Breakfast of Champions

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I always wanted to paint a banana. The trouble was that in a bunch it was too much yellow for me. A single one, peeled on a plate, just didn't sit right. Then I saw the work of Brian Busch and what he did with a banana, and my problem was solved.

Sunflowers and Blue Bottle and Pears

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This is a painting I did a few weeks ago, and have been meaning to post. Creating a still life in plein aire and alla prima was a double challenge. I had to work quickly. I had to be precise about what I was seeing. I had to really look at the values. I find this all to be very rewarding because my primary purpose as an artist right now is to stay loose and painterly. Plein aire and alla prima sort of force that to happen. When I work this way, not every painting is a keeper. In fact, some are truly bad. The ones that work out, however, are very satisfying to me.

Plated Fish

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So, the fish made it through a night in my freezer and was ready for another full day of modeling. It is amazing to me that the same fish, the same plate, the same artist could create two such different paintings only a day apart. Compared with the painting I posted yesterday, this painting is cooler in temperature and more raw in nature. I intended none of it. That's what makes painting so exciting for me; this element of mystery. It is always bigger and stronger than my plans... and that's a good thing.

Fish and Lemons

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I love painting fish! It is a treat right from the start; heading to the market and making my selection based on the color and shimmer of the scales. Then there's the still life setup; plating the little guy and surrounding him with colorful condiments. Of course, the actually painting process is the ultimate; trying to capture the glistening, soft belly and rendering the eye without making it look like the fish is giving you the "stink eye!" Finally, I think I always form a special little bond with my fish.  This one was gently placed in the freezer when the painting was complete. I am trying to get two days out of him. More of this fish tale in tomorrow's post!

Sunflowers in Sunlight

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I love setting up a still life in direct sunlight and then, having a go at it. What a challenge! Perfect, however, for keeping me loose and painterly. Sunflowers are key to this plein aire adventure... they don't wilt in the sun and you usually can get a few days of painting out of one bouquet!

Sugar Sweet Peony

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I have gotten a bit behind on posting my finished paintings this summer. No explanation other than that it is summer! This painting was done back in May, when the peonies were blooming. I painted it in natural light, which, while challenging, is always worth the effort. I like the subtle tension created by the high-end silver service juxtaposed with the simple glass jug. How that peony makes it oh so glamorous!

Lattice Roses

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This is a little painting I did last week in preparation for the plein aire workshop I am taking this week with artist Ben Fenske. Ironically, this painting was not really helpful at all. What I am learning this week about my landscape painting, is that I tend to miss the "big picture," by focusing on a "detail" in the scene. (I not only stop to smell the roses, but I get too close and paint them, too.)  It has been difficult for me to paint with a wide range of vision. I am working on it, and will post more paintings from the workshop in the next few days.

Wainscott Trees

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I am taking a plein aire landscape class with artist Ben Fenske through Sag Harbor Fine Arts Center. Here's today's effort. It was a very hazy day, and I was looking into the sun. So, as Ben pointed out in his demo before we got started, I could expect the sky to be the lightest value in my painting and the vertical planes (the trees) to be in shadow. It was incredibly helpful to be armed with this information before heading out into the field to try and "see" it/ "find" it for myself.

White Peonies and Vase

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First came the lilacs, and then, the peonies! You have to paint peonies swiftly because their blossoms are quick to open and even quicker to drop off.  In fact, I worked on the flowers first and the next day,  when I got back to finishing up the tea cup and silver creamer, all that remained of the peonies was a little heap of soft white petals.

Little Bit of Lilacs

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I have begun a series of 8"x8" studies of all that spring has to offer. My aim is to capture each bloom as I see them and feel them. So I will be painting not so much from a botanical perspective, as from the absolute pleasure I feel when I touch, smell and drown my sensibilities in each flower. I do so wish that blogspot had a "scratch and sniff" widget!!

