Marble Egg

6"x8"

sold

I borrowed this little beauty from my Mama :) I guess it's really just another variation on my whole egg 'thing' but this one required a very different approach, paint wise!

#960

Red Flower Blue Vase

6"x6"

nfs

Trying something new here- I sketched the image out with ink, like I did for the watercolorey paintings a little while back, and then I filled it all in using my usual combination of glazing and scrumbling. It's a fun way to do things :)

#959

Egg XX

6"x6"

sold

You know, I liked yesterday's and I loved doing something different with the whole egg thing.... but I love this one. I think it's the way the light reacts with the egg white being all mounded up the way it is, and brown shells are always cool.

#958

Egg XIV

6"x6"

sold

Another egg, just a little bit different, cracked just enough for the light to be totally glowing through it. I really like it this way :)

#957

Cow Skull Sketch II

8.5"x11" graphite on cardstock

nfs

Further exploration. It always amazes me, that period where you have to get used to a new object, the way every little curve and quirk surprises you and how you really have to think about where every single thing happens relative to every other single little thing. This probably isn't making any sense....

#956

Cow Skull Sketch

8.5"x11" graphite on cardstock

nfs

Just getting to know my newest still life thingy.... isn't it awesome?

#955

Indian Yellow

6"x8"

nfs

Named for the dominant color, which is a wonderful one, but it definitely doesn't come across as a one-note painting, you know? I'm always in love with that rounded feeling objects in a painting can have, where you just want to reach out and cup your hand around something...

#954

Stackable Rainbow

6"x8"

sold

Anyone know what this toy is actually called? Naomi and I love playing with it :)

Silver Skull

6"x8"

sold

And here's the skull thing itself! I am really proud of this one.... this painting and yesterday's silver ball both have that effect where you think they're real objects for a second, you kind of do a double take, and with this one it's really because of that wonderful dull gleam on the metal.

It's funny, now I'm wanting to get one of those truly awful fake crystal skulls off of ebay to use as a still life object. I should be able to resist, though- hopefully I'll be getting a real squirel skull, though, and that'll be really cool.

#952

Self Portrait and Skull

6"x8"

available

Two awesome new things in the same painting! I found some more shiny silver balls, these without the rainbow color and much bigger, and this cool little decorative silver skull. I set them up next to each other to paint- you'll see the skull painting tomorrow- and when I saw the reflection in this one, I just decided to roll with it.

Oh, and I'm sitting on the floor by the table, that's why my face is so low in the reflection. Yes, I wanted it at eye level, but honestly, the baby is happier when I'm on the floor with her. And if she's happier I'm happier- and much more productive.

#951

White Tulip

5"x7"

sold

Hard to believe this is post number 950, isn't it? And for today, I've redone this tulip painting. Again. But I think I've finally got that elusive glow! It feels great :)

#950

Reflections

12"x12"
Engle collection

Anybody remember this one? My, how it's changed since the last time it was finished! Went a lot darker, for the sake of some drama and mystery, and once again with the reflections... I think they help the eye "flow" through the painting, or whatever magic it is that really happens...

#949

Origami

12"x12"

available for sale or rent

So very, very, very not a daily painting.... but something I'm proud of and wanted to share. Probably more of the same tomorrow :)

I'm still loving reflections, they can do so much for a composition, but the real beauty here is just the simple white paper- the way the light shines through some areas and on others, the shadows along some of the folds- I love it. I'm thinking of doing something a little more playful with the origami crane idea, maybe something involving an eggplant, but I'm not sure yet.

#948

Teapot Arrangement IV

6"x8"

sold

After midnight again.

Do you ever feel like you're absolutely overwhelmed, losing-your-mind busy, but when you look at it objectively that feeling makes no sense? I hate it when I get like that.... I mean, it always passes, but still. Gr.

#947

Teapot Arrangement III

6"x8"

sold

And back to the red again- I'm really not sure which I like better :) I ought to try a super-bold color like this as the background for one of my larger pieces, even though I do love all the wonderful shades and possibilities of greys...

