Hat to Hat Talk

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I worked from a photograph for this painting and for some reason, was having trouble determining the values. I think it was because the sky appeared "bright" in the photo but was actually "darker" than the skin tones and clothing. It was a feature on iPhoto that helped me get some clarity. I used the black and white "effect" to eliminate the color and that helped me...  get the picture!

Holding On

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     This is one of my older pieces. I painted it the summer before my oldest daughter was going off to college.  In fact, this is not actually my daughter and me, but in feeling, it very much is. I remember being aware of the big world that awaited her, so beautiful and so alluring, but so unfamiliar and scary. I recalled all the times that I could hold her steady, help her out and keep her safe simply by extending my hand. I was very aware that the time for letting go was fast approaching. I remember deciding that until it arrived, I was going to enjoy holding on.

Kelly's Carnations and Fruit

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I was lucky enough to "win" the centerpiece at my friend Kelly's baby shower. The bouquet of pink carnations came wrapped with pink and blue ribbons. For this still life, I removed the blue ribbon. Yes, it could be that the blue ribbon just didn't work in the composition, or....  it could be that I think she's having a little girl!!  ;)

Pink Carnations and Fruit

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I was so happy with my still life setup from yesterday, that I decided to add to it, and go a bit larger. Usually I work pretty small, on 6 x6 inch panels. It was nice to have a little extra "elbow room" today. This is an 8 x 10 inch !

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.

Green Apple Stacked

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I love clean color. I love reflected color. I love color that bounces and moves your eye around the piece.   I love color that captures temperature. I love color that pops and sings. Hooray!

Little Girl Leder

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This is a recent private commission. I worked from a photograph. For years,  I relied exclusively on photographs, but for the past two years, I have been working from life via still life setups and plein aire painting. It was remarkable to return to the photograph for this commission and feel the changes in the way I now paint. Photographs eliminate atmosphere and space. However, while painting this I found myself painting as if I could see the atmosphere and the space the way I can when observing directly from life. It was as if my mind remembered the way atmosphere and space would interplay with the little girl. I am happy with the result. More importantly, so are her parents!