Amber Glass and Lemon

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When my husband saw this painting he said "Oh, just two colors blue and gold." Not planning on this color scheme, my intention was just to pare it down. When I'm setting up a still life, I keep switching it up until it becomes something that I can see as a finished painting. If I don't see it, I don't paint it.

Cantaloupe and Brown Bottle

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I worked hard on this little painting. The brown bottle with its reflections was challenging. I had to find just the right color for the bottle which turned out lighter than the actual object and the reflections are pretty much what I saw. I had this bottle for many years and I feel good that I finally felt confident enough to paint it.

Three Green Apples

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I'm always inspired by someone whose work I admire. There are a few people whose work speaks to me and Carol Marine's paintings do that. I watched her ArtByte on painting apples and then this painting followed. I worked to make this my own by using the colors on my palette.

My New Acquisition

Kim Rempel

I'm excited to show off my new acquisition, a painting by Kimberly Rempel

called Back in the Day.

It looks great in my kitchen and adds lots of interest to my wall.

Lucky me. 

Roman Apples

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Although I haven't been to Rome this painting has that Romanesque quality. The fluted vase reminds me of a massive column and the blue plate of the Mediterranean Sea. Just some rainy day daydreaming.

White Rose of Sharon

I want to acknowledge Karen O'Neil for inspiring the color combinations in this flower. I am truly amazed by her color sense and always inspired by her paintings. A neighbor has this white Rose of Sharon bush and I wanted to see how far I could push the color contrasts. This was my second attempt at simplifying the flower and abstracting the background.

Dipping into Dipper

A couple of weeks ago I dog sat for my neighbor's dog Dipper. I had the opportunity to take several images of him and I thought this would make a pretty painting on top of a cigar box. The title Dipping into Dipper comes from the fact that Dipper (and my other neighbor's dog Athena) are my regular portrait sitters. However, The Animal Protective Foundation's Fireplug 500 Walk for Animals is next month and they've invited me to set up a pet portrait booth for the event. I'm excited and pleased to participate. And um-hum, it's a great opportunity to take lots of dog photos too.

Rose of Sharon 2014

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I thought it would be fun to show a few of my yearly paintings of a Rose of Sharon flower.  Here's the 2014, 2013 and 2012 ones.  I planted this bush just to paint its flower and every year I paint them while it's in bloom.  It's one of those things that I don't get a lot of practice doing but nevertheless I'm hoping each year there's some improvement.

The Ice Cream Challenge

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Last night I went out for ice cream and that got me thinking about doing this week's DPW's The Ice Cream Challenge. This was a fun summer challenge and I want to thank Debra Cooper for hosting it.