Daily Painting Still Life, "White Roses"

"Stone Bowl with White Roses"
12X16
Acrylic on Paper
Artist's Collection


Click picture to enlarge
Lost in the petals again..
Actually I haven't been altogether happy with this painting. It's the spacial concept that is lacking...while the bowl and the roses are adeptly painted, the background and visual plane seem too ambiguous. Couldn't quite get the sense of place with this. Seems to work more as design...rather than any sense of realism. But I do love the flowers. We are our own worst critics....yes??

Daily Painting Still LIfe, Orange on a Blue Plate

"Orange on a Blue Plate"
8X8
Oil on Linen Panel
Available from the Artist
Contact Me



Dedicated to the California Orange growers .....
I hope you all make a terrific return next year and the frost doesn't ruin your businesses. Without you we'd all have scurvy!

Daily Painting Still Life, "Blue Vase"

"Blue Vase"
9X13
Watercolor
Licensing Collection












One from the archives.....this was when I was deep into watercolors and working on the Wild Hare product line. Showing you this while I stew over what to paint next.

Daily Painting Still Life, "Seashells & Shadows"

"Seashells & Shadows"
16X20
Oil On Canvas
Available for Purchase
$950.00
Contact Me













Detail



This is a re-post of this painting. If you live at the coast and want a really great painting for your living room or den......this is it. If you love seashells this would be beautiful hanging close to them or next to a stack of books on sea life. It is framed and ready to hang. The frame is plein air gold and the colors in the painting are a bit more vibrant than shown here. If you are interested I can email you more pictures of it.

Daily Painting Still Life, "Plate of Cherries

"Plate of Cherries"
9X12
Oil on Canvas
Private Collection













notes:
(The photo has the edges of the frame included...looks a little crooked and I didn't have the heart to crop it for fear of losing some of the painting. And there is a glare from the light which shows at the top of the painting.)

Detail






Yes, it took more than one day to paint this. In fact the cherries were really quite rotten by the time I was finished with it. So sad I couldn't eat them. There is a quote somewhere about painting pears...something about how patient they are, they just sit there and let you paint them without being ruined from the time involved. It's true. Not so with other fruits and flowers. Now you know the secret reason you see so many paintings of pears...and not so many cherries! :)

Daily Painting Still LIfe, "Pansies & Periwinkle"

"Pansies & Periwinkle"
9X12
Oil on Linen Panel
Sold







Detail






This is a little brown pot I picked up at a consignment store in Clovis while on the Christmas trip. It seemed just the right size for my pansies......and as you can see, it is!
My studio has transoms all around the ceiling and, while they let in a wonderful amount of indirect light, on a bright sunny day I get some of the sky reflecting on shiny surfaces. You can see that here on the brown pot....Carolina blue sky.

Daily Painting Still Life, "Red and Green Pears"

"Red and Green Pears"
8X8
Oil on Linen Panel
Available
Contact Me












Back to the oils finally. And back to those familiar pears as a warm up exercise to get going again.....an icy wintery day and perfect for staying inside the studio with few distractions.

Daily Painting Child's Emblem, "Ella Grace"

"Ella's Sign"
8X20
Acrylic on Board

Click to Enlarge


Another departure. I did this for the first grandchild's nursery a couple of years ago. It was too big for my scanner and this photo was lo res so it really doesn't show it off as well as I'd like. It's framed in a nice gold frame and hangs over her bed. Now there is another grandchild, Bennett, and I am wracking (is that the right word?) my brain to figure out his design. Frankly I'm stuck. There are the usual things...cars, trucks, trains, etc. I'm leaning toward a plane, but am not convinced that is just right. So.....anyway, I thought you might like to see this.

I've had several other things getting in my way lately and haven't settled down enough to do something new. Hopefully the next post will be the latest painting.

Daily Painting Landscape, "Oreo in the Field"

"Oreo in the Field"
18X24
Oil on Canvas

Click to Enlarge






Driving you crazy with this jump in styles and media? If you think it makes you nuts, you oughta see the inside of my brain. On second thought...

This was the big guy in his domain...our North Carolina trees and sky. This picture of the painting is a little blurry. Sorry. As you may know, this is the third version. One was an 8X10, one was a miniature 5X7, and this one is the whole scene 18X24. You can tell it is the same Oreo as before, same position, etc. I think I'm done with him...no more versions of this particular guy.

