Day Fifty

                                                                'Ceramic buddies'

           8 x 8 oil on panel

                50.00 +6.00 s+h

This little chalk figure I found in our booth at the antique mall.  (my sister and I have a couple of booths)  I fell in love with him and the little girl who matched.  I thought they would look cute in a still life, so I borrowed them to paint.  I really liked the way they turned out, so I had to fork over the money to buy them,   Ha !  I'll post the picture of his "sisters" painting tomorrow...The bird is from my collection that sits on my kitchen window sill.

Day Forty-Nine

                                                            'Crisp fall nights'

8 x 8 oil on panel

50.00 + 6.00 s+h

I love the white pumpkins that I've seen this year.  It seems the farms are growing a larger and larger variety of gourds and decorative pumpkins than in the past.  I try to pick ones with interesting stems for painting.

The paintings that have been going onto the Fresh Paint site were scanned with my scanner.   It really seems to bleach them out, so from now on I'm going back to the regular way I used to upload them. (with pictures taken outside, but not in the sun or in reflected light)

Day Forty-Eight

                                                                        'Teatime'

                                                                       8 x 8 oil on panel
                                                                                               50.00 + 6.00 s +h
I had fun with this one.   I placed it way below eye level for effect.  This is the teapot I purchased at an estate sale that I found out later had belonged to someone I knew many years ago.

Day Forty-Seven

                                                         'Bananas'

                                                                      6 x 8 oil on panel
                                                                      40.00 + 6.00 s+h
I liked the way these bananas, in fact All bananas, curve.  I think they are very sculptural.  I enjoyed painting them, and working a bit with the color...

Day Forty-Six

                                                               'Buddies'

                                                                       6 x 8 oil on panel
                                                                       40.00  + 5.00 s+h
      

These two just looked so cozy on the plate. Originally I was going to call is "Wanna Spoon?" because they look so comfortable next to one another.   I love the undulating forms of peppers, and the colors, too.

Day Forty-Five

'Left Out'

8 x 8 acrylic on panel

                                                                 50.00 +5.00 s+h

This painting was done while vacationing with my sister and her hubby in Alabama.  The husbands love to play golf together, while we see the sights and shop for antiques... I tried my hand at acrylics, because they would be easier to transport, and they aren't as messy, or take as long to dry.   Working with the acrylics is quite different from the oils, and I had forgotten how truly different they are.  I like the intensity of the colors in acrylic.

day forty-four

"Bud vase with rose"  6 x 8 oil on panel

I used to paint florals quite a lot in years past, but I always did them extremely representational.  It is much harder, I think, to try to just suggest them.  It will be a challenge that I will continue to work on.  I like the challenge of the transparent glass, as well.  

day forty-three

"Down the runway"  6 x 8 oil on panel

I've seen other artists try what looked to me like colored paper strips in their backgrounds and I thought that was such a great idea that I wanted to try it...  Thanks to Carol Marine and Claudia Hammer for the cool idea.  They are so generous in sharing their expertise that I thought they wouldn't mind if I borrowed this great technique....   

day forty-two

"The rich inside story"  6 x 8 oil on panel

The fig has such a beautiful interior.  It's intense color is such a surprise, compared to the plain dark skin.  It's one of my new favorite things to eat...

day forty-one

"It's all about the background"  6 x 8 oil on panel

This is my first attempt at figs.  I've always seen them at the grocery stores, but never have bought them before.  They are so delicious to eat, also... we had them at a wedding last weekend.  They have a certain milky surface in spots, that I found hard to duplicate, but I tried to get the effect.  This painting was more about trying to see what a patterned fabric might look like in the composition.   My hubby and daughter wanted it to be a little less busy.. what do you think?

day forty

"Front yard find"  6 x 8 oil on panel

My friend Maxine just wrote a book about Missouri wild mushrooms.  It is a beautiful book, with gorgeous pictures, and yummy mushroom recipes, too.   She's got me thinking about mushrooms, and looking for them in my big yard.  Amazing how many I have already found.   This one my daughter and grand-daughter found in the front yard, and came inside with it, asking if I could maybe paint it.   It was very large, and had hundred of gills on the underside.  I gave it a shot, and I hope I did it justice.   (Maxine identified it for me, and I can't remember the name, but she said it wasn't very tasty, so I shouldn't try cooking it.)  My grand-daughter is very curious about finding mushrooms now, and looks all over for them when she comes to visit.

