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.

Lemons and water glass

Lemons again.  I enjoyed trying to get the different planes and colors that are in the lemons.

The water glass was a new challenge.  I've tried to paint a water glass only once, and I think this is better than my first time.  My ellipse isn't great, though.  The thing I like best is the shadow of the glass.

I started this painting two days ago and was very unhappy after several hours.  Today I was tempted to just start a new painting, but I lectured myself and made me try to finish this one.  I'm glad I did;  I need the discipline!  I'd always rather start something new...a fresh canvas, a new possibility.  But I don't want to have a bunch of unfinished paintings, so I trudged on.

These were the same lemons I used in my prior painting.  When I was cleaning up today, I discovered that they were getting very soft.  Several days in the set up and hours under the light hastened their demise!  I'll have to find another subject for my next painting.

7" X 9" oil on canvas panel

Saturday Lemons

I've been working on a larger painting, so I wanted to do a small study today. This is a totally different style than the pear. Much more informal. I actually like this better than the pear.

I don't have an expensive camara, plus it's a cloudy day, so I don't think the colors are true. I think the colors in the painting are richer.

7" X 9" oil on canvas panel.

(Click on painting to view larger.)

Lemons and blue bowl

This was fun.  I painted this yesterday afternoon and decided it was finished.  No going back and "fixing" it.   This is a comfortable size for me for a daily painting.

I am learning on these paintings that getting values right is my biggest challenge.  I have a hard time getting the darkest values--I keep thinking "a lemon can't be that dark".  But when I stand back from the easel I see that I haven't made enough contrast between the lights and the darks.

(click on the picture to view larger)

8" X 10" oil on canvas panel

Lemon studies

I wanted to practice painting lemons with different colored backgrounds to see how that affected the colors in the lemon.

These are 6" X 6", which I find difficult to paint on.   I have large handwriting, and I feel comfortable painting on larger canvases.  I think those two things are related.

When I was a little girl, my grandfather told me he liked getting letters from me (revealing my age...we used to write actual letters) because my handwriting was large and he could read it.  I used to like getting assignments where the teacher said to write a page on a subject.  Didn't take me all that many words to fill up a page.  I felt sorry for those girls who wrote with little bitty handwriting.   They may be the same girls who can paint little bitty paintings.  Not that there's anything wrong with that!  It's just hard for me.


6" X 6" oil on paper 

Lemons, silver pitcher, green grapes

I painted this morning.  I like that this is much looser than my last painting.   I just have to make myself stop, even though I continue to look at the painting and see things that I need to "fix".  I could fix it forever, but then I get tighter and tighter.

The reflection of the lemon really was that elongated.

11" X 14" oil on canvas

(Click on the picture to see larger.)

Blue bottle, lemons, red apple

I'm not fond of this, but since it's what I've been painting, I'm posting it.  Part of having a blog is to post my progress.

I'm painting much tighter than I'd like--the lemons and apples especially.  I used a large brush for the bottle, and then I switched to a smaller brush on the fruit.  That's when it go so tight.  Oh well, on to another canvas.


8" X 10" inch oil on canvas panel

(Click on the picture to see larger.)

Lemons, white pitcher, and wine bottle

I painted this in my latest class. The instructor emphasized to me the importance of looking at the object I'm painting. My brain wants me to paint what I think a lemon looks like. I was pretty pleased with the lemons. I didn't re-work them at all after I got home.

I sort of learned a lesson with the pepper painting that I need to know when to stop! I can always see things that I think are wrong after I'm done. But most of my "improvements" don't help the painting.

(Click on the painting to view larger)

Lemons, mango, silver pitcher

I love this little pitcher. This was the first time I tried to paint metal. I really enjoyed trying to capture the reflections.

I don't know what I was thinking when I painted the tip of the mango lime green! Again, I didn't get the ellipse right.

My class is only two hours. The instructor says I should be able to complete a painting in two hours, but I haven't managed it so far.

Apples, lemons and blue bowl.

I started a new class in April. This is the first painting that I didn't wipe off. I won't be hanging it, but I did take a picture of it.

At least now you can tell that they are lemons. I really need to work on the ellipses.