#946

Teapot Arrangement II

6"x8"

sold

Wow. Love how this one came out!

#945

Teapot Arrangement

6"x8"

sold

This one... I wanted to do something deceptively simple, I think. Overhead light, single white object- a beautiful teapot- and a dramatic background color. I think I'll do something similar tomorrow. Maybe a set of some kind...

#944

Hollyhocks

8"x10"

sold

This one was just for fun :) No attempt at rendering surface texture, no worrying the details to death- just working with a few colors over a base of brilliant, transparent red. Let the sun shine in, you know?

#943

Cloud Study VIII

6"x6"

nfs

We never see to have clouds like this around here, but some came through today! I am a huge, huge fan of Ambera Wellman, and I just had to try this painting :)

#942

Sheep

6"x6"

sold

A portrait of a sheep at the Museum of Life and Science- Naomi and I have started going every week, and she really loves the farm animals. And, for that matter, the baby play space and the butterfly house and the sparkly rocks and the drums and the bells...

#941

Jack

6"x6"

sold

My mother suggested jacks as a logical compliment to my marbles, and so I thought I'd try out a study of one... way fun! I like reflective surfaces anyways, and this one was so complex... another one of those things that always feels nice and rounded on the canvas, you know?

#940

Eggplant VII

6x6 acrylic on canvasboard

available

Does anyone know why Dioxine Purple gives me such glare issues? Carbon Black does the same thing... gr.

But isn't this so cool?!? It looks great hanging on the diagonal like that, different enough to really 'pop' and the eggplant itself came out nice and rounded- the ultramarine detailing around the highlights really helped with that. And the fact that there's a cool reflected light on one side and a warm one on the other. I don't know why it happened that way, it must be because of the direction of the light, but it's a really cool effect.

#939

Wine

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

sold

#937

Fireflies

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

sold

I'm so sorry about the delay on these! I was having camera-loading issues... it turned out to be the cord that connects the camera to the computer, so now that's all figured out and we ought to be good again :)

This one is a little too subtle for the camera to manage right.... it's a painting I keep wanting to do, but it never turns out quite right. This is the closest I've ever managed, and I really do like it. It's just the idea of fireflies on a summer evening, peaceful and flickery and dancing at the edge of the tress. Maybe someday I'll be working in a more abstract style and then I'll be able to really bring it to life?

#938

Halved Avacado II

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

nfs

#936

Skyscape

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

sold

This feels alarmingly spacious for being such a small skecth- I don't usually do landscapes, I just can't process them into paint, but I'm going to have to try something like this on a more involved level.

#935

Lemon in the Shadows

6x6 acrylic on canvasboard

sold

This is more of a lost and found edges sort of piece, trying to get the lemon to really jump out at you but in a realistic, convincing way. What do you think?

#934

Glass of Water

6x8 acrylic on canvsboard

nfs

I was looking through some old paintings of Duane Keiser's and saw a wonderful piece he did, all about the reflection in the surface of this small thing of water... so I wanted to try something similar :) I really like how this came out, especially with the ghosting of the white paint really bringing the glass forward.

#933

Japanese Eggplant

6"x8" acrylic on canvasboard

nfs

Essentially a portrait of one of the eggplants... the fact that the cap was that rich purple really fascinated me, and the graceful curve coupled with the natural blemishes and the wonderful pale area there by the cap... couldn't resist :)

#932

Snapshot

6x6 acrylic on canvasboard

sold

This is kind of a funny one, I guess- the idea was to paint the two eggplants like two people, head and shoulders only, smiling and leaning against one another. Silly, but I really like the way it came out :)

#931

Eggplant IV

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

sold

I really wanted to think up a clever title for this one, but failed utterly. Maybe it's the whole 2 a.m. thing? Well, I'll try again tomorrow- I think I'm going to do a few more eggplant dailies, I enjoyed this one so much :)

#930

Garlic and Reflection

6x6 acrylic on canvasboard

sold

'nother garlic on blue. And yet it doesn't feel old, you know? Maybe because I left more of the paper on this one, it changes the shape, or maybe because of the reflection.... always growing.

