Studying Wyeth

nfs

Sketching with the baby in my lap again, from my favorite book on Andrew Wyeth. I love people's profiles... I wish I was better at asking people to pose for me. On the rare occasion I work up the nerve and they agree, I have a lot of fun with it :)
#1022

Apple on the Windowsill

6"x8"

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Just a study for a 12"x12" I'm working on, trying to understand the roundness and the reflected lights...

#1021

Pine cone Contour Drawing

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Yeesh, have you ever tried to draw one of these things?!? Scary difficult... I think it's the complexity, yes, but it's such an ordered complexity that you have to be really exact. And the shape, the growth pattern, it's kind of like a whole pine tree, which is really cool.

#1020

Elmer's School Glue

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It is remarkable how elmer's ends up on every parents-please-buy-this-stuff list for every elementary school student like anywhere... how did that happen?
And Nugget's party went very well. She was thoroughly puzzled by the whole thing, but loved having all the people over! Wonderful people brought her fun and wonderful presents, and ate homemade chocolate cake and coconut cake... that seems like as good a recipe for success as any I can come up with :)
#1019

Hedgeyhog

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One of my little angel's favorite toys... she selected it at the last Whimsical Women show by biting its nose, and that is still the preferred method of carrying it around :D It also has the added virtue of being super cuddly.
Her first birthday party is tomorrow... or later today, more accurately. I think she'll really enjoy it. I'm scared I'll mess it up somehow, having never thrown a birthday party before :-/
#1018

Whisky

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Just looking at this, you would swear I was imbibing... but no, sketches come out lopsided when the baby is sleeping in your lap while you're drawing :) And isn't "whisky" supposed to be spelled "whiskey"? I just went with the spelling on the lable, figuring that if you're making the stuff then you ought to have a better idea of how it's spelled that someone like me, who never even drinks it... but still.
It's just a really cool bottle, I couldn't help but want to draw it. Not sure how to work it in to a still life, but I'm sure I'll come up with something.
#1017

Singing Seahorse

nfs

just a sketch, obviously.... things are crazy right now!

#1016

Looking Up

6"x8"

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Well... the giraffe again. From a very unusual, for me, viewpoint. I tried to make it clear what was going on by having the little face much brighter and crisper than the body.

PS- WHY can't I get the centering vs. the left sided text thing to work tonight? I don't know why some nights the blog text gets so wonky :(
#1015

Skipping Along

two 6"x8" panels

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Naomi loves this giraffe, and I'm doing a great big painting of it, so I'm tinkering with it on a smaller scale first. I think I'm liking this double panel idea....

#1014

Queen of Pigs

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Geez, I just get stranger every day, don't I?
#1013

Velosachicken

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Another joke Naomi can't get yet. I thought it looked kinda scary and dinasaurish. But she laughs anyways, and draws with me :)
#1012

Turkey Hands

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Ok, this doesn't really need any explanation, right? Wrong month for it, but it made me laugh. Naomi doesn't get the joke yet...
#1011

Chicken and Green Squiggles

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Just a doodle. I think I'll be posting more like this over the next few weeks- Naomi is feeling more needy lately, for whatever reason.... teething maybe? I can't be sure yet :-/ Poor little critter. And I'm kinda going crazy trying to make sure I'm ready for my solo show at Broad Street Cafe- I'm hanging November 1st!- so, yeah, the blog is going to be getting some doodles. And then I'll post all the beautiful paintings I'm putting up at Broad Street to make up for it :)

#1010

Two Marbles

6"x8"

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Well, you can see that the studio wall behind me has emptied considerably.... a bunch of stuff went to Bull City Art and Frame recently :) And I'm loving the burnt sienna and ultramarine thing this painting has going, it's a beautiful combination. Almost a complementary situation, right?

#1009

Heirloom Tomato

6"x8"

sold

This tomato is the coolest shape- the farmers market is a wonderful place- and can you believe the reflected lights along the bottom curve of it?

