Tangerine, Ceramic Pot, and Grape

oil on linen on panel / 6x6"/ unframed / sold

How your painting will look framed:

Painting Tangerine, Ceramic Pot and Grape brought back many memories of the Chinese New Year celebrations with my family as a child in our one room home in the back of a Chinese laundry in New York City. Searching for the perfect tangerine to paint reminded me of my mom carefully sorting through the tangerine displays in Chinatown to find the golden orange ones with leaves. Displays of oranges or tangerines in bowls dotted our humble home. Based on Chinese tradition, oranges are symbolic of wealth, and tangerines represent good luck. The tangerine with leaves topped each of my mom's tangerine displays for the new year.

The leaf on tangerine is almost the same value (the lightness or darkness of a color) as the orange reflection of the tangerine in the ceramic pot. To help the leaf come forward, I painted the curled up edges a lighter value and gave it crisp edges.

May I suggest that you complement the viewing of Tangerine, Ceramic Pot, and Grape with my recipe for teedoys, a special treat for the Chinese New Year-the Year of the Dragon, 4710.

God Saw...and It Was Good... Ponderings on the Source of Our Creativity

I've been pondering about the source of creativity and what enhances its growth.

Creativity often feels like a river welling up within me. I only know the realness of this power when I'm practicing my craft, painting; but even more so when I haven't painted for a while, when I've been without. I can't go for too long without holding the implements of my craft. Just putting my brush to paint allows the flow of this spirited river. Some of my artists friends have felt this same energy when they cook a special meal, compose a song, write poem, paint a painting, perform a dance, play an instrument, or create a design. They too, have felt out of sorts and are about to burst, when they haven't practiced their craft for a while.

I have had the tremendous honor of repeating this creative process over and over again as a painter. The times when I've been satisfied with what I've painted, I step back from my painting, look at it from different angles and say to myself, This is good.

I feel an intimate relationship with chefs, composers, writers, poets, painters, dancers, musicians, and designers who have shared their talents with me and others by allowing this river to flow through them. Whether I view a museum painting, experience fine dining, read a poem, examine the intricate details of a design, or listen to a symphony; I sometimes say to myself, This is good.  The art has taken my breath away. It has touched my spirit and lingers in my mind. I can't forget it. I want to go back and experience it again and again. The art resonates within me, and I'm willing to purchase it. It lingers in my mind so much that I'm willing to pay a price for it. I say to myself, This is good.

My ponderings on the source of creativity have taken me back to the beginning:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth... and God saw that it was good... . God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them... . God saw all that He had made, and  behold, it was very good... . (Genesis 1: 1, 25, 26, 31 NASB)

These verses show me a creative and intelligent God who has created me. Since I have been created in His image; I too, have this creativity. He is the source of my creativity. It's really all His. I've also noticed the words used to describe God's observation of His creation each time He completed a part of it, and God saw it was good; and the words of His final observation that punctuates His satisfaction and contentment, God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good when He completed His entire creation. I too, have found myself saying and thinking similar words about my art or the art of others, This is good.

My ponderings on the beginning from Genesis have led me to conclude that ever since the beginning, God hasn't been able to take His eyes off of His creation, me... us. He lingers and stays with me... us. He just can't take His eyes off of me... us; in fact, when Adam and Eve disobey God, He offered mankind redemption in His Son, Jesus. God as a loving, compassionate God who offers His Son as a substitute for our misdeeds—a pardon, freedom:

All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. (Isaiah 53:6 NASB)

When I align myself to God and submit to His plan, I've found the source of my creativity and the power that will enhance its grow.

God can't take His eyes off of what He has created, you... and me. We linger in His mind so much that He was willing to pay a very high price for you... and me. In the same way a patron may pay for my art, God has paid for us, His masterpiece. We... I linger in His mind, and He was willing to pay a very high price for you... me, God saw all that He had made, and  behold, it was very good... . 

Bartlett Pear

oil on linen on panel / 7x5"/ unframed / sold

How this painting will look framed:

Bartlett Pear is an example of Chiaroscuro-light and shadow. There is a thin transparent shadow and a thick impasto for the lights in this painting. Everything in the painting except the light is background for the painting including the shadow in the pear. Squint your eyes. Everything except the light is the same value (degree of lightness or darkness) or close to the same value. This serves as a foil for the light falling on the nooks and crannies of the pear. This same concept would apply if I were painting a portrait. Try super-imposing a face onto the pear. Get the picture?

Japanese Eggplant

oil on linen on panel / 5x7" / unframed / sold

How this painting will look framed:

Japanese Eggplant is a departure from my paintings with darker backgrounds. This lighter background offsets this Japanese eggplant beautifully. I couldn't resist painting this perfectly shaped, fresh (notice the light green stem) eggplant. I won't tell you how long I stood in front of the eggplant display in the fruit and vegetable department of my local Chinese grocery store looking for this perfect eggplant!

The challenge was to paint the eggplant light enough using reflections and a highlight. Otherwise this lovely eggplant would be one solid purple mass! Notice the reflected light is part of the shadow. Since the reflected light is part of the shadow, it should be darker than any part of the light of the eggplant and lighter than any part of the shadow of the eggplant. Squint your eyes while looking at the eggplant. The purple of the eggplant near the highlight is lighter than the reflected light at the bottom of the eggplant closest to the wood.

Bosc Pear

oil on linen on panel / 7x5"/ unframed /sold

How this painting will look framed:

In setting up my still life paintings, I often look for objects that are distinctive. The contrast of brilliant greens and the shimmer of pale red-orange in the brown attracted my eyes. I must have stood in front of the Bosc pear display for about a half hour before I found the right pear (I was wondering what the the other shoppers around me were thinking!). When I found it, I held it like it was a chunk of gold! Whatever I select to paint, must inspire me to want to paint it and to continue to inspire me to want paint it for days when it is a large painting. The colors of this Bosc pear served as such an inspiration.

The challenge was to maintain the same value (degree of lightness/darkness) in the lights while changing the color. Squint your eyes and look at the light (the left side) on the pear-some green and some pale red-orange. The colors are different, but the degree of lightness is still the same. 

In addition, notice the shadow (the right side) of the pear. It maintains its shape to make the pear look three-dimensional. This shape also helps me to see and gauge the size of the light shape on the left. I compare the size of the light/dark shapes as I paint. All this talk sounds very left brain, but looking at the shapes is a right brain function. 

Two Apples

oil on linen on panel, 6x6" / unframed / sold

How this painting will look framed:

Two Apples was very enjoyable to paint. I loved capturing the vibrant colors of these fresh apples. I imagined myself biting into one and hearing the crispy crunch and tasting the sweetness of its flowing juices.

To maintain the solid look of the apples in this painting, I tried to maintain the shadow in each apple. It is the shadow that makes an object look three dimensional. The shape of the shadow also helped me gauge

the shape and size of the light areas on the apples.

May I suggest you enhance your viewing pleasure of this painting by pairing it with my recipe, Hot Apple Cobbler-a delicious, healthy, grain-free dessert.

New Video! July-September 2011 Paintings