Strawberry Treat

Strawberry Treat

6x6in oil on canvas board  SOLD

What a treat -  finding these wonderful strawberries even though they are out of season. I tasted one and they are delicious.

We will be having them for dessert so I had to be quick painting them.

Artist note:

I washed them and painted them while they were still wet so I could try and capture the juicy look.

The seed pockets break up the shine so it meant I had to really study the patterns of light first. Then, remembering it is a painting, I tried to make them not too stiff or like a photo. 

Pansies in the Snow

Pansies in the Snow

6x8in oil on canvas board  100.

As the snow melted, the pansies perked right back up. I guess living in a little igloo suited them.

Pansies bring just the perfect burst of color during our winter and I really enjoy them.

Artist Note:

I used the knife and brush on this for some variations in texture. 

Including the snow in the painting  meant I had to work on a strong design linking the color and dark pattern to hold it together.

An Apple A Day Keeps the Doctor Away

An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away!

oil on canvas

Completing my fun time of presenting different forms of still life.  

This is a contemporary viewpoint of an ordinary, fruit and objects, still life...only this is a detail from a larger painting. (see below)

In this case, the square format, big brushstrokes and simple shapes suggesting the apples, fruit and bowl are what make it contemporary. No tight realism - this is all about the eye filling in the detail enough for the viewer to know what they are looking it.

The full painting, below, has not been finished yet. It was a demo done for The Artists Guild on a 24x24in canvas. It took less than two hours, which amazes me as I can spend much longer than that on my small, daily paintings.

I did it back in the fall when I was getting fresh apples by the bushel, right from the Nichols Apple Farm, La Luz, N.M. 

My mother raised me with the old expression of an apple a day...and for good reasons I am a believer of it!

Abstract/Contemporary Still Life

Abstract/Contemporary Still life
Not for sale




It keeps me on my artistic toes painting in the different styles.


This one was quick and easy because the vessel does not have to be correct. It only has to give the impression of being correct. 


I went for movement, texture and abstract shapes for the design. 
For movement I painted on mylar to enhance the slippery movement of the brush.
Texture was the thickness or thinness of the paint.
Strong vertical design with the balance of the side shape of the vessel.

Looking at the last three still life paintings I know your reactions will be different to all of them. My own feelings are different too. I enjoy the act of painting. What I paint is secondary but I have found I must have some emotional reaction to what I am painting. I have seen my approach changing as I have worked on this daily painting blog but I know that I am not the type to turn out the same thing day after day. I am going to enjoy tomorrow's painting of a typical Julie piece.

Not Traditional!

Not Traditional!

6x8in oil on canvas board   100.

Yesterday I painted a traditional still life so today I did a very non-traditional one.
What makes it non-traditional?
Several things, but the main one is the objects holding the flowers.
I love these modern, funky vases. They are all different colored ceramic. A dark one, a light/medium one and a light one. It was difficult to do the values on them as they have different angles to the light.
I placed them in a non-traditional set-up by placing them in a row. In a typical, traditional still life, at least one would have overlapped.
The flowers are handled with simple, side shapes.
I repeated the triangle shapes from the vases with elongated light and shadow patterns at the front and they can be found in the negative areas of the background.
Tomorrow I am planning a contemporary/abstract still life.

Something Traditional

Something Traditional

6x6in oil on canvas board  85.

Definitely not the traditional fare for this time of year, but is still very traditional. White roses in a blue and white container. Can't get more traditional than that!

Snow in Southern New Mexico

Snow in Southern New Mexico

5x7in oil on canvas board    90.

Here in Las Cruces, New Mexico, we are all used to Santa Fe, Taos, and Albuquerque getting the snow and colder weather so this is always a surprise when it happens.
I painted this when the sunrise was casting a peach glow and the clouds hung below the tops of the mountains. Quite breathtaking.
Quick decision needed...camera or paint...camera or paint... and paint won. Sadly, now I do not have a photo of this, but it will be in my memory forever.

Only two days later and this is how it looks now. The sun melted the ground snow quickly, but you can see still see some snow on the railings of my deck.

Finally - The Holly!

 Holly

6x6in oil on canvas board  85.

