Peachy Gerbera Daisy

Gerbera Daisy 6x6 oil on gesso board

This Gerbera was a tough one. Part of the flower is in the shadow and is very dark and part of the flower is brightly lit. The value pattern is one of the key elements in a painting and this was a bit of a struggle. Despite the brilliant colors in the flower the mixtures are mostly grays so as to set off the pops of color throughout the painting.
Also, in spite of some sprinkles I managed to get in my swim this morning.. Of course I was the only one in the pool :D
I can't tell you what a distraction sunny days are. I feel like I should be out doing something but today, I'm loving  the cool, cloudy, rainy day we're having. Perfect for being in the studio. 
My last class at Von Liebig is Thursday, April 26 from 9-12. Click on my Classes and Workshops page above to sign up on line. This class has been a lot of fun! Hope to see you there.

Commercial Street Hollyhocks

 

Yes, the stars of the show here were actually the hollyhocks but I forgot to put them in the title. I took another shot at this because I needed the practice with such complicated subject matter. This on is 10x10 on a RayMar panel. Summer in New England is incredibly short but sweet and I'm enjoying the weather and the beach. Today my mama and I are going to lunch at the ocean side Fairview Restaurant. I'm posting this sneak preview of my painting in process. A 12x12 version of the Classic Bug. Stay tuned.

Hide & Peep

Click to Bid
This is my Painting for the Girls Just Wanna Paint Challenge. There's more subtlety in the color than is visible in this photo, and that's almost always the case. I like to say that if you see a painting in a book and you think it's great, you'll be doubly delighted when you see the real thing. I got the Peeps at the half price Easter sell off in the market. I also got some gold plastic eggs :D  Stay tuned.

The Gift 12x12

I am back from Mexico with a tan my dermatologist will have a fit over. Back in my studio yesterday, I put a few finishing touches on this painting. I was also given a beautiful assortment of flowers by my dear friend, Teak and can't wait to begin using them in my still life set ups.

Three Green Apples WIP

I'm posting all 4 stages of this painting which still needs a bit of work but this is the process. Since I took a workshop with the talented and dedicated Carol Marine I've been trying to use her lessons in my own work. Here, I block in with Burnt Umber to get my values and shapes and then begin to add color. Carol's beautiful compositions and color harmonies speak to me and I have many favorite props to incorporate into my own still lifes. I spoke with Carol about my self consciousness in emulating her work and she more or less said, 'Get over it.'  One way to improve your own paintings is to copy work that you love, be it the dead painters or contemporary ones. I say, if you're going to emulate someone's work, emulate the best. Don't sell it though.

Spider Mums and Tomato study

I picked up some fresh mums at Publix this week. These flowers are especially hard to portray. Having already done one of these, I thought it would come together better. Not. I photographed it in gray scale at an earlier stage in the painting to assess the values. I'm not done with this subject matter, yet. This week was more of a learning curve with the paintings. The beach was wonderful, though;)