over work.    So it's time to put the brushes down and come back to it in a little while.

Nasturtiums and Chablis

September!  The beginning of my favourite season.  Already I've re-organized my digital files, cleaned up my studio, took many new photos of the late season flowers in the garden, and looking forward to new projects.  

The photo of Chablis (the cat) has just been finished.  And the photo below is one of many that I took this morning that will be part of my Fall line up. 

Where There's a Will....

NFS

It doesn't seem right that I don't know his name.  I will look into that.  This was the image I was referring to that I initially had trouble with...the small size and low dpi (dots per inch at only 72).  But I went back to it and worked it out.  I really had to guess that he was a very light blonde in strong sunlight with a lot of greeny blue ambient light on one side of him.  I realized that even if the clarity wasn't there, it would be like squinting and seeing only the major

elements.  I like it now.  As always there are little things I will go back and correct but otherwise I think I captured a good likeness.

And this was another cherished member of the family.  Easier to do.  I quite like how he turned out.  I never considered myself to be a dog portraitist but so far so good.

Yellow Rose with Berries

6" x 6" x 1.5"

Yellow Roses with Berries

$80

I took this photo with my iPad so I will re-shoot during tomorrow's daylight.

I am bad at not keeping my devices charged.  I like this one better than I thought I would.   You know how it is when you lose interest in a subject and yet I started it anyway.  The color is a bit garish in this image.  It's much nicer

in reality.

I just finished one of a pair of dog portraits and decided to fit this rose painting in between.  The original photo of the dog is a 2 inch 72 dpi image of a dog that is no longer so re-taking the photo is out of the question.  It was a challenge to paint all the nuances when it is so pixilated.  So I guess I needed

to paint an image with good references

....have just added the better photo.

Deliciously Pink (finished)

Oil on wood cradled panel

6" x 6" x 1.5"

$80

Pink tulips finished.  Looking forward to starting the next.  

Seeing Red

6 x 6 inches

Oil on Wood Panel

Love the vibrancy of red tulips.   It's been a long winter and we're probably a good two weeks behind schedule with patches of snow still lingering.  How lucky are we artists to be able to immerse ourselves in color on even the dreariest of days.  

The part I like best about this painting is the lower left corner (funny enough)

simply because in the pursuit of training myself to loosen up, I return to bad habits so easily like puttering with small brushes.  The very qualities I admire in other paintings are the loose, energetic brush strokes.  Simply changing to a much larger brush gave me that energy I was looking for.