After several attempts to paint the holly, I finally pulled it off. Well, to my satisfaction at least.

It is said that an artist reflects his time and culture. I can see how this is true, particularly at this time of year because I think of Christmas and Holly as one. Growing up in England, my mother would take us on hikes to pick the holly and she would cluster it on the dining room table with tall candles, on all the fireplace mantelpieces and over the doorways. A visual treat - the glorious red berries adding the perfect touch of color. Even back then, the red was what appealed to me.

I wish you all a warm and peaceful  Christmas and Happy Holidays.
I appreciate and thank you for following my blog.


Artist note:
The problem I was having was not remembering to have only one dominant color. Once I came up with a design  (see below) keeping this principal in mind then painting all those leaves and berries became easier. I do prefer the red over the green and having it as the accent color makes it more appealing to me.

Tribute to My Friend

The Bali Calendar

Tribute to My Friend -  Lorraine Rushford Gaire


Back in November when I first posted this painting I mentioned that a very dear friend had given the calendar to me and I was going to send it to her as a gift. What I did not say was my friend was losing a very long and courageous battle with cancer. She died this morning.  I write this because I feel a deep sense of loss and wish to convey what a remarkable woman she was.
Lorraine worked long and hard for improved education and developed text books to help immigrant children become bilingual within the different school systems.

She befriended me when our children were in kindergarten together and included me in her family gatherings. Being a new immigrant and missing my own family, this meant the world to me. Her family became my American Family and has stayed so through  these many, many years. Her sisters became my friends and  I saw her two daughters grow into amazing women, choose wonderful, decent men, get married  and then in turn came along the much loved grandchildren.
The family never left her during the final, difficult, few weeks. Her daughters were true angels. I am so proud of them all.

Lorraine was always supportive of my art and for my first exhibition, flew out with her sister Jane to show support and they put the first red dots on the wall! Any artist will understand the importance of that!

I named my daughter after this wonderful friend .

Two Vases of Freesia

Two Vases of Freesia

5x7in  oil on canvas board   90.

This piece was a fast exercise using simple rectangular shapes with the flowers having the only curves.

A brush and palette knife was used with a very limited palette of Cad Yellow, Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine blue and white.
First I mixed up a purple in two hues...one more red and the other more blue. Then I added these purples to the yellow to make the ocher and sienna colors. The yellow of the flowers has a touch of crimson added plus the purple for the shadow. The blue/purple was mixed with yellow to create the greens.
This was much more fun than painting red and green but I am still trying to do the holly painting. If at first you do not succeed...

Just A Touch Of Red

Touch of Red

7x5in  oil on canvas board  90.

Okay, Christmas is not even here yet and I find I am already red and green(ed) out.
Green is my least favorite color and red is my favorite. My problem is when I see something as stunning as holly with the bright red berries, I want paint it...and I have been trying to do just that for a couple of days but keep having to wash it off. I will keep trying.
This painting is to clear away all vestiges of red and green.
Behold, a touch of red with a little blue and the most grayed green I could mix.

Cloud Study

Cloud Study

5x7in  oil on canvas  90.

We have had some weird weather for the last few days. Winter skies are usually a brilliant blue with very few clouds and hardly any moisture. Earlier this month we had record breaking snow and now another front has come in bringing more rain and snow on our mountains. A few days ago a yellowish light cast a unusual glow on the clouds. I could not manage to capture it but I still enjoyed trying.

Tulips in Silver

Tulips in Silver      SOLD

8x6in  oil on canvas

This was a palette knife exercise. Timed and fast for a demo.

I premixed the basic colors I would need first and made adjustments as I went along.
As I only had two flowers of each color and needing an odd number, I moved the white tulip from behind  the yellow one after painting it and placed it going off the side.
I really like the reflective quality of the silver... achieved by following the principle of picking up the colors around it and always placing a real dark somewhere.
I am always surprised when I am working fast how the energy shows up in the work. I have watched some well known artists mix their paint slowly but apply with a deliberate and swift stroke and it gives the same effect

Reflections

Reflections

7x5in  oil on canvas board  90.

This was done with a palette knife and it is partially imaginary.
With this type of diffused light I made sure that I made close value changes. Without bright sun there are no distinct contrasts and shadows, only gentle transitions of different tones.

