Blue Cup and Oranges on Mirror

The cup is so dark it's barely blue, mostly black, and the oranges are a bright high key complement.  I like the color of the background gray, there's a little yellow in it - it almost has a greenish cast.  I also like the slight orange reflection on the left side of the cup. 

Blue Cup on Red with Oranges

The bright red and orange background makes a lively contrast to this dark blue cup.  A cheery painting for a cool day.  I like the texture of the canvas covered panel - it adds lots of texture and loosens the brushstrokes.  I have been using smooth panels and this makes a nice change.

Yellow Black White Cup Stack

Because the yellows are mostly in shadow, I had to make a dark yellow. I added yellow ochre and raw sienna. I also add black (turns the mixture green), or just a little bit of dioxazine purple.  There were a lot of reflections in this pile of dishes and by keeping the colors minimal I was able to throw yellow light into the shadows. 

Orange slices and Pewter Teapot SOLD

This is an old pewter teapot with a dark tarnished look.  It has a soft glow and reflects just a little bit of the orange slices.  I like the dull finish - it was actually harder to paint than a shinier surface, but lots of fun. 

Purple Wall SOLD

I enjoyed painting the glass jar. but I really enjoyed painting the saturated purple wall. It's not a color I usually use, so I went to town. There is a  piece of glass on the tabletop and the oranges are reflected in the glass. The piece of glass allows the color of the tabletop to show through, and it creates a lighter reflection with less contrast than a mirror would create

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. 

Blue Teapot Blue Cups SOLD

Another painting of the blue teapot but with blue and turquoise cups. All the colors of blue make the painting harmonious, but the wide value range adds drama.  On my Etsy Store.

Blue Teapot White Cups SOLD

The teapot was a gift and has been on the shelf for a while.  I put it together with the white cups and am very pleased with the sparkle and contrast.  The only pure whites in the painting are little dabs of highlight on the teapot.  I like the minimalist colors and the very tiny stripe of red in the reflection in the teapot.  I think that red stripe comes from the way light bends on a convex surface.  I see this sometimes in the edges of objects in bright glare.  (Though it might just be a distortion attributable to my bifocals.)

Oranges in a Blue Bowl

This bowl was a thrift store find and I knew it would make a great painting.  And the oranges are little halo satsumas, both attractive and delicious. 

You're invited.

Night Ferry on the Vashon Run SOLD

Another version of a night ferry painting  (the other was Night Ferry near the dock).  One of the double-decker boats on the run between Vashon Fauntleroy and Southworth.  This is a twilight moment when the sun has set, but there is still light in the sky and the water is still lighter than the distant shore.  I like the multiple sources of light and the reflections in the water broken by ripples.  This one will be in the Vashon Island Artist Studio Tour at Plum Lodge Painters,  14210 SW Reddings Beach Rd, Vashon WA 98070, during the first two weekends of December.  You're invited.  

Red Ferry SOLD

 This painting is from a long distance view from Victor Steinbrueck Park near the Pike Place market in Seattle.  The view is looking across Elliott Bay as the ferries travel from Coleman Dock in Seattle to Bainbridge and Bremerton.  The sky was clear and the sun was setting, turning everything on the horizon yellow and red and then dark red.  I especially like the little bits of light that shine through windows on the top deck of the ferry.   I just took this picture to the Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Gallery in Winslow, WA on Bainbridge Island. 

Shallots and Stems on Dark Green

Bounty from the Garden.  These shallots grew from individual cloves that we planted early last spring.  The final plants were bursting with bulbs crowding each other.  I liked the stiff straight lines of the dried stems. 

Silver Bowl with Limes

Limes are tropical and summery even in the midst of power outages and wet fall storms.  These are painted from a still life I set up in my studio.  I used a piece of cardboard to cast a shadow over part of the bowl and put the background in deep shadow.  This painting has a very limited color palette mostly shades of green, blue green, and yellow green, with just touches of orange and brown for contrast. 

White Camellia Bouquet

The camelllia sasanqua is still blooming though we have snow and rain in the forecast for tomorrow.  It has a lovely tropical fragrance at odds with the cold weather.  I like the stiff leathery leaves against the soft white flowers. 