For the moment, I am finished with the "Apple project" and looking around for the next subject to paint. Hopefully I will land on something inspiring in the next day or so....the winter landscape here right now is not doing it for me. Guess we'll see....

Daily Painting Abstract Still Life, "Guitar"

"Guitar"
9X12
Watercolor
Private Collection











Still in the middle of the apple project....
This "Guitar" is a rare piece for me. Not because it is watercolor, but because it is probably the most 'modern' and slightly 'abstract' piece I have ever done. It was done some time ago. It was for a young man who is an accomplished guitarist and this was done as a present for him. It was fun to do.....always pushing the envelope and stretching the imagination.
Hope you have music in your life today!!

Daily Painting Botanical, "Apple and Leaf"

"Apple and Leaf"
4X4
Watercolor
Licensing Collection


Here's your apple today!



Still in the middle of the project...this is one motif added that also gets to be repeated in patterns. This means I am spending a great deal of time with our old friend photoshop. I have a headache already. Folks, I can tell you photoshop is both a blessing and a curse. It is so versatile and extensive it will do hundreds of thousands of things. On the other hand, it is complicated. I didn't go to school to learn photoshop because I'd rather be painting. I have had the good fortune of a good friend who knows it and has shown me just enough to be dangerous. Anyway, this apple is just a small part of the project I am working on. More later on that.

Daily Painting Floral, "Peonies Sketch"

"Peonies Sketch"
6X8
Acrylic on Paper
Available for purchase
$100.00












God was having a really good day when he made Peonies! They are absolutely my favorite flower, though heaven knows I love pansies, too. Anyway, I photographed my pink peonies when they were at their best and kept the photo for this study. I doubt I will ever do them justice, but it's worth the try.
"Ah, Peony, you make me swoon with admiration!"

Daily Painting Floral Still Life, "Summer Vase"

"Summer Vase"
11 1/2X23
Oil on Board
Private Collection

Click to Enlarge









I actually finished this one some time ago, but while I am plodding away on this other project and it is the drear of winter, I can't think of anything I would rather be painting than a cheerful vase of summer flowers.

Daily Painting Botanical, "Apple Trio"

"Apple Trio"
6x6
Watercolor
Licensing Collection


This is part of the commercial project I am working on...an apple theme, just one motif being used.

Thought you might like to see my studio help. A little dog hair mixed in with the paint is always good for some textural interest, don't you think??? As you can see, Bosley's leg surgery has healed nicely and he is ready for play time....all the time!!!

Daily Painting Floral, "Tulips"

"Tulips"
6x8 3/4
Oil on Paper
Artist's Collection








Busy beginning to 2007.....
When I have licensing projects and/or commissions, I have to put the "daily paintings" to the side. It's funny how this daily painting practice has a way of making me look at everything as a possible subject for a painting. And it seems to be on my mind all day long. But, sometimes, another more pressing project arrives and I have to meet a deadline. That's where I am at the moment. I have to hit some deadlines for commercial product designs. The "daily's" will have to be interspersed into "work for money" projects. Nevertheless....I am painting each day whether it gets published here or not. Guess I am trying to say that my heart is in the "daily's" lately, no matter what else comes along.

Daily Painting Landscape, "Clovis Cattle"

"Clovis Cattle"
5X7
Oil on Linen Panel
$120.00
Contact Me



It has taken three days to recover and re-enter after driving back across the country. Running in torrents of rain, fog, and generally bad weather, and going 75 miles per hour, the trip was a blur of grey and brown. It is winter, after all, so finding subjects for painting was not an easy matter. We discovered, while visiting my son and his family, that in the back of the neighborhood is a vast pasture with hundreds of cattle grazing. Each evening they came to the fence by a walking trail. Those of you who know me know that I haven't spent much of my life around cattle. Especially not up close and personal. I have renewed appreciation for every bite of beef I have ever enjoyed and the farmers who work to bring us these animals. Those creatures endured the ice and snow and howling winds, just lumbering around in that pasture and looking at us as if to say, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" They were really huge and looked as though they could just take a leap over the fence and go after us if they had a mind to.

Last night was the first time I managed to get back to the easel. So glad to be home.