Turquoise Twosome

I was on a roll last night with these peppers and put them on a light turquoise cloth for this one. Using my slippery new Utrecht #239 Brights felt like ice skating over the surface of the painting. They are synthetic like the ones Kelley gave me. Amazing that I could stop the brush since I coated my panel with Liquin prior to beginning, something I never do. I've always painted with bristle brushes, rarely a sable, ever. It gives a completely different look to the paintings. This one's going up on eBay later with the same starting bid of $60, which reflects my, 'adjusted for recession', prices. I would also like to mention that I once had a subscriber list through FeedBlitz. which no longer responded to my password or emails for some unknown reason, so I ditched it and installed the FeedBurner box to the right for that same purpose. I would so appreciate for all of my visitors to sign up for an email when I post a painting. The more subscribers the more recognition my blog gets in search engine hits. Type in your email address and then verify by clicking the link in the email you'll receive. Thank You! Check out Not Really a Cleaning Lady for a new post about my upcoming Open Studios Liquidation Sale!

Pepper Party

Click to Bid Who doesn't love these things strictly for their beauty and dazzling array of shapes and colors? Even if you don't eat them. I had fun session today, painting them on such strong background colors(fabulous dishtowels from the $ store). I like this one, actually. I can't say that about every one so, luckily, the beauty really IS in the eye of the beholder.

Half a Pepper Watercolor 6x8

Just for fun I played with watercolors yesterday. I did some cropping on this piece because I think it's stronger that way and the cropping shows the color details. The magical look of watercolor comes from the way the white paper shows through the paint.

I'm a Pepper, You're a Pepper.... 6x8

This lesson was about keeping the darks vibrant and not beginning the painting in too high a key, a foible of mine. If you start too light you can't make the highlights 'pop'. I also worked my edges more than usual to get a more vibrant feeling. Sorry about the glare but I really wanted to post it tonight rather than wait for daylight to shoot it again.

Three's A Crowd 5x5

As if I don't have enough 'stuff' to paint, I went shopping at the Goodwill Store and found this great nasturtium plate. I'm sure I'll be using it again and again.