Bowl Of Cherries

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

How this painting will look framed: 

This painting was a challenge and pleasure to paint. I enjoyed working on the reflections on the bottle. I've been learning a great deal about reflections. As in painting reflected light, reflections should be the same value (lightness/darkness of a color) as the value of the bottle (object) and not lighter than the lightest light on the bottle (object). To check to see if I've accomplished this, I squinted my eyes. The reflection should blend in with the rest of the bottle (object) or close to blending in with the bottle (object). When painted just right, the reflections appear to be floating on the surface of the object. They add life to the object. In alla prima painting, the proper value is painted without repainting over the first layer. In classical painting, the reflection is actually floated onto the surface of the object with thinned opaque paint after the original layer has dried. This is called scumbling. 

To enhance your viewing pleasure of Bowl of Cherries, may I suggest pairing it with my recipe, Raw Cherry Pie featured in my food and wellness blog.

Reflections: Still Life with Orange and Bottle

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




How this painting will look framed:

The challenge in painting Reflections: Still Life with Orange and Bottle were the reflections on the bottle. I wanted to use the highlights and the orange's reflection on the bottle to create dimension as well as give the painting life and light; yet, keep the reflections from over-powering the bottle. To accomplish this, I had to make the orange reflection on the bottle as close in value (the lightness or darkness of a color) as possible with the rest of the dark bottle. To see if I accomplished this, squint your eyes and look at the orange's reflection and the rest of the bottle. They should be very close in value, almost the same darkness. What do you think? Are the bottle and the orange's reflection almost the same darkness when you squint?

To enhance your viewing pleasure of Reflections: Still Life with Orange and Bottle, may I suggest pairing this painting with my recipe,  Chocolate-Dipped Candied Orange Peel.

White Onion

oil on linen panel, 6x6" / sold

How this painting will look framed:

White is often very difficult to paint, because white is not really white. There are many kinds of white.To make this white onion look three dimensional, I changed the temperature of the white. Look carefully. Notice where I warmed the white by adding some orange (cadmium orange) to make parts of the onion come forward. Look carefully again. Notice where I cooled the white to make parts of the onion recede.


I've been noticing that the main focus of my paintings have been food-fruits/vegetables. I realize fruits and vegetables have traditionally been the main focus of still life paintings, but I have an additional passion for food-I love to cook and bake. I find it extremely enjoyable to create new recipes and sometimes re-create something I've eaten at a restaurant.


So, to make the viewing of this painting even more enjoyable, may I suggest it be paired with some gazpacho soup!

Packham Pear

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

How this painting looks framed:

Quick, close your eyes! Now open them. What part of the pear do your eyes look at first after you open your eyes?

This painting is a good example of chiaroscuro and the use of edges to create a three dimensional-looking object on a two dimensional surface, a true abstraction. The pear's shadow and the background are kept in a close value range. If you squint your eyes, you'll see that the shadow of the pear and the dark background form one shape. Against this dark, is the light on the pear to which your eyes are drawn. 

The harder edge on the left side attracts your eyes to the light side. The highlight holds your eyes on the light and away from the left edge even though it's sharper than the right edge. The softer edge on the right, the shadow side helps the pear turn into the background. The right edge is found and then lost to create dimension. Also notice the shadow of the pear is very simply stated. The shadow is plain and transparent. There are no added layers of paint. This simple shadow helps the pear look three dimensional and to hold viewer's eye on the lit side of the pear, which has thicker paint.

Red Onion

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

detail views:

How this painting looks framed:

I enjoyed painting this red onion as much as I like to use red onions in my cooking. Red onions add a natural sweetness to any recipe that calls for an onion. Its vibrant red-purple also adds a touch of color to salads.

The challenge was to make the red-purple vibrant and distinctively separate from the shadow. I wanted to keep your eyes on the light (the lit) part of the onion. To accomplish these two goals, I mixed alizarin crimson (a purple red) with cadmium orange light (an orange) to paint the lit part of the onion. To add dimension and to hold your eye, I then added the white highlight with a touch of ultramarine blue (to help it look extra white against the warm red-purple.

I hope you enjoy viewing this red onion as much as I enjoyed painting it. Now maybe I'll add some red onion to my curry chicken salad.

New Video! April-June 2011 Paintings

Tangerine

oil on canvas, 6x6" / unframed/ sold

detail views:

How this painting looks framed: