Boouquet of Dahlias SOLD

Summer is ending but the dahlias continue to bloom.  These luscious flowers are from a friend's garden.    Most of the flowers were in shadow in this set up; the light was in a small arc in the upper left hand corner of the painting.  To make this painting work I actually painted just a few petals; mostly I massed the values and suggest the colors. The very dark red flowers were like a black hole in the painting and I wound up lightening those flowers and limiting the amount of really dark paint.The fun was trying to make the whole bouquet read together as one thing with light and dark and volume.

Opening Daffodils

Spring has been early and this is the last of the field daffodils from the supermarket, though we still have many other varieties in our yard.  I can't resist these, they are so inexpensive and such a glorious riot of yellow.  I painted this with a cool dark gray background, but when it was done I added yellow ochre to the still wet gray to warm it up and make it all more harmonious. 

White Jonquils, Square Glass Jar on Gold

More spring flowers.   These jonquils have small clusters of flowers on single stems.  Picked from my garden.  I like the brushwork in the vase. On my ETSY store.

Pink Camellia on the Table

Spring has come early to Puget Sound.  The camellias are putting on a show.   The flowers remind me of roses (but no scent) and the leaves are waxy and stiff.  When the weather gets wet, as it often does in spring, the petals turn brown almost instantly.  12" x 12" 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.

Persimmons and Vase 6x8

The persimmons were still good so I rearranged the still life on a different format of canvas: 6x8 instead of 6x6.  I really like the reflected color under the lip of the vase.  It's raw sienna and a little purple - a very dull color but the reflection wouldn't work without it. 

Two Persimmons Purple Vase

I really enjoy the saturated colors of these orange persimmons and the purple vase.    I also like how most of the space is dark, with just a small amount of light value and highlights.