Apples for the Chimps

The Apple and Cherry Place

6x6in oil on canvas board   85.


Some good friends own Nichols Ranch and Orchards in beautiful Cottonwood Canyon near  La Luz, N.M. This painting is of the building where fruit is sorted and sold.
Set up high on the side of canyon they enjoy spectacular views of White Sands National Monument and Missile Range. Sue Nichols is a fabulous painter and stained glass artist when she finds time in her busy life

One of the interesting facts about the Nichols Ranch is they have been providing apples for the Chimps at Alamagordo, N.M. for 28 years. There is an amazing story about the chimps and what they suffered under a man called Coulston, for anyone with a strong stomach who wants to to read about it... But there is a  Happy Ending.

Helping Hand

Helping Hand

6x6in oil on canvas board 85.

My sister-in-law forwarded me her family blog and I found this wonderful pic of her grandson, Alex, with his friend, Ezi, on their first hike in the Rockies.
I was raised with family hikes on the Moors in England so this brought back many good memories.

Nectarines and Cherries

Nectarines and Cherries

6x6in oil on canvas Sold

This was an exercise on following the color wheel. I started with blue then purple following with the full range of reds from magenta into orange then adding a touch of yellow. If I did not have the dark bowl and background you would need sunglasses to look at it.
I like the way it turned out.

Modigliani With Freesias.

Modigliani with Freesias

6x8in oil on canvas board 100.

 Reclining Nude,  Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920).

Modigliani  after clicking on  - scroll down to see his work.
                   
I have this print in my studio and saw it behind and through the freesias so thought I would try and make a painting of it.
 Modigliani was deeply impressed by primitive African masks and you can see the influence in his faces. He elongated the body and established his own unique style which I happen to really like.

Clementines and Freesias

Clementines and Freesias

7x5in oil on canvas  90.

Trying to do a full still life in such a tiny space was an interesting and challenging experience. I usually zoom in to have more of a close-up type view.
I used a brush all the way through as the details were too small for me to comfortably use my knife.
 I find using an angular shader is excellent for this type of work. The one I used was size 3/8. Any thin lines are easy using the tip and I blend colors by dipping into two different colors - one at each end, and apply with a simple stroke.

Two Bunches of Freesias

Two Bunches of Freesias

5x7in oil on canvas board   90.

This the view of the top of the two bunches, one yellow and one white. I have not mixed them together yet as I find it is easier to link the yellows together for design purposes.
The buds are getting fatter and other flowers are opening up along the stems. I am going to take this opportunity of colder weather to see how many different arrangements I can paint. They should last longer than in the summer because my studio gets rather cold at night.

Yellow and White Freesias

Yellow and White Freesias

6x8in  oil on canvas 100.

I enjoyed a wonderful time painting these.  I love the shape of Freesias.
I laid them on the table so I could cut off the ends and  the informal grouping appealed to me.
I used a dark transparent wash underneath and lifted off the shapes of the flowers with a damp (Gamsol) brush and Q-tip. Adding the opaque colors is easier after that because the colors keep clean. The green on the leaves and stems are a middle value so I added them right on top of the background color.

My Friend Came With Flowers

My Friend Came With Flowers

6x6in oil on canvas board   85.

Lucky Me! My friend Pam came to visit for a few days and brought me some lovely yellow and white Freesias.
My daughter calls this friend, The Food Goddess... because she works wonders in the kitchen. She is up in the house working her magic while I am finishing this off in my studio.   As I said, lucky me!

Christmas Cactus lll

Christmas Cactus lll

6x6in oil on canvas 85.

Here is a version using palette knife and brush. The flowers have opened a lot more .
Compare to the other two for technique and color.

Christmas Cactus ll

Christmas Cactus l

Christmas Cactus ll

Christmas Cactus ll     SOLD

6x6in  oil on canvas board  85.

This is where personal taste comes in. I posted the cactus below, yesterday, and  painted the more realistic version, top, today. I certainly know which one I had more fun and satisfaction painting.
This was a good exercise for me because I am in the process most artists go through to find their "voice" Only by trying different methods then analyzing both my emotional and visual response can I continue to grow.