Silver Bowl Lemons and Blue Wall

A bowl of small lemons in the bright light of my spotlight.  I really like the reddish brown of the shadow as it crosses the tabletop.  On my ETSY store

Top Lit Limes in a Silver Bowl

Another exploration of dramatic lighting and deep shadows.  The limes are top lit, the tabletop is lavender and a small orange reflection from an unseen object adds contrast and drama.  I especially like the shape of the reflection of the cast shadow on the underside of the bowl.
On my Etsy Store

Silver Bowl and Eggplant on Dark Gold

The background color is actually raw umber, but most people wouldn't recognize it, so dark gold is a better description.    I like the intense top light and the interesting reflection in the bowl. 

Silver Bowl and Red Cherries

This painting originally had lots of gold and orange in the tabletop and in the silver bowl.  I decided that it would be more harmonious and dramatic if I reduced the colors and simply made it black, gray, white, and red.  It's fun to go back and try a new idea on an old piece. For those of you who want to see the original, it was posted on August 13, 2011.  Which one do you like?

Silver Bowl Tangerines on Magenta

This feels luscious - lots of saturated colors, all reflected in a shiny silver bowl.  The areas of gray and charcoal make the colors more interesting by adding contrast.  I like the shadow in the foreground that is magenta on the pink table cover and turns to blue on the gray table cover. 

Fork Spoon Vinegar

Although I usually paint on a white canvas, this time I toned the canvas with a red-orange tone and red has found its way into all the gray mixtures creating a lovely harmony. Titanium white added to other pigments actually cools the mixture so the gray is warm from the red-orange and cool from the black and white pigments that were mixed together.   I was also having fun trying to get sparkle and shine from the metal silverware and the glass vinegar bottle. 

Silver Bowl Limes on Lavender Pink SOLD

"Lavenders and Greens love each other." I'm quoting Edgar Whitney from a watercolor workshop I took, oh, quite a few years ago.    I've made most of the painting lavender pink but balanced that with a small area of very saturated lime.  I surely do like the pink color in the reflection.  It's just a little darker and a little more neutralized than the tablecloth color.

Silver Bowl Tangerines on Pink SOLD

Gotta love those shiny bowls.  When I first painted this I had more distinct reflections of the tangerines - and it did that unfortunate mental jump of creating a cartoon face.  Once you see it, you can't not see it.  So I removed detail from the reflection and dulled it down and the face went away.  It's easy to get caught up in the details but then get surprised when you step back and really look.

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.

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.

Shaker, Three Shells on Brown

This is the last one in the group.  So far.  I like the limited palette and its such fun exploring the shiny silver and transparent shakers.

Shaker, Three Shells on Gray SOLD

Back to the gray background.  My view was above the subject, so no horizon line.  I enjoyed the pink lights inside the shells, and the warm reflections on the glass.  As you guessed, I really like this subject matter.

Shaker Two Shells on Brown

I added a burnt sienna background to this one.  I had fun playing with the little tiny lights in the holes in the shaker top - I used a tool to scrape away paint rather than try to add paint.

Shaker, Two Shells on Gray SOLD

I wanted just a little bit more color, so I added these lovely brown egg shells.  Then I was able to add a bit of reflected color in the glass and the shaker top, and to the shadow tones under the shells.

Two Shakers on Gray

I've been working on a series of new paintings with these glass salt shakers.  This painting was an attempt to simplify with an almost purely white, black and gray subject.  But  I couldn't keep it pure and managed to put a warm yellowish light in the reflections on the metal lid.
My new years resolution: to paint more plein air pieces - but it's really cold today so maybe tomorrow.