Backlit Clementines

"Backlit Clementines"

6"x 6" Oil on mounted canvas.

I'm back in my comfort zone and happy. Anything backlit attracts me big time, although challenging , and I've been wanting to paint this still life for a while. Some of my "daily painting" activities involves setting up new still lifes and taking loads of digital photos. They get put away in different files on the Mac and sit waiting until I look through them again. Some evenings when I don't have the time or energy to paint, I 'll go through the many photos and select a few to crop, color correct and ready to use as reference and these few select go into my "Mare's Fix Pix" file. It is very much like cooking up several dishes on the weekend and putting them in the freezer for quick and ready dinners. When I want to paint, I just scan my file and pick out what wows me and get right to painting. This one is a special favorite and I think I was saving it for when I needed a "good" painting. It is good, all good........good color for Halloween too!

North Georgia State Fair Food Booth

"French Cuisine"

Click on images to enlarge.

6"x 8" Oil on gessoed board.

This subject was a real challenge. The type and many details, made it hard to simplify enough for a small study. An added difficulty for me was the desire to keep it loose and to focus on shapes rather than paint people and objects. Because I was working from a digital image I blurred (very blurred!) the photo on my monitor and painted from that until the painting was about half completed. Then I used the clear photo to finish. This was a lot easier on the eyes than squinting for hours! It really helped me to avoid painting detail from the start (duh! you cant' see them ). As I finished, I went slowly and was careful about not adding too many details, keeping my edges soft and working and reworking my brushwork to keep it consistent throughout. It's not exactly as I pictured it in my mind, but a lot closer to the desired result than my last post.

I tried a new substrate for these two fair paintings. I love Ampersand Gessoboard, but it is not available in my favorite size of late, 6"x 8". At Jerry's Artarama I found an Italian wood panel, Pannelli A Gesso in that size. There is a choice of super smooth and a texture called "cold pressed" which is similar to cold pressed illustration board. It is similar to a coarse watercolor paper without the rough fiber. On the corn dog painting I added an extra coat of gesso before painting hoping to smooth it out a little. On this painting I painted on the preprepared surface which was not the best decision. The ground just seemed to soak up the paint. The oil paint looked and handled more like gouache than oil paint, very matte finish. I think I'll try the smoother finish on my next purchase and see if I prefer it but I do like the fact that the panel is real wood, not the pressed stuff, and very light weight. The cost was very reasonable as well.

Carny at the Corn Dog Booth

"Green Help at the Corn Dog Joint"

8"x 6" Oil on gessoed board.

For the last three years my hubby and I have attended the North Georgia State Fair in September. We both have taken about fifty digital photos each year with the intent to collect reference material and art photos. With over three hundred shots to choose from, I hope to some day do a series on the subject but what really interests me are the carnies. I have begun to recognize the same workers each year and I find it intriguing to see them in their lit environments often alone and waiting. They are really in the "spot light" but with no audience; on display, but no act to perform. When they noticed me "shooting" them they were baffled that I would want a picture of them. This year I talked to many of them and told them I may paint a painting of them some day and this news was received with a small bit of interest, but mostly they took it as if they had made a friend, smiling at me each time I made it back around the midway to their area again.

My interest in these carnies prompted me to research their jargon on Wickipedia. "Green Help" or "Greenies" is a term for temporary help hired at a location. The young woman in this booth or "joint" looked to be a rather normal person that I guessed did not travel with the carnies.

Cut Pomegranate

"Cut Pomegranate, Three Arils and Crown"

Click on images to enlarge.

5"x 7" Oil on gessoed board.

The loose approach to this subject is a departure from my last two pieces. Wow was this a challenge! I wiped and painted the background several times until the color worked, and those arils ( juicy sacs containing the seeds) were painted until too much paint on the board, scraped and painted some more. My favorite part is the foreground containing the three arils which I painted first and in about ten minutes. That's the way it goes sometimes. For now I'm really really done with pomegranates!

Pomegranate Makeover

"Pomegranate and Blue Tin" (revised)

5" x 7" Oil on board.

A new hair style, augmentation, and a facial and the once ugly pomegranate is change into a beautiful, delectable star of the show. (can you tell I was watching the STYLE channel while revising this painting?)

Being focused on the tin box in my first version, I failed to see how unattractive this pomegranate was. I warmed the color, changed the shape and opened the crown to give a much better appearance, working over the first fruit image. The left edge of the tin was straightened a bit as well. So much better!! Now I can move on.

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