Over the Top

 

Click Here to Bid (6x12in. - OIL - starts at $150 - click image to enlarge)

Here's a slightly bigger one that combines both the apples and flowers that I've been working on lately. I made the little vase with the knobbies on it, years ago. Starting next week I'll be taking another pottery class and hope to produce something else I can use in my still lifes. We'll see.

Some Light Reading

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Today I replaced my old toolbox/workbench, AKA taboret/palette, with this shiny new one! I found it at Costco and immediately felt an intense need. It's bigger and taller, and comes at a time when I need more space for my growing collection of art stuff. Unfortunately it weighs about 300 pounds, so we had to get very creative in moving it. But don't worry, I was careful and didn't hurt my back again. My husband on the other hand...

Salt the Asparagus

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I painted this today. All day. It's six by six inches, and it took all day. Amazing, right? So, getting things to look good with a palette knife isn't easy. Apparently I got lucky with the first one!! Or maybe I just have to be more selective about my subjects. And guess what, it wasn't the asparagus that was difficult! It was the bowls. I struggled and struggled with them, and then finally used my palette knife to scrape it all off, and started over. I think in the end the bowls were all brush. But I'm finally happy with it.

I've done oodles and oodles of abstract collage lately, and I think I'm finally ready to offer them up for sale. I experimented today with getting good images of a couple. I found that scanning was best, although no matter what I tried I couldn't get the oranges to come out right. In the image to the left, the middle piece is a brighter, more saturated orange. And in the right one, the three red pieces are actually orange. Is it my scanner? Is there a better way to do this? Does anyone have any experience photographing collage? I would really appreciate any suggestions. Thank you!

Salty

sold.

I am all done with my second 2017 workshop. For this we used the classroom space at Vistra Framing & Gallery here in Eugene, OR. Not only was the space ideal, and the hosts lovely, my students were awesome! Here you can see them working hard, but also having fun. : )

During the week, the framers gave us a short presentation about their online frame business, webpictureframes.com, and then made up some custom frames for us based on our feedback (some lovely floater frames for panels, since that's what we were using - below, right), at incredibly fair prices. They are a family business, and just the best kind of people.

On the last day of the workshop we had a group critique. You can see them setting up their work for this above, left. Below is my whole group (minus 2 who had to leave early). You gals were fabulous!

Champagne & Snacks

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Here is my second painting from Patti's studio.

Fish Tea & Carrots

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Recently I spent a lovely day in my friend Patti's remodeled studio, painting with her and a couple other art gals. We ransacked Patti's house (and the snacks she put out for us) for props and each created our own still life. This was my first one.

Salty Stack

sold. (6x6in.)

I haven't painted a stack of cups from above in a while. It always intrigues me the way the handles point out in different directions, and the subtle things that happen inside the cups. Again, squinting is the key to capturing it. I feel like I haven't said that enough lately. ; )

Hungry, Hungry ... Pigs

sold

I didn't have any hippos. Honestly that would have made the title perfect. But there you are. You can't have everything.

BTW, I'm feeling better! Thank you all for your kind wishes. : )

Salt or Sweet?

sold

I got this and a few other salt shakers from one of my kids at a workshop on Whidbey Island this year. She made me promise I would paint them, and I have been completely negligent up to this point. Sorry about that!

Stacks and Salt

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Happy Easter to everyone!

Intimidating - SOLD

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These guys are trying real hard to be intimidating. Is it working?

"Mine?"

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I love these birds because they are so expressive. In my other paintings with them, I've had them stealing whatever they're with. This one is simply asking - "mine?" Appropriate, I think.

So with this cherry I painted the stem in last. I decided this worked best when the cherry (and stem) were small. In yesterday's painting the cherries were more prominent and if I had put the stems on last, over the white, they would have gone chalky fast. And if I had left a space for them, there would have been a small space between them and the white, which wouldn't have been as interesting. Works for me anyway.

"Salt, Spoon, Jar" - SOLD

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I did this series of paintings before my advanced workshop last week in order to bone up on some of the more difficult still life subjects. This one is a combination of white, metal and glass. And it was hard, let me tell you.