Black Teapot and Orange Slices

A 6x6 original oil still life painting of my favorite black teapot with orange slices.  Warm light and bright oranges contrast with the cool grays of the tabletop and the black of the teapot.  Painted from a still life I set up in my studio.  On my Etsy store.

Black Teapot and Three Oranges

It's the Vashon Art Studio Tour this weekend.  This painting will be at stop #12 on the tour at Dockton Pottery 25913 99th Ave SW, Vashon, WA. First Two weekends in December 10am to 4pm. 

Orange Slices and Green Plate SOLD

This small square dish is a lovely yellow green color with just enough room for three slices of orange.  I like the many greens, yellow green for the plate, minty cool green for the tabletop and shadow and deep green for the background.  All complemented by the oranges and the orange stripe.  I also like the perspective of the plate and its shadow. 

Silver Pot and Oranges in Backlight, Shiny Reflections and metal Pitcher SOLD

Another shiny silver pot.   I used a shield to create an interesting shadow with a small spotlight of light that creates sparkle on the pot and tabletop.   I like the glowing background.   This painting will be in the Vashon Art Studio Tour the first two weekends in May.  Link to map of Vashon Spring Art Tour  I will be showing my paintings at Stop # 23 in Dockton.  See you there!  In the meantime, this painting is at my ETSY store

Silver Pot and Oranges in Side Light SOLD

This shiny silver pot is such a good subject for reflections.  I used a shield to throw a shadow across the left side of the still life. The shadows add more drama and make the highlights more exciting.  I especially like the red reflection on the rim of the lid.  This painting will be in the Vashon Art Studio Tour the first two weekends in May.  Link to map of Vashon Spring Art Tour  I will be showing my paintings at Stop # 23 in Dockton.  See you there!  In the meantime, this painting is at my ETSY store

Metal Bowl with Clementine Oranges on Pink SOLD

This was painted in January. The saturated colors and bright contrasts were an antidote to the gray weather and the short days.  Even though the colors are bright, they are limited; just pink orange and neutral grays and browns.  On my ETSY store.

Low Silver Bowl and Three Clementines SOLD

 

Painted this winter when the clementines were abundant.  I like the limited colors and contrast between very saturated colors and neutral grays and browns.  On my ETSY store

Silver Pot and Clementines on Pink

I use paper and fabric as backdrops in my still life compositions.  Sometimes I use very neutral grays and sometimes I go wild with color.  The oranges and pinks are close to each other on the color wheel and create harmony, but are different temperatures (warm and cool) and create drama. On my ETSY store

Bllue Teapot with Clementines

The clementines are in season, and not only are they good to eat, they are lovely to paint.  I like the saturated color of the oranges next to the dark complement of the blue teapot.  This is one of several clementine paintings that I did in response to dark and gray weather.  A bit of tropical sunshine in my studio to chase away the winter.  On my ETSY store

Black Cup Orange Slices and Magenta Wall

Another paintingh of a cup with orange slices, but this time with a little touch of magenta toliven up the color scheme.  I like the mirror on the table; it reflects the orange slices and the cup, but it is also obscured by bright light raking in from the right.  The light catches dust on the mirror surface and lightens the reflections.   I like the purple reflected on the right edge of the cup.  On my ETSY store

Oranges in a Silver Bowl

A simple composition of warm oranges against a cool green background with a cool silver bowl.    This painting doesn't have unequal (dynamic) divisions of space - the edge of the tabletop divides the panel in half and the bowl is centered on the page.  But still it is interesting because of all the reflections and shadows. 

Oranges in a Glass Bowl on Green SOLD

When I look back at my old posts, I can tell the when the painting was painted from the subject matter.  These satsuma oranges are in season in the middle of winter.  I usually buy them by the box or bag, and because I have so many, they wind up in my studio as well as the kitchen.  I like the orange and blue green together. 

Blood Orange Slices

These blood oranges have a brownish red color.  Not as pink as a ruby red grapefruit.  The entire tabletop was white, but I dropped the value lower so that I would have enough contrast to paint the light struck areas. 

Glass Bowl with Clementines

The lighting is directly above these small tangerines, giving strong shadows and bright highlights.  The bowl was hard to paint because  both sides were visible.  I kept going from side to side; trim a little here, even it up on the other side, add some more, take more off. Sometimes when I have a problem I will make a paper pattern, fold it in two and work on it until it is symmetrical and then unfold it and trace it back on to the painting.
On my ETSY store.

Stiped Towel and Orange Slices

This is a slightly larger piece, so I thought I'd try some pattern.   I found a piece of blue and white striped towel and kept the colors simple, everything blue or white except for the orange slices.  I  subdued the reflections in the dark blue vase and the coffee cup because the striped pattern was taking over. I also lightened the fabric to reduce the contrast and simplify the painting.  A fun exercise.

Orange Slices on Lavender and Gold

Another view of my favorite green plate. It's just the right size to hold three orange slices and it's such a great color.
Orange slices are always a challenge; they're translucent, they have strong saturated color, and they have lights, darks, and cast shadows.

Silver Bowl Orange Slices Green Cloth SOLD

Another 10 x 10 painting that I did for consideration for the Vashon Allied Arts Auction held in September.  This one has lots of juicy reflections in the shiny silver bowl and some lovely saturated colors in the oranges.  And a fun bit of lavender in the shadow side of the orange slice and on the far side of the shiny bowl.   Even though the green cloth covers the largest area of the painting, I think the dominant color is orange because it is so intense or saturated.
A brief note about color: pigments have three qualities; hue - that means the name of the color like hansa yellow or azo orange or burnt sienna; value - the lightness or darkness of a color; and saturation - how much of something else is mixed with the pigment- a yellow straight out of the tube is more saturated than one mixed with white.  So the oranges in this painting are almost straight out of the tube, whereas the green is mixed with yellow ochre and white and purple and blue and a few other colors I can't remember.
Why create dominance? Having a dominant color gives the painting a theme; dominance organizes the composition and moves it away from chaos; it makes the painting stronger. And a painting can have dominance in any and all elements - shape, size, direction, color, value, line and texture.

Orange Slices, Silver Bowl on Pink SOLD

This is another  of the 10" x 10" paintings that I worked on for the Vashon Allied Arts Fundraiser Auction.  I painted several so that I would have lots to choose from.  I really like the orange slices and pink table reflected in the silver bowl. It feels like you could reach in and touch that silver bowl and it would be hard and shiny.  But it's just paint!

Orange Slices on Blue SOLD

This is the third painting that I painted as a commission for the Vashon Allied Arts September fundraiser auction.  I like the colors in the tabletop and in the shadow of the orange slices.  The blue goes from very saturated  to very neutral blue.  But it looks blue because it is against orange which is the complement of blue.  I also like the green stripe.

Black Cup Orange Slices on Green SOLD

The second of the three paintings I chose for the Vashon Allied Arts  September fundraiser auction. This time the orange slices are on a piece of glass on top of a green tabletop.  That way I get to paint the reflections and the cast shadows and the green color of the tabletop.  The gray in the background allows me to use a large number of intense colors The piece of calm gray balanced the orange and lavender and gold as well as that vivid lime green. I also like the reflections on the cup.