Apple in Bowl

I have to admit that what I'm going to write is almost identical to my previous post with the exception of changing names of items. I painted this apple and bowl with loose brushstrokes and worked to "gray down" my colors.  I paid attention to the perspective in foreshortening the knife.  I think it works. I'm overall pleased with this painting even though I think the paint is a little too thick in places.

Nectarines

I tried to paint these nectarines with loose brushstrokes and worked to "gray down" my colors.  I also paid attention to the perspective of the green paper they're sitting on and I think it makes sense. I'm overall pleased with this painting even though it's a little rough around the edges.

White Cup Blue Saucer

I painted this white cup and pale blue saucer thinking it was a simple composition.  Well, I guess I didn't really think it through. There's a whole lot of values, gradations, reflections, highlights, drawing and proportions/perspective, to name a few. Even though life gets busy, it is important for me to take my time.

Black-eyed Susans in Amber Jar

I am really excited about all the interesting ArtBytes on DPW.  Today I'm trying out a slightly new way of taking an image of my painting. I usually set up my camera and painting in open shade but today I placed a piece of cardboard behind my work and "voila" my image appeared brighter and with less glare.  I don't know if this is a fluke or not but it's something to try again.

Cherries on Blue Petal Plate

My paintings seem to be arranged around the fruits and vegetables I have in my house and those in season. Since I haven't had cherries in a while I had to relearn how to paint them.  I did a few studies before I started this painting.  And it was a good thing I did.  Anyway, they're here with my favorite little blue petal plate.  

Rose of Sharon

My Rose of Sharon bush just bloomed and as I have done the last four years, I painted one of its first beautiful blue flowers.  Every year I hope to do a better job and this year I am pleased that it happened more quickly and is closer to my vision of how I'd like to paint it. 

Butternut Squash

I painted this still life using early morning light by the east window in my studio. That meant I had to paint quickly and that was a good challenge.  It forced me to use minimal brushstrokes and not overwork it.  I'm trying a new white in this painting.  Brian Burt's tutorial on DPW's ArtByte demoed four whites.  I'm using Gamblin Titanium Zinc white and my colors have remained more saturated than with my previous Winton Titanium.

Caught on Tape

How I approach painting. I paint wet-on-wet and paint one object in my still life at a time before going on to the next. So, knowing it takes me a while to get in the zone, I choose as my first object to paint one that is uncomplicated. I next find my lightest lights and darkest darks. Then I use a small gray color isolator to determine the local color and value of that first object and brushstroke; everything after that is painted in relation to what's around it. I'll look at my painting in a mirror or take a break and come back to it to see what's off and needs adjusting.

Caught on Tape

So this is my process. I spend a good deal of time working on setting up a still life. It either comes together quickly or it it may take a while to get the composition right. When painting, I usually work from life using a view finder but on complicated set-ups I take a digital image just to get the initial placement of shapes. However, the image and set-up are rarely at the same angle so after my initial drawing from the image, I start changing it to look like my set-up. This drawing took me a while and it might change when I come back to it and start painting. After the initial drawing, I paint the colors as I see them in my still life.

Apricot and Yellow Mug

Well I've worked my way back into painting. This took me several hours but in the end I'm happy with it. I wiped paint off and worked over previously wet paint but in the end my husband thought I got it down in only a few strokes so if I can fool him maybe I succeeded in getting the look I wanted.  Anyway,  there were periods of complete joy while I was painting and that's why I paint.  I am still very distractible and decided to no longer listen to NPR because of the horrible news and am now only listening to Pandora.