Three Eggplants Pewter Bowl SOLD

These small eggplants came from my favorite grocery store, Uwajimaya's.  (You can buy almost any type of produce there). These eggplants are only 3 inches long but have a beautiful color.   They are so dark that they go well with the shiny mirror-like quality of the pewter bowl.

Green Apples Glass Jar on Purple

This is my entry for the current Daily Paintworks Challenge,  The challenge was to paint one color per stroke.  Mix a color, put down a stroke, mix another color, put down the next stroke.  I was looking for larger and larger brushes so I could put down a larger area with one stroke.  And in a few places I fudged and actually put down more than one stroke with the same load of color.  The effect is juicier and thicker than I usually paint.  It was fun.

Creek View SOLD

This painting was inspired by a trip to the Oregon Coast.  There were lots of hills along the coast and hundreds of creeks fed from those hills and crossed the highway towards the ocean. Because I enjoy focusing on the distance, I have to work out how to represent the near view and the far view all in the same painting.  Even though, in reality, the near greens and the far greens were not that different, I pushed the far view back by making those colors lighter, bluer and less contrasty.

Red Onion on Green SOLD

My One Year Blogging Anniversary.  

February 21 marks the one year anniversary of this blog.  I have posted 127 paintings (this makes 128), most of them created during this year.  I think that the work of frequent painting has made me improve.  I can see mistakes more quickly and have a clearer vision of what will make a good painting.  I'm still working on simplification, lost edges, and broad interesting brush strokes (as opposed to multiple tight fussy brush strokes).

This is an example of an extremely simple composition, but with a nice dynamic balance.  The onion is slightly off center, and the flag of the stem gives it a nice diagonal push.  I've lost an edge in the shadow of onion and I've softened the edge in the foreground where the still life material drops over the edge of the table.   I enjoy the simplicity of the complementary red/green color scheme.  There is a bit of reflected light in the cast shadow, on the underside of the onion and in the stem.  And I like how the onion has light-struck warm areas and shadowed cool areas; the onion is not just red--it moves from red orange to red purple, echoing the gradation of the shadowed background which goes from cool dark green to warmer lighter green.


Thanks to all the people who look at my blog.. I appreciate your comments and opinions.  

Grapefruit Glass Bowl on Green SOLD

The grapefruit were the excuse to try painting the glass bowl.  But they do make a nice color contrast to the green.  I like how the light bent around the bowl to make the grapefruit fade out on the lower right.  And that cast shadow crossing the grapefruit that was created by the rim of the bowl.

Three Persimmons on White

This is the last of the persimmon paintings - they finally gave up the ghost.  This is  my favorite; I especially like the simple strokes of the leaf of the shadowed persimmon.  And I like the contrast between the warm light-struck foreground and the cool shadows.  I am always amazed at how long it takes to make something "simple," and how deliberate your strokes have to be to be "loose"

Three Persimmons on Orange

The limited palette emphasizes the color of the persimmons   I liked the chunky leaves -very sculptural.  They were dark and very neutral in color and even the light areas were not very light.  It was fun trying to paint them without being too tight.

Bandon Lighthouse-Bold Brush Painting Entry SOLD

This is my February entry in the online bold brush painting competition.  Please go to http://canvoo.com/boldbrush/painting/16858 TO VOTE FOR MY PAINTING.
And thank you to those of you who look at my entries.

Three Persimmons on Gray

These persimmons have been sitting on the counter for weeks, waiting to ripen.  All of a sudden they were past ripe and turning to mush, so it was time to paint or throw them out.  I really like the thick sculptural leaf and chunky stem at the top of each fruit.   I think the persimmon in shadow makes a nice contrast to the light struck fruit. 

Glass Bottle and Small Red Onion

This one is from a month ago when I was painting lots of glass jars.  I really like the transparency and shine.  I originally had more colors in the foreground, but after looking at it for a couple of weeks, I decided they had to go.  So here is the simplified version.

Headlands, Oregon Coast SOLD

This painting was inspired by a trip to the Oregon Coast last year.  There were lots of beautiful coves and huge offshore rocks.  It was fun to play with the atmospheric perspective -- the scene looks both hazy from water in the air and bright and sunny.

Fluffy White Things SOLD

A change of pace from shiny salt shakers.  This was from a photo taken last spring, of a cherry tree in full bloom in a pasture with sheep.   I should probably have added some white clouds too.

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.

Two Bottles and Small Red Onion

This painting was all about the glass jars: the reflections,  the highlights, the illusion of transparency, the lost and found edges, and the sparkle and shine.  In order to simplify a complex subject, I elevated the still life to eye level so that the oval perspective of the glass became a straight line.

Red Grapes and Glass Jar SOLD

These red grapes are huge and in season.  Notice all the stems without grapes. It makes the compositions more interesting to have "holes" in the bunch of grapes, but I also like to nibble as I arrange the still life!  This painting is at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Gallery for their December show.

Veteran's Day Antiques

"Veteran's Day" because it was November 11 and the sun was low in the sky and caught my eye shining through these flags.   "Antiques" comes from the sign board in the lower right hand corner. 

This is my December entry in the Bold Brush Painting contest.  To vote for my painting go to http://canvoo.com/boldbrush/painting/15141 and click on like.

Red Grapes, Backlit SOLD

These grapes are huge and in season.  They are red, but also have a lovely russet tone that says "Raw Umber" to me.  I like trying to capture the values and hues without getting too fussy and still convey the feeling of light coming through the grapes.

Kiwis, Glass, Red Table SOLD

More Kiwis, more glass jars.  The fun of painting this glass is in losing the edges so that it becomes part of the background rather than being pasted on top of the background.

Kiwis, Glass, Gray Table

Kiwis again.  The fruit is so translucent.  Light shining through the green flesh actually glows a little bit on the outside of the kiwi too.  I really enjoyed those reflected highlights in the glass.

Mt Chiginagak

We used to have a hunting camp on Lower Ugashik Lake in Alaska.  Mount Chiginagak could be seen on a clear day and with binoculars you could see smoke rising from fumaroles on the sunny side of the volcano.  This painting is in my current show at Artique Ltd. Gallery in Alaska

South on Highway 14 SOLD

This is my entry for the November Bold Brush Painting Competition.  A view of Nebraska in the late afternoon.  I really liked the light hitting the side of the grain elevator.  I also like the pale colors of the distant horizon.   You can vote for my painting at http://canvoo.com/boldbrush/painting/14462

Kiwis, Glass, Blue Table

Another painting of kiwis.  I really had fun getting the lights on the glass without making the painting too tight and fussy.  And I liked the subtle reflection of the kiwis in the glass.

Kiwis, Black Cup, Polkadots

I had fun with the colors in this painting. These kiwis have lots of intense and interesting color. And the dots on the blue table cover allowed me to repeat the gold-green of the kiwis.  Love those reflections in black cups.

"Kenai Bluffs" SOLD

These are the tall sand cliffs of Cook Inlet near Kenai.  This painting is in my current show at Artique Ltd Gallery in Anchorage, Alaska.

Kachemak Stream

Fireweed next to a stream in Kachemak Bay. This is in my current show at Artique Ltd Gallery in Anchorage Alaska.

Two Sunflowers with Dots SOLD

I really like this subject matter.  So many varieties of yellow.   I especially like the difference between the light struck back of one flower and the shadowed yellow of the other flower.

Glacier and Two Trees SOLD

A view looking towards the Matanuska Glacier on the Glen Highway.  This painting will be in my November show in the Artique Gallery in Anchorage, Alaska