Peach, Crock and Cherries

"Hide and Seek"

5"x 7" Oil on gessoed panel.

It is that time to paint cherries again. I love to eat them and I love to paint them. I don't love to photograph them - they seem so dull on the screen. The color of the deep red really pops and looks good enough to eat in the original. Happy summer and the Forth of July greetings from Hotlanta!

Veggies

Click on image to enlarge.

6"x 9" on stretched canvas.

Click here to see details of the painting and purchasing info.

This is the latest DSFDF challenge on Karin Jurick's blog.

Oh it felt so good to paint again!! This was pure enjoyment and a bit of a departure from the way I usually work in that it is much more casual. I wanted to go lighter and fresher in value and color and working on the canvas was also a change. The whole effect is more contemporary and less realistic- a bit looser for me. Now I really want to paint more food! Time for tomato paintings again.

My studio is now rearranged and much more workable. I haven't thrown away much so I guess that is a long time project. Garage sale still in the works..........

Taking Some Time Off

I have absolutely nothing new to show! I pulled out a couple of video cover illustrations that I did in the early 90's just to have something to share. These illustrations are mostly air brushed acrylic paint with a little colored pencil. The originals are 17"x 12". I hated working with air brush!! I was always a nervous wreck until the work was completed because it wasn't my usual way of creating my art. But I must say that it was quite breath taking when you pealed back that frisket to reveal the work. You just never knew until the end of the process what you where going to get.

Last week was a week of ups and downs with lots going on. Our business ( my daytime job ) was booming, home plumbing problems, getting ready for and attending our 40th high school reunion on the weekend, and one of my closest friends visiting from Holland ( where she has been living for 3 years).

This week I find myself exhausted, and way behind on things around the house. I haven't been able to be creative in this disorganized and messy environment. I think I'll just have to take some more time off from painting and do some serious spring cleaning to feel some peace and calm. My husband and I are serious pack rats and for the last two years while I've been painting, I have let things pile up to an extent where we can no longer find anything and have little room to spread out when attempting some small project. It is overwhelming and I confess that I retreat to my small little painting space in my large studio and tune out the rest. It's time to have garage sales and purge, purge, purge! Maybe like air brush, as I "peel back all the stuff" I'll be surprised at what I get! I hope it's a pretty "picture".

Apples in Tarnished Silver

5"x 7" Oil on gessoed board.

After life gets in the way of painting for short periods of time I find it so hard to get back into the daily discipline of painting. As I approached this still life it was as though I was uncertain of how to even begin. For a painting that should have been done in one session, I noodled on it here and there over three days. Placing it in the freezer to attempt to keep it wet only partially worked so some repainting of areas was necessary to keep it fluid. The original has a cooler red in the apples, which is always hard to depict in photos.

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day tomorrow! Please honor those who have given their lives for our nation but at the same time keep our farmers and ranchers prosperous and eat lots of corn, tomatoes, potatoes, and hamburgers!!!! And don't forget the ice cream!

Back from Seclusion

I've learned a lot this week. I'm totally hooked on the internet, blogging, email, ebay and all things related to connecting with the outside world via the computer. Last Tuesday our phone line went dead due to some upgrading by ATT on the neighborhood lines. Because we use this line exclusively for DSL internet service I was not happy. Upon calling in a repair report I was promised a "by Saturday" repair date which did not happen. It was today (Monday) that we finally gained our phone service back, thus our DSL internet connection.

Six days without that "outside" connection was much harder to bear than I ever expected. It wasn't just not being able to check my bank balance, email, pay bills, sell on ebay and communicate with customers, but I felt so isolated. Usually I spend some time most days checking on the art community family on line. Having made so many connections, I have the sense of being part of an artist colony walking in and out of artist's and friend's studios and sharing in our work. It was pure painful withdrawal that I felt this last week being cut off from all the inspiration, encouragement and knowledge that I gain from you all. It's great to be back!

I haven't accomplished too much in the way of painting this last week. Below you will see the one painting I did finish, a commission to paint another "Tarzan and Mary Jane" piece. It was commissioned by an ebay collector that missed winning the original painting. I think this is the first "re-paint" I've done and was more difficult than I thought it would be. The client wanted it to be as close as possible to the first painting, so concentrating on a likeness proved contrary to staying loose and spontaneous with brushwork. I pulled it off, but it wasn't as "fun" as painting the first painting. The process of this assignment felt familiarly like my past illustration work in which all art is commissioned. I learned to appreciate my current freedom to paint those things that inspire me day to day. What a great joy and privilege!!!

"Tarzan and Mary Jane #2"
6"x 8" Oil on gessoed board.

Commissioned work - sold