Cosmos and Snapdragons in Glass

Purchase Information

This was such an exciting piece to work on. I fell in love with the vase and all the reflected light on it and in it. Snapdragons are like sculpture and so I could pile on the paint. Cosmos, on the other hand, are soft whispers of color and so when painting them, I indulged in the gentle placement of pinks an whites. I love my job.

Hydrangea in Round Glass

Purchase Information
This was an experiment with different shapes in a single composition. The round vase, the oval table, the rectangular ledge in the background and the triangular cone shape of the hydrangeas themselves.

December Roses

Purchase Information
I am paying more attention to value, realizing that it is by far the most important component of a  realistic painting. Take away color, and you would still know that these were flowers in a vase. But take away the values, and the work goes "flat" and becomes abstract. Interesting, don't you think?

Petunias

Purchase Information

Loved how leggy these petunias got, and decided to paint them. There was a movement and airiness to them that I found so beautiful. Not to mention their color.

Kitchen Basics

Purchase Information

My dad recently sold his house. I ended up with lots and lots of stuff, including an electric mixer, which became the centerpiece and inspiration for this still life. It is most complicated composition to date.

Lasting Beauty

Purchase Information

The element of painting that I do not pay enough attention to is composition. I know why that is so. It is because I just can't wait to get started painting. I love moving that glorious color all over the place and painstakingly setting up objects slows me down! But, when I DO take the time to compose my still life.... oh what a difference it makes!

Indian Summer Roses

Purchase Information

Here in Sag Harbor, NY, we are experiencing an Indian Summer. Putting aside all the ominous implications that may have regarding global warming, it meant that my favorite rose bush just kept pushing out gorgeous blooms right up through November. I did a series of three little paintings, and this is the first of which I am posting. If you look closely, you will see the rose hips mixed right in with new buds and spent flowers. 

Scattered Peaches and Stacked Plates

Purchase Information

I have a beautiful milk glass table on my screened in porch and late in the day, the sunlight shines on it in a burst of warmth and brightness. One afternoon this past summer, I scattered peaches across the tabletop just at that time of day and stacked a few white plates as well. Then, the race was on to get the color, the shadows, the reflections ...  the painting done before the sun moved and the magic was over. Painting at such a fast pace manifested a loose, almost abstract painting with thick application of the paint. I like what happened and am curious and excited to paint like this again.

Pink Peonies in Grey Pot

Purchase Information

The challenge here, was that the wall and the ceramic pot were both the same color. Of course, that is what made the still life setup so beautiful to me, but also what made it so difficult to paint.

White Peonies in Grey

Purchase Information

Each June presents me with the peony: the flower with which I have a love-hate relationship.  I love the flower - its entrancing fragrance and soft, thin, whisper white petals. I love the idea of painting peonies but frustration seems to set in when I start. I hate frustration. The balled blooms are swift to open and even quicker to drop. Not to mention those delicate petals that curve so elegantly and show off their beautiful white hues - hues which I have so much trouble grasping are not really white.

Pitchers on White Linen

Purchase Information

Believe it or not, this is the first time I ever painted linen.  I was told by one of my mentors, that linen reflects light much more beautifully than other material. In truth, I was doubtful but I am teachable. So the next time I was at an antique store,  I picked up some old linen napkins. Guess what?! Yup. They glow.

Set for Spring

Purchase Information

I stood very close to the table arrangement as I painted this piece because I had two goals in mind. One was to create a table set with inviting breakfast items placed so as to create rhythmic points of color on the white table cloth. Second, I wanted to capture how a person approaching the table might scan the setting. So initially, it appears that you are looking directly down onto the egg and the grapefruit. You, the viewer, then look up passed and across the orange slices, glass and blue jug and finally through the water pitcher and the glass vase of tulips.

Potato Leek Soup

Purchase Information

I am attempting to "complicate" my compositions. In this case, I chose to add dimension with a dark background and draped white cloths in the foreground. The cutting board extends off the table introducing another space -  one in front of the table. The elements in this still life are at different levels, notice the raised bread and tilted pot of potatoes and the interesting patterns of shadows and reflections. Finally, the colorful subjects are crowded together in the top third of the canvas while the other two thirds remain uncluttered with large shapes and subtle color and value changes.

Making Applesauce

Purchase Information

I have been using the internet with sites like Pinterest to look at lots and lots of artwork by a diverse body of artists, young and old, well-known and unknown. It seems I am drawn to a specific style, manner of execution and subject matter over the course of all this work. As a painter myself, I am trying to figure out what it is exactly that makes the paintings I deem "great" or "beautiful," great and beautiful. I have noticed that for one thing, many have very dark backgrounds which is something I would not have thought to do. I tried it here and I like it. I also notice that table lines are often broken up. I did that here, too, with the napkins and mason jars. It worked out nicely, in my humble opinion. It is good to finally be able to "see" what I am seeing.

Silverware Study

Purchase Information

This is a little study of the knife and fork I ultimately placed in the painting, 'Pottery and Silver' posted last week. I don't paint silverware very often and find it a bit daunting. Figuring a little practice might help, I put the bigger painting, 'Pottery and Silver,' on "hold" while I made this little study. It holds true again, "practice makes perfect" - or at least less imperfect!

Pottery and Silver

Purchase Information
This was painted with north light coming from directly above the still life arrangement and day light coming straight at it. These dual light sources combined with the surfaces of pottery, glass and silver made for a feast of reflections, transparencies and highlights - challenging and fun.

Cyclamen and Books

Purchase Information

House plants and some good books are staples for surviving the long dark days of winter. I love this little plant that turns up in florists and grocery stores in December. I figured I had better paint it if I wanted to keep it around because for whatever reason, any cyclamen I own doesn't make it to spring.

Soup Fixings

Purchase Information

The inspiration for this painting started with the white metal pot. Love it. Found it at a dilapidated antique shop on the north fork of Long Island and couldn't wait to get it into a still life painting. Getting the different textures - the sheen on the pot, the dusty skin of the potatoes, crispiness of the carrots and so on, was the ultimate challenge here.

Glass Jug with Two Flowers

Purchase Information

As I was eyeing up this composition and deciding from which angle I should paint it, I was drawn to the distortion inside the jug. I think the very severe dark background works with the light foreground because the line where they meet is "re-routed," sort of swirled inside the glass. On another note, I just noticed that my last few posts are all basically yellow flowers in glass. Funny how you can get stuck in a rut. Now to get unstuck. Wish me luck.

Yellow Rose in Glass Bottle

Purchase Information

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.