Organized Orange

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil on panel

I got an email today from a gal who says that she "struggles with the middle values." And I can honestly say - me too! Recently I added a new thing to my studio that has helped. I painted a simple little value scale (with acrylic paint) that I put under my palette so that the values peek out along the bottom.

When I'm having trouble, I mix colors with corresponding values right above each value. This helps especially with all the white cups and plates I paint. I also think to myself, when I'm looking at the plate, for example, what like value can I find? Is there a value in the cup that is similar? And every time I mix a new color, I look for like values to compare it too (as opposed to looking at only the colors right next to the thing). I might even put a little dab (on my palette) of the new color next to a color with a similar value just to compare.

I will try and post a photo with paint on the palette to show more of what I mean. Hopefully this all makes sense, but feel free to email me with questions!

Apple Sniffer

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil on panel

He takes his job very seriously. I mean someone has to make sure the apples smell ok.

Say What Again

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil on panel

I almost feel like I'm cheating when I paint tigers. They are a composition in themselves - a ready-made study in interesting value arrangement.

Orange You Bottles?

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil on panel

Titles are hard to come up with. That's all I got today.

Water Lily Buds

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil on panel

Remembering summer with this one, and the trips I took with my kayaking buddy. Already looking forward to next year!

Apples on Hand

Click Here to Purchase - $250 - 8x8in. - oil on panel

Here's another study of apples in a glass bowl that I did in preparation for a larger one. And when I say large, the final version is 32x32in! Which is like larger than a mural for me. But I'm really happy with it, and so glad I did studies.

Keeping the Doctor Away

 

Click Here to Purchase - $250 - 8x8in. - oil on panel

I love the theme of fruit in a glass bowl. You might have noticed me paint it before. I wanted to do a large painting of it, but decided to work out the lighting and composition first with a few studies. Here's the first one.

Old Friends

 

Click Here to Purchase - $250 - 8x8in. - oil on panel

Here are two peonies from my garden this year. I cut them when they were first blooming (they were a pretty dark pink) and took a million photos. Then one day I came into my studio and found them looking like this. The colors had changed quite a bit, and they were wide open. It was a whole new look, and I loved it!

Apples Beware

 

Click Here to Purchase - $250 - 8x8in. - oil on panel

I'm really quite a peaceful person. It's not me who puts the objects into threatening positions. In this case it was the scissors. They jumped in at the last minute. I think I need to put them in therapy.

Blowout

 

Click Here to Buy for $75 - 8x8in. - collage on illustration board

This is another little collage collection. Each of the 9 pieces is done on illustration board, and then glued to an 8x8in. piece of white matboard. It will fit perfectly into a standard 8x8in. frame. We thought about affixing each with thin velcro so the buyer could rearrange, but decided it might sag over time and get frustrating. Do you have an opinion? It might help me with future collections. Thanks!

Wonder

Click Here to Buy for $65 - 8x8in. - collage on illustration board

My husband kept telling me it would be cool to see groupings of my collages, but the how of it didn't click for me until recently. Each of these squares is collage on a 2x2in. piece of illustration board, and all 9 are mounted with archival PVA glue on a piece of white matte board. The whole thing can be placed into an 8x8in. frame, and is basically self-matted. I'm really happy with it! : )

Someone Look it Up

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil on panel - starts at $100

It was gray and/or raining for a lot of the time I was last in Florence (so much that my flight home was delayed because of flooding!). I tend to prefer sunny scenes, but ended up getting a lot of more subtle references that I never would have gotten otherwise. And I just love the reflections of their shoes on the wet sidewalk.

Purse Shopping

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil on panel - starts at $100

No, we can never have enough bags. And in Florence there are about a million stores the specialize in them. So it's quite impossible to come back from there not having bought at least one. I speak from experience.

Window Shopping

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - Oil on panel - starts at $100

This is another little city-scene from Florence, Italy. I was there teaching a workshop this past spring and am finally feeling motivated to tackle some paintings. I knew it would happen eventually. I try not to push it anymore. There's a time for everything.

Group Twelve

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil on panel - starts at $100

When you are in the center of Florence (Italy), there are often several tour groups touring around you, at all times. This makes for lovely clumps of people to photograph. My thanks to group twelve for posing so nicely.

Bonding Time

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil - "Bonding Time"

I got a great series of photos of these two (on a bench in a square in Florence). At first the kid was having a meltdown (probably hungry). The dad was trying so hard to make it ok, but the boy was leaning away and having none of it. Then finally the dad got through, they had a little chat, and a hug. But the final photo was the very best arrangement of limbs and light. And that bird! So I chose to paint it even though dad's on his phone and you missed all the bonding. Ah well.

Out in Flannel

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil - "Out in Flannel"

Let me just start with - flannel is hard to paint. I've tried before and failed miserably, but I thought this actually turned out. This is another one from Freiburg, Germany. A lovely town we've been to many times.

Also, I've added new prints to my prints page. : )

A Strolling Kind of Day

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil - "A Strolling Kind of Day"

While we were in Germany in May, my husband and I took a day trip to Zurich. Some friends of ours took us around town, including to this lovely little market under the trees. Many thanks to Annemarie who was very patient with me while I took pictures!

NEW PRINTS AVAILABLE

I have added a few new options to my prints page. But you can request ANY painting (ok, almost any) to be made into a print. Just find a painting in my gallery, click on it, and you will see a 

"request a fine art reproduction" in the popup.

Apparently we had a bug in the ordering process that we have now fixed, so if you tried and had trouble, please try again. And if you still run into trouble, please let me know - it really helps! Thanks so much.

Bring the Dog

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - Oil -  "Bring the Dog"

Here is another painting from my trip to Europe last month. This scene is one I photographed in Freiburg, Germany. They were pausing on the bank of a little "creek" running through town, with a lovely restaurant with outdoor seating on the other side. I think the little dog was just thinking about lunch.

I am now selling prints!

I'm starting with these five, popular paintings, and will add more soon. I did tons of research and found a gorgeous, heavy weight, matte paper, and bought a top of the line printer. The prints are fabulous! You can purchase them from the new prints page on my website. : )

Map Glow

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil - "Map Glow"

It took me a while to settle back into regular life after 20 days in Europe! I spent the first half in Germany visiting my mother-in-law with my husband. We took a couple of day trips (to Freiberg & Zurich) to collect photos for painting, which you will see eventually.

I spent the second half in Florence, Italy, teaching 12 wonderful human beings about painting people and cityscapes. The weather forecast was dismal, but the reality was better. We managed to get out a few times to collect photos, and sometimes the sun even came out. The food was amazing, and the wine was spectacular. Florence is lovely. But the absolute best part was the people I spent the time with! And the hosts (Debra & Ivano) who made it happen. Thank you!!!

This painting is from Florence. I took a LOT of photos, but I knew this one was special when I took it.