#1008

Silver Skull II

6"x6"

sold

Revisiting the silver skull, from a different angle this time, and with a more purplish cast overall. I do so love the swirling patterns, but I'm hoping to get some more real skulls added to my collection of still life thingies... probably possum or something weird like that.

#1007

Pear and Grey

6"x8"

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Still playing with those slow-drying acrylics, and still really enjoying them :) And yes, the pear did really sit leaning like that. I love how much personality fruit has!

#1006

Pomegranate on Pale

8"x8"

available

And this one got a pale greenish background, a new color for me and quite lovely. But the main this for me was finally painting a cut-open pomegranate. It wasn't as tricky as I thought it'd be.... actually I started over on that area several times, and finally settled on a more impressionistic approach than usual. And it's the highlight on each little seed thing that really makes it come alive :)

#1005

Lemon on Pale

8"x8"

available

The green pear got a pinkinsh background, and the yellow lemon gets a purplish one....

#1004

Pear on Pale

8"x8"

available

I got some Golden Open paints, and I am loving them! Longer drying time, which is especially handy for the lovely green gold that features here and usually dries way too fast. It'd be kinda cool to know the science behind why each color behaves a little bit differently, but I haven't gotten around to researching that yet...

#1003

Eggplant in Cigar Box

8"x10"

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Doing the box thing again, and really enjoying it. Some things about it are crazy difficult, yes, but because it creates this contained environment for your still life subject it forces a further measure of thoughtfullness, and creates a satisfying illusion.

In other news, tomorrow I'll be dropping off Hover, Geometry, Ballet, Evening Tea II, and Ocean Glass at my new Durham gallery, Bull City Art and Frame- these are some really great pieces, and if you're in the area you should definitely come by. They're in Brightleaf Square, which is a wonderful place to visit anyways. Mt Fuji is right next door, they have the best sushi, and Morgan Imports is across the street and that is the coolest little has-absolutely-everything store ever.

#1002

Striped Eggplant

6"x6"

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Gr. I was all happy with this one since I felt like I finally got the striped effect right- surprisingly tricky, that- and then I couldn't get a decent image of the stupid thing! Serves me right for photographing paintings at midnight, I guess :) Continuing with my willingness to use weathered wood in a painting, as well, I'm enjoying that...

#1001

Broken Shell in Cedar Box

9"x12"

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Wow. The thousandth post.

I've learned so much, grown so much artistically, tried so many new things. Even had a baby along the way, can't forget her.... :) Eleven months old now, sitting next to me drawing a picture right now. I did another broken shell piece tonight (the shells were amazing at the beach there for a few days, what with the crazy currents from the hurricanes and whatnot). but this time in a cedar box I got from the Durham farmer's market a while back. I hadn't thought to use it like this, since it's always been horizontal, filled with stuff, and with its lid on, but there's something to be said for moments of change, huh?

And thank you very, very much to the wonderful Making a Mark and to the NC State Alumni Blog for helping me to celebrate my thousandth post!

#1000

Broken Shell

6"x8"

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Back to the ocean!

I think this is my first attempt at rendering wood, and I know this is my first time showing a really weathered shell like this... and I love it! When conch shells break and reveal more of their interior structure, there's something really beautiful and minimalist about them, and really familiar, like bone or something with the graceful curves. And then of course with an imperfect shell it's no longer something that a tourist went and bought at some oceanside strip mall that was imported from Indonesia or something, it's something personal, that has a history, both in the ocean and as a discovery, and then as a painting subject as well. Beautiful.

#999

Autumn Leaf - Indian Yellow

6"x12"

sold

Ok, this isn't really in keeping with my sudden attack of beach-y-ness, but it began life as a proper daily a little while back, and has just now gotten where I'm happy with it. The vibrant indian yellow really glows againt that cool grey, and there's this kind of delicate floating feeling that was only available from this angle, you know?

In other news, can you believe how close this blog is to its 1,000th post? It's been a wonderful going-on-three years, that's for sure!

#998

Shell Fragment II

8"x10"

Same as last night :)

Well, one addition- everyone should go for