'Seeing Stars' Block in

There seems to be no end to the fun I can have with Starfruits. I bought a basket of 4 at the flea market for only $2. Since they go for $2 apiece at Publix, I was thrilled. This block in took me a few hours to get the drawing right. In doing so, I lost some of the punchy darks I need for the forms but I'm happy with the color. I'm also heartened by my diligence in getting it this far, although my brain was bent after several hours and I wanted to get up and run away. It takes patience to really see. You can tell I'm going for a Jennifer Bellinger here. I love her fruit still lifes and so admire her ability to paint stripes. She has patience. Meanwhile, I've been busy matting about a dozen small watercolors, getting a print framed, delivering all of it to the Art Boutique at Tin City, going to a family birthday party on Saturday and the Naples National Art Show on Sunday. Tomorrow Tommy and Anne arrive with Ryan-5 and Colin-3 for a week. Today I washed all the mini blinds and all the bedroom windows inside and out ;) etc..etc.. I'll be back.

Star Burst 6x6

Finally, I cut the star fruit up and added the glass bowl and the knife. You can see how inspiring it is to paint the same subject over and over again. You get a feel for the structure and you've mixed the colors over and over. This is close to being finished after about 2 and a half hours getting the shapes and values right. Needs a bit more 'detail' (color spots) in the fruit and on the reflections in the bowl which is all but invisible in the set up. Today, I picked up a blue and white Oriental (fake) vase at the Flamingo Isle Flea Market in Bonita. It works beautifully with this set up. More to come.

My Stars 6x6

I wiped some of this second painting of the star fruit, but will stay with it because I like the basic structure of the painting and the drawing is good. Luckily, the "Florida" room I paint in has been like a refrigerator since I arrived in Naples, FL last week, which is helpful to my set ups. I am happily dressed in fleece and moccasins painting away in my little bubble ;) I did two paintings yesterday but I wanted to post the star fruit in order so I'm holding them back. I had a really good day so come back tomorrow and see. Better yet, click on that subscribe link and you can see it, then delete it, with no danger of blog lingering ;) Thanks to my followers, too.

Back to Painting

Last night I worked on this Matlacha (Mat-la-shay) piece. I'm focusing on keeping it very painterly and loose. I love that these folks gave me such a hot color scheme to work with. This is stage two and I won't be able to get back to it until tomorrow. I'm living my last few weeks of Florida Retiree lifestyle before heading North. My latest adventure with our grandsons is over on Not Really a Cleaning Lady. I also read and would like to share this title with you. The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle. I compare this book to Old Yeller and The Red Pony. It was with me for days.