Little Green Apples with Ribbon

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My focus here was composition and color. Regarding composition, I wanted the ribbon to draw attention up to the apples and then around the rest of the painting.  The pink of the flowers peeking in from above literally brings it full circle. Oh, and the greens... lots of fun making some warm and keeping others cool. Happy Valentine's Day.

Orange Slices

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I had so much fun with this one. It amazed me to observe how those oranges literally changed color in response to the colors I put around them in the reflections, the background and the foreground. It only underscores the importance of setting the color, saturation and temperature of the painting's focal point first and then moving on to painting other aspects of the piece in support of those initial choices.  Otherwise, you can just chase your tail!

Green Apple in Blue

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It has been a VERY slow painting start for me this new year, what with Christmas, and house guests, and colds and flu. So, today I HAD TO PAINT. I was like a wild woman dashing around the house trying to put together an interesting still life setup. All that I had in the way of fruit was this one green apple. I had a few decent sprigs left from a week old bouquet of flowers and my trusty blue bottle. I threw in some interesting shadows and reflections, and "wha la!" Happy and satisfied... the creative itch, scratched.

Sunburst Through Bottle

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I love when the sun bursts through glass. I love when the sun bursts through anything for that matter. So when it happened that the sun burst through the window just behind the still life I was in the middle of painting, I worked frantically to catch it. I abandoned the idea of the set up in a cool north light as I had been working it, and quickly added in the long blue shadows brought about by the sun. I stroked more yellow into the bottle and the sunlit top of the pears. Then, almost as fast as it came, the sun blast left. In spite of how rapidly I had worked, the painting was not finished. What to do? Like a patient wild game hunter, I decided to lay in wait at the same time the next day. With my paint brush in hand, I was ready when the sudden sunburst returned. It remained just long enough to capture its effect. Ahhh.

Lemon Yellow Roses

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Boy, Christmas will screw up plans for a painting a day! Feels like I've been away from my easel for months. Anyway, I am back at it and oh so happy. Believe it or not, these roses are from my garden. It is the end of December and I live on the east end of Long Island, NY, and my rose bushes are still supplying me with THE most beautiful subject matter for my paintings. Global warming, perhaps? I'd rather think of it as a Christmas miracle!

Old Bottle and Pears

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So there's a little story about this bottle. My husband and I often take walks through a nature preserve near our house. The last time we went out for a walk was just after Hurricane Sandy had blown through our area. There was a lot of erosion and in one upturned section, we noticed broken bits of pottery lying exposed in the dirt. We started to dig and unearthed this beautiful green bottle. A piece of the pottery found at the same time had markings dating it back to the 1880s. Maybe I should have called this piece, 'Really Old Bottle and Pears!"

Large Ceramic Pot with Sunflowers

I have been attempting to create two paintings from the same still life setup. I usually start with a smaller panel, 6"x6" and then go a bit bigger for the second painting, 8"x8". Here is the second, larger painting from the kitchen setup I did yesterday. You would think that because I worked out the colors and light and values in the smaller version, this one would almost paint itself. Not so much!  ;)

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Pears and Ceramic Pot

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 The paintings I admire most are ones that have been painted in natural light. There is a tenderness and a subtlety to the colors and values that I just love. It happens that wonderful north light floods my kitchen for most of the day, so I have started painting in my kitchen... and as long as I am not cooking, being in the kitchen is just fine with me!

Pinkish Pear and Yellow Rose

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I am trying to soften my edges to create atmosphere between the objects in my still life paintings. One of the tips I got from artist Melissa Franklin Sanchez when I took her workshop this past summer was NOT to work too much in the shadows. Shadows of the proper value, with little or no detail,  help create that feeling of atmosphere.  I am happy with the way this one turned out.

Yellow Roses in Soft Light

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I believe that this big, beautiful, yellow bloom is the last offering from my rose bush this season. It filled  my studio with a heavenly scent as I painted it adieu. Lusciousness.