Single Camellia in a Glass Bottle

A friend brought a bouquet of camellias so of course I had to paint one.  They are waxy and stiff - the leaves are especially sculptural.   It was important to capture that little sliver of light showing on the edge of the leaf to give that impression of stiffness.  I especially enjoyed the light shining through the bottle onto the tabletop.

White Bowl with Orange Slices

This painting was painted for the Daily Paintworks Challenge -which was to paint a white object.  This white object happens to be a majolica bowl which was created by my daughter Annie.  The white bowl is decorated with yellow and green dots which echo the yellow and green background and tabletop. 
You can see Annie's pottery at her Etsy shop at http://anniespottery.etsy.com
The yellow and green and orange slices remind me of lemon lime and orange sherbet - just what I need to put in the bowl.

Four Brown Eggshells in a Row SOLD

I posted this painting last June, but I reworked the background so I wanted to show the brand new version.  The old version had a lot of burnt sienna in the background - mixed with white it makes a sort of flesh tone.  I had been staring at the painting for a long time and decided that it was just too pink and too harmonious and lacked punch, so I changed the background.  I like it better now

Madrona Hill

The south end of Maury Island is covered with large stands of Madrona.  They like the sunlight and drainage on the steep hills.  They have beautiful reddish bark and green leaves most of the year. 

Beach View Sunny Day SOLD

Painted from some photos taken on the Oregon coast last year.  This was one of those super long sandy beaches with light colored sand and so much blue sky and blue water that it seemed unreal.

Apple Slices Pewter Bowl Purple Background

The pewter bowl is back again.  Here is the set up with a purple background.  I like how the light is positioned overhead so that the right side of the apple slice gets a slightly different amount of light than the left side.

Taylor Lake

As I was painting this scene of Taylor Lake, I kept taking out more an more information.  I tend to focus on the distance and have to keep reminding myself to make it cooler, paler, and less contrasty.  It's easy to be tight and fussy and busy; you have to concentrate to make it simple and loose - just the opposite of the way you'd think it would be.

Apple Slices Pewter Bowl on Gold

I finished this painting and put it aside for two days and then realized I needed to tweak the reflection in the pewter bowl.  It was too bright; the reflected apples had to be duller than the apple slices on the table.  Sometimes when you're painting you can get the individual parts and pieces to look right, but still the painting doesn't hang together.   So you have to look at the painting as a whole to figure it out.  The final version is on the top, the original version on the bottom.

Two Radishes, Dark Shadow

Radishes do NOT shine, so no bright highlights here -those red roots needs to be kept low contrast.  Also, radish leaves wilt in the bright light.  So the painting starts in one spot and definitely winds up in another.  Best painted very quickly.

Rocks and Wet Sand SOLD

This painting was inspired by a short visit to a (name-forgotten) Oregon beach last fall.  The sun was out, the tide was out, the sandy beach was flanked by two rocky headlands and white surf foamed around the rocks.  A memento of a perfect moment in a day of driving and sightseeing.

Green Apple Slices Pewter Bowl Tablecloth

Another pewter bowl painting.  The light is from the right.  It hits the pewter bowl, bounces back and hits the back side of the closest apple.  It was fun to capture that reflected light.  I also worked on softening edges - for example the lip on the far side of the cup. The strong color dominance creates unity and harmony, but is enlivened by the touch of red in the reflection.

Near Prosser SOLD

This painting was inspired by a trip that we took in the fall - through the White Pass to Yakima, Pasco, and finally to Palouse Falls.  The country is such a different color from the Puget Sound Region--the vegetation is different, the ground is different, the color of the sky is different, the quality of the light is different.  Fun to try to capture.