Limes and Pewter Teapot SOLD

The soft glow of the pewter occupied most my time on this painting.  It was actually fun to try to represent the dull shine.  It opens up a whole new window for painting subjects.  Painted from a still life I set up in my studio.  This one will be at Plum Lodge Painters on the Vashon Art Studio Tour on December 5th and 6th  and December 12th and 13th. Plum Lodge is located at 14210 SW Reddings Beach Rd. 

Camellias in a Pewter Pot

The camellia sasanqua is blooming just outside the front door and cries to be painted.  It has large white single flowers with stunning yellow centers and a tropical fragrance.  I like the stiff dark green leaves against the soft white flowers.  In our garden,  the most fragrant flowers are from this time of year.  Sort of a bonus to offset the short days and rain.

Night Ferry near the Dock SOLD

A view of a ferry near the Vashon ferry dock late at night.   Night scenes will have multiple sources of illumination and can be confusing but exciting and sparkly.  I simplified the multiple lights by reducing the intensity of distant lights and by leaving out some of the reflections from distant sources.   I like how the darks simplify everything in shadow.  This one is going to Bainbridge Arts and Crafts in Winslow, Washington.  

Ferry Brown Hill Lavender Water

The long summer twilight paints the ferry with warm yellow light and turns the hills behind a warm brown color.  Another painting of the ferry on the run between Vashon, Fauntleroy, and Southworth.  Painted from photos I took on location.  On my ETSY store:  http://gretchenhancock.etsy.com

Lighthouse from the Beach

The Point Robinson Lighthouse on Vashon as seen from the beach at low tide.  Strong light from a hazy day casts a shadow on the roof of the lighthouse, leaving just small patches of bright sunlight on the roof and on the driftwood.  This one will be at Plum Lodge Painters in the Vashon Island Studio Tour the first two weekends of December. 

Purple Sunset Ferry SOLD

I've been doing lots of ferry paintings lately and I get bored with painting them all blue sky and green hills, so I I go out of my way to find different colors.  What can I say? it's purple and gold.  This one is in my Etsy store: http://gretchenhancock.etsy.com

Pale Ferry Hazy Sun

A ferry on the Vashon Fauntleroy Southworth run.  Haze and late afternoon sun reduce the contrast in this view and make a substantial ferry seem soft and ephemeral. 

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.

Sun and Smoke Ferry Vashon

The Ferry Tillikum leaves the north end Vashon ferry dock.  Sunlight streams through smoke as the boat slowly pulls away from the dock.  Painted from photos I took from another ferry on the same run.  I just put this painting in the Heron's Nest Gallery on Vashon. 

Pink Ferry at Vashon

Late in the afternoon. the Issaquah pauses at the north end ferry dock on Vashon,  Evening sun peeks out from under clouds and casts a reddish glow on the ferry.  I just put this one in the Heron's Nest on Vashon.

Trees Overhanging the Shore

Painted from a view of a quiet bay on Bainbridge Island.  This is a painting that is less about subject and more about mood.  The water is glass smooth and the deep shadow and sunlight suggests a tranquil warm summer day.  This one will be in a show in Artique Ltd. gallery in Anchorage Alaska  opening September 2. 

Red Sunset North End Ferries SOLD

This is a view familiar to commuters who are waiting at the Fauntleroy ferry dock late on a sunny afternoon. Two ferries are 3 miles away at the north end of Vashon; the sun has gone behind the hills leaving the ferries in shadow and turning the hillside red. 

The Burn and Fireweed

A familiar site in the interior in Alaska.  An area burned by fire, but showing new growth with pink blossoms of fireweed.  I like the pink patches and the dark area of spruce trunks in the distance.  This one will be in a show in Anchorage at the ArtiqueLtd Gallery in September

Hillside Fireweed

A painting of a hillside covered with fireweed in bloom.  Fireweed thrives in disturbed soil and burned areas and is one of the first plants to reestablish after a forest fire.  I like the mix of saturated and less saturated colors.  This one will be in a show at Artique Ltd Gallery in Anchorage in September. 

Rainy Day Sea Stacks SOLD

Painted from a photo I took on a trip to the Washington coast several years ago. It was a cool rainy day, and the headlands and sea stacks were obscured by rain and mist.   A very low tide exposed lots of large rocks along the seashore.  A friend and I explored the tidepools and saw lots of rocks that looked like swiss cheese.  Some sort of mollusc, or possibly a sea urchin, bored these holes into the solid rock for protection.