Saturday, February 28, 2015

Three Red Carnations in Square Glass Jar


Bright red carnations in a square glass jar.  I like the saturated reds against the dark grays. 
 On my ETSY store

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Four Carnations Glass Jar

I picked up a bouquet of  carnations at the grocery- such  a bright vivid red.  Then, of course I had to paint them.  I like how just a few spots of dark shadow tell the direction of the light.  I also like the reflected light on the surface of the water.
On my ETSY store.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Glass Jar and Crocuses

We have been having warm weather while the rest of the country is inundated in blizzards and snow.  Here the crocuses are blooming.  My daughter planted lots of bulbs from tiny species flowers to these giant hybrids.  I put a shield above the still life to throw a shadow across the background.  The lights hit the front of the vase and the tops of the petals and make interesting shadows on the tabletop.
See on my Etsy store

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Pushki

A study of pushki flowers from Kodiak Alaska.  Pushki is a member of the parsley family.  Its foliage contains chemicals called "furanocoumarins" which unite with the DNA in skin cells to make photosensitive compounds. With exposure to to sunshine, people who have touched pushki can have severe rashes and blisters.  I like the beautiful umbels of flowers and the huge foliage. 

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Two Tangerines on Brown

Tangerines are a favorite subject, especially when I'm in the grocery store looking at the gorgeous contrast between the fresh leathery green leaves and the bumpy orange skin.  I always have good intentions when I buy them, but somehow it takes me days to get around to painting them, and by that time the leaves are starting to brown and curl up.  These were fortunately painted within the first day or two of acquisition.  A lot of the lights in the tabletop were done by wiping out.  I use a smooth gessoboard from Ampersand which allows me to work back into painted areas and lighten and remove pigment. 

Monday, February 16, 2015

Sunflower and Salvia on Gray


A painting from last fall when the Italian white sunflowers were blooming in the garden.  They lasted until late in the fall.  I had meant to paint them for months and finally at the last possible opportunity I picked a bouquet of late summer flowers.  There are salvia and catmint, some flowers from the broccoli which had bolted, and even a bachelor button from the previous year's volunteers.  12" x 12" oil on panel.
On my ETSY store

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Tangerines on Blue Stripes


Two tangerines on a blue striped cloth.  I really enjoyed playing with the complementary colors.  The blue stripes were very dark, but got lightened up quite a bit in the painting.  If I had worked from a photograph I might have felt constrained to leave them very dark, but since I was working from a still life that I had set up, I changed everything all over the place. 

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Yellow Sunflowers on Blue

This painting was originally Yellow Sunflowers on Gold, but I was looking at it last week and decided the Gold had to go.  Now I have a turquoise background and blue/lavender shadows which I like better.  I think the colors express the idea of "sunniness" that sunflowers imply. Here's a link to the previous version.