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!"

Copper Pot of Sunflowers with Pears

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Since sunflowers last a long time, I decided to create a large painting of this still life.  It is 11"x14" - way bigger than my usual 6"x 6" -  and took two sessions to complete. The sunflowers held up nicely. Overall, they are a very forgiving flower to paint, unlike roses where one false stroke, and you might end up with a tulip on your hands... or canvas! Think I might be off to buy another bunch of these beauties tomorrow. Available as a note card.