Yellow Rose in Glass Bottle

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The color of this old bottle is so wonderful as are the imperfections within it. I think the overall composition of the painting would have been better served if the rose was a bit more upright...but then again, maybe not.

Little Bottle of Flowers

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Another little green bottle from my collection featuring two tiny yellow flowers - most likely the last from my garden for this season.

Demitasse in Blue

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I have certainly worked this still life set-up to death, but I don't care, I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Honestly, when I find an arrangement of objects that "works," I think it is a good idea to get as many variations from it as possible. It helps me get a better handle on painting, in this case, the apples, the bottle, the orchids and cup. Overall, I am very satisfied with my "orchid series."

Tall Lilies

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Okay, so I figured out how to work a tall Easter lily into a still life set-up. Put it on the floor! I am very happy with this composition and like working on a 12"x 24" panel. The shape forces new and interesting placement especially if worked as a vertical. Okay, so now, before these beautiful lilies fade, I plan to do smaller studies of the blooms themselves.

Orchids and Apples

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My grocery store sells small orchid plants. I bought a few the other day. They are perfect for still life. The blooms last quite a long time and the buds open slowly. I think I feel an "orchid series" coming on.

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.

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!"

Bottle and Pear

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I was lucky enough to take a still life workshop last week with artist Melissa Franklin Sanchez. She is classically trained and studied at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy, where she still lives. Sanchez shows at Grenning Gallery in Sag Harbor and this summer offered a workshop through The Hamptons Studio of Fine Art which is also in Sag Harbor. I have very little formal painting instruction and so was delighted to study with this wonderful artist and teacher. We used a very limited palette -  white, cad yellow, yellow ochre, cad red, English red, alizarin crimson, cobalt blue, and black. Sanchez stressed value, continually reminded us to squint and taught me a new way to soften my edges. I will try to demonstrate her technique in an upcoming post.

Apple Weighing In

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I am in love with this little kitchen scale. For some reason, when I was painting it,  I keep thinking that if it was human it would be very friendly. Funny what runs through your head when you are painting. Anyway, that's a bottle of Dom Perignon from the day I got engaged to my husband... almost 25 years ago. I think that makes it an antique!

So Happy Together

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     This little bottle with its long elegant neck, only had room for two ...  but, oh, what a happy and beautiful couple they are! This piece was painted from life.

Bloom and Bud

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     Only a handful of these delicate blooms are left in my garden. There's a sense of urgency in my need to paint them.  I guess it's my way of preserving them. The bottle is a yard sale find. This piece was painted from life.