#929

Cherry Reflection

6x6 acrylic on canvasboard

sold

What was I saying about reflections, again?

Just kidding :) But that was fun, and the halo of white around the cherry itself really ended up looking pretty cool- it's an effect I've been interested in, but wasn't entirely aure about trying, you know?

#928

Tomato Reflections

6x6 acrylic on canvasboard

nfs

More tomatoes, more restricted palette stuff... and my new light-colored reflective surface. I'm enjoying the reflections thing entirely too much!

#927

Perky

6x6 acrylic on canvasboard

nfs

This little one was so cute I just had to play around a bit, find the angle that made it look the most upbeat, you know? Also, I'm back to the primary colors and white thing again. Just for a few paintings :) This one is brighter than it seems here- I didn't get a chance to photograph it before the sun went down :(

#926

Mango on Blue

6x6 acrylic on canvasboard

sold

Same mango, different colors, different day. So much fun! I really love how the mango itself jumps out because it's painted with all these transparent glazes while the background is that nice opaque blue.

#925

Mango on Green

6x6 acrylic on canvasboard

nfs

And a mango, admiring its own reflection :D I was complaining to myself that I don't much like eating the fruits that I most love to paint, and that the ones I love to eat... but I was wrong. I already knew I was generalizing, but I was just regular old wrong :) I can't really cut a mango in half and paint it that way, theres the stupid pit to consider, but I realized that the outside of a mango is every bit as expressive and personable as a pear!

This one was fun to paint, once I figured out the color change- I actually had to paint it back to white and let it dry once, so I could start over with new glazes of color on the actual mango part, but it was worth it...

And this is the little Nugget- nine months old today! She's walking now, and of course is still the most beautiful, perfect little girl in the whole wide world. Not that I'm biased or anything :)

Egg XVIII

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

sold

My eighteenth egg... and the first one with a reflection like this. I used the same dark reflective surface as with "Three and One" and "Mirroring".... still in love with the effect. And I want to do a hunormous egg, like 30"x30", maybe with a similar composition? Need to go out and get some more black paint, first... it amazes me how fast I go through black and white.

#923

Pomegranate III

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

sold

Pretty, pretty.... wish I had the nerve to try and paint it once it's cracked open, though! I will one of these days.

#922

Pear on Blue

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

sold

... or at least the purchasing part ought to work- I think etsy may be on the fritz at the moment, but I can't tell for sure. Silly computers :)

#921

Yellow Tulip

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

nfs

Yellow again, but set against brown instead of blue this time... and with some glass thrown in for good measure. Tulips are such a graceful flower, don't you think?

#920

Yellow Onion

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

sold

I believe this is my first ever painting of an onion, and I am totally digging it, especially against that ambiguous blue background.... it's a very different sort of surface, very interesting. Maybe I ought to try one cut in half at some point?

#919

from the Festival for the Eno

markers on vellum

nfs

and Naomi watching the crowds. She was there all three days with me, and did wonderful! She liked the music, of course, and all of the great people who came by to see her, and the mist tent, and the parade...

http://enoriver.org/festival

Here she is again, all tired out :)

#918

chalk and colored pencil on toned paper

nfs

and one of the boys. the light that made it past his hat and into his beard was just irresistible!

#917

charcoal, chalk, and colored pencil on toned paper

nfs

the Eno during the Festival is a bit of a sketchers paradise- strong lighting, obviously, and interesting hairdos, big sunglasses, and all different amounts of clothing...

#916

graphite on vellum

nfs

I loved the way the sunlight struck her hair, and the wonderful way her open mouth and long, graceful nose came together with the arch of her eyebrows, somehow....

#915

marker on vellum

nfs

because of her interesting hair- doesn't it make the most beautiful shapes?

#914

Egg XVII

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

sold

Wow, I can't believe it's July already! Madness.... supposed to be absolutely gorgeous weather this weekend, too, you guys have to make sure to come out and see me at the Festival for the Eno on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday!

#913