Bunch of Carrots SOLD

I like the carrots that are laying down in the background which have brushstrokes that are going against the grain.  It suggests the crosswise texture of the wrinkles on the carrots, but done in a quick loose style to match the loose style of the green tops and the carrots in the foreground.

Red Grapes and Pewter Cup SOLD

I like the play of light in this painting.  The grapes and cup are on a piece of glass which gives a reflection of the highlights on the cup and on the grapes.  Also there's the translucency of the back lit grapes and last there's the reflection of the grapes and shadows in the pewter cup.

Green Pepper with a touch of Red

The green pepper looks great against a purple background.  And because the background was purple, a touch of yellow (complement of purple)  in the paper on the tabletop made the light area seem more intense. 

Eglantine Pinwheel SOLD

This panting is from several months ago when the Eglantine first bloomed. I like the pinwheel like arrangement of the leaves, stem and petals.   I also like how the darks of the leaves surround the lights of the flower petals and the most intense color is at the center of the pinwheel.

Cherries in a Corner

The sweet cherries are all over for this year.  This is the last of the paintings until next year.  I really like the limited palette with red - very Rembrandt.  The strong top light gives some lovely bounced back reflections.

Corkscrew Red Peppers

Hot red peppers with a twist.  These were hard to pose - they kept falling over.  Their shape seems to say "we're super hot--we can't sit still!"

Blue and Orange on Red

I can't get enough of shiny blue cups.  They reflect like mirrors and are a great foil for oranges and reds.  I like the dark and light sides of the orange slices and the reflections on the cup.  I even managed a few lost edges in the lip of the cup and on the orange slices. 

Red Yellow Blue Cups

Another painting which I recently reworked.  The background was pale blue, and there was a lack of color dominance--the blue cups and pale blue background fought with the warm yellows and reds.  I put yellow on the background and made the painting yellow-red-warm dominant.  Suddenly the blue cups no longer seemed like they wanted all the attention and the red in the cup and saucer was saturated enough to balance the darks. 

Republican River Valley SOLD

This is a view south on Highway 14 near Superior, Nebraska. What interested me about this view was the very broad sweep of the valley.  The sun was about to set and the colors were getting interesting.  I liked the touches of sunlight on the tops of the water tower and grain elevator.
This painting is entered in the Bold Brush September painting contest.

Apple-Like Red Pepper

I had so much fun painting this red pepper--getting the shine, the saturation of the red color, and the reflection of the tabletop.  It wasn't until I stepped back and looked at it that I realized it looked like a red delicious apple with a very thick stem.  But then maybe red delicious apples look like red peppers!

Green Grapes, Silver Bowl, Orange Reflections

I was about to post this painting yesterday when I decided I needed to work on it some more.  There was a strong horizontal hard edge where the background met the tabletop.  It was focusing attention where it didn't belong.  So I went back in & smudged the hard edge and now the background recedes and the subject matter is more important.  I don't always make the right choices the first time through and even a small painting can benefit from a second look.