Bowl of lemons

Yea!  Something to take the place of those peppers.  I was getting really tired of them.

This painting evolved.  I started with the bowl of lemons, and I thought, I don't want to put them right in the middle of the canvas, so I moved them a little to the side.  I was liking how it was going until I stepped back and realized the painting looked too off center. But I had too much invested in those lemons to wipe it and start over!

My granddaughter came the day before Thanksgiving (that's how long ago I started this!)  and she said, "Nana it looks like it's falling out of the painting."

So I added the lemon on the table this weekend to give it balance, and today, I tweaked the painting a little more, adding more blue to the background.  So I am thoroughly tired of this one, too!

Here's what my grandchildren and I did before I started cooking...we made pilgrims and Indians out of toilet paper rolls and construction paper.   If you click on the photo you can see it better.

Beer and peppers

My husband has been asking me to paint some peppers.  So I did this one for him.  I thought a cold beer would be just the thing to go with them.

It's getting close to Thanksgiving!  I'll be doing the cooking this year, so like most everyone, I won't be having much time to paint.  I'm working on a painting right now, so maybe I'll get that finished before I have to fire up the oven!

oil on canvas

Pears and urn

This was an experiment.  I was looking at a painting yesterday that I really liked.  The artist explained that she had cut out pictures of dishes from various magazines, assembled them in an arrangement she liked and painted it.

I thought, that sounds easy!    I'd just gotten a food magazine with a picture of two pears that I liked.  I found a picture of an urn in another magazine and decided that would make a nice arrangement.  I made a sketch and started painting.

I was having a great time and was about 2/3 finished when I realized  the lighting on the urn came from one direction and the lighting on the pears came from another!   I decided it would be easier to leave the urn as is, so I changed the lighting on the pears.  I think I really prefer painting from a set up rather than from a photo, at least until I gain more experience.

I Got a New Book Today

I've been looking at painting blogs for about three years, long before I decided to take the plunge myself.   One artist whose work I admire is Elizabeth Floyd (no kin to me).  She started by posting simple studies of fruits and vegetables and over the years she has become an incredible artist.  You can see an example of one of her paintings here.

Last week she blogged about buying a new book and posted some photos from the book.  It was so beautiful,  I had to buy a copy from Amazon.  It's called "Painting the Still Life" by Olga Zaferatos.   It came today, and it's like eating a box of chocolates.  I love it!

Does anyone else have a book they love and recommend?

Apples with Leaves

I feel the same way that Lorraine Shirkus expressed it earlier this week.  I am desperate to post a painting.  I have painted and wiped this week, and nothing seems to work.

So I here's the last thing I did.  I worked and worked on this, trying to adjust the values on the apples, but I just didn't get it.  To me, they don't "read" as apples.  They are some mysterious unidentifiable fruit!  LOL!

There is, however, one leaf that I'm thinking....hmm, that isn't too bad.  Sigh.  Maybe tomorrow.

I actually painted this as a challenge from a reference photo at Studio Atlier .  You can see the challenge photo and what others have painted at this link.  Check it out.

Red Bell Peppers

I rummaged around in the refrigerator and found these bell peppers to paint. I was working on painting various values and colors in the reds.  I think I have made some progress, but I will work on this some more.

I was the first person up in my household this morning.  My body didn't know about daylight savings time. I wandered into the kitchen and made a loaf of orange-cranberry bread. It made the house smell great, and was good with our morning coffee.

Pear trio

Pears are very forgiving.  You'll never hear one say,  "That doesn't look like me".  Or, "You made my butt look too big."  Which I probably did.   Pears are just easy going and fun to paint.

8 " X 10" oil on canvas panel

Bottle of red

I love painting wine bottles.  There is so much color in the glass that isn't obvious at first glance.  I decided that it was time I tried to paint fabric, so I added that to my set up.

It's chilly today.  I poured the glass of wine back into the bottle & corked it.  We may have that along with our dinner tonight!

7" by 9" oil on canvas panel

Glass jar and wildflowers

I've been wanting to paint glass, so this morning on my walk I picked a few wildflowers still blooming merrily by the road.  I brought them home and put them in a little jar of water.  I was pleased with the glass, but not with the flowers.  I haven't figured out how to paint values in flowers yet.  I think these look amateurish.  Which I am of course, but I have high aspirations!

7" X 9 " oil on canvas panel