Maxine's book it called, "Missouri's Wild Mushrooms a guide to hunting, identifying and cooking the state's most common mushrooms" by Maxine Stone.  It's available from the Conservation Commission of the State of Missouri.

day thirty-nine

"Lonely pear"  6 x 8 oil on panel

This lonely pear got a new background, and I like it a lot better.   It's really hard to mess up a pear painting...    They are so photogenic (?) and "paintable".  I like them to eat, too.

day thirty-eight

"Plum delicious"  6 x 8 oil on panel

I love plums, but sometimes they can be a bit sour.  I like to eat as many fruits during the summer, while they are in season.  It seems as though soon enough, it will be winter, and all we will have is the frozen bags of strawberries and peaches.  I like the surface coloring on this group of plums... yummm

day thirty-seven

"Who gets cut from the team?"  8 x 8 oil on panel

I tried to change the composition, by putting the grouping above eyelevel, and my attempt at the cloth didn't give enough information to the viewer to decipher the folds.  Well, anyhoo, I liked the arrangement, and the way the plums had a bit of glow through the skin on the one on the right.  I'll work a bit more on fabric and folds later, I suppose, and try to make it believable.

day thirty-six

"Who'd have thought?"  6 x 8 oil on panel

This is a branch from the dreaded Honeysuckle bush, that all of St. Louis County is trying to eradicate.  I have them everywhere, since the last owner thought they were fine to plant as a border.   I actually think they are kinda pretty when you take a close look.  I am still going to dig them out, however, when they sprout up in my gardens !!

day thirty-five

"Off to school"  8 x 8 oil on panel

Blame my hubby for the title..  We tried, and couldn't come up with anything.  This is the sister to the other ceramic figure, and she's carrying a little basket of flowers, but I guess she could be going to school with her books and blocks.   The blocks just happen to be my grand-daughter's initials... ha !

day thirty-four

"Ceramic pals"  8 x 8 oil on panel

This little boy figure was in our booth at the antique mall.  My sister and I have a couple of booths in the Eureka mall next to Six Flags.   He has a matching little girl (his sister, I guess) and I just thought they were adorable.  I thought they would be cute to include in a still life, but didn't know if I could get the right effect, since he had quite a bit of detail.... I am pleased with the two pieces, the way they appear to be chatting....
     I guess I'll have to fork over the 15.00 to buy them now, ha !

day thirty-three

"Rose by the walkway"  6 x 8 oil on panel

My roses were so pretty this year.  They hug the front stone walkway, and get loads of sun.  I've never had luck growing them before, so these were a welcome surprise.  They were just planted last fall.  I have a pink bush and a red one. 

day thirty-two

"Coffee and copper"  6 x 8 oil on panel    

Changed the format, because the pot really is taller, and this version looks completely different.   I love the copper color, and working with the reflections is fun. 

day thirty-one

"Reflections of coffee" 6 x 8 oil on panel

I found this little copper pot at a garage sale last weekend.  I thought I would try to tackle the reflections for the first time.  I like the way it turned out, maybe cause I love coffee, too.

day thirty

"Three's a crowd"  6 x 8 oil on panel

Thought they deserved another shot, especially because I found a bigger pumpkin with a cool stem... (they are hard to find)  I tried to use the negative space, considering they took up so much room.on the panel.... ha !

day twenty-nine

"Crisp fall nights"  8 x 8 oil on panel  

I love the windows open and the cool night air on these wonderful fall evenings.  We do have a huge yard full of trees, so loads of raking is only a few weeks away.  Arrgh !!!

day twenty-eight

"Steeped and ready"  8 x 8 oil on panel

Again, teapot with different point of view.  I like the way this one turned out.

day twenty-seven

"Diana's teapot"  8 x 8 oil on panel

I picked up this little teapot while estate sale shopping with my two grandbabies.  I realized after I picked it out that it belonged to a woman that I knew long ago.  That made it much more special to work with in my paintings.
     This one is a little larger, and a square format for the first time.

day twenty-six

"By his lonesome"  6 x 8 oil on panel

 Because they are so small, I guess, you usually see these baby pumpkins with other ones.  I think he can stand alone, especially with his cute little stem.   I also tried a different perspective, putting him way below eye level.

day twenty-five

"Big Boy and peppercorns"  6 x 8 oil on panel

My hubby suggested the peppercorns, and I think it was a good suggestion.  Then he said maybe they would be too small to balance the large tomato... I like the way they turned out... (really they are very tiny! )
     The dark line around the edge is actually the front porch brick that I put the painting on to photograph it.  It kind of acted like a frame for it, so I left it... I'm not sure I'll do that again. I'm open to suggestions.

day twenty-four

"Singled Out"  6 x 8 oil on panel

I used to buy these little pumpkins for the art club to paint every fall.  I would always end up using them for the Drawing 1 class, too.  I'd always paint or draw a few of them while the kids were doing it.   I really got my moneys worth out of them.  They still make me happy...

day twenty-three

"Pear rematch"   6 x 8 oil on panel

Again, I changed the background color.  I like experimenting with different combinations.

day twenty-two

"Last of my daisies"  6 x 8 oil on panel

My first attempt at a clear vase.  I had a struggle with it, but I won't give up...  Many more vases to conquer !  ha !
     I've got to get better pictures of these paintings.  I take them outside, to avoid my flash, but I've got to somehow get the glare off too.... anyone have suggestions?

day twenty-one

"Three of a kind"  6 x 8 oil on panel

I changed the background color on these, and I like the effect.   Color seems to be such a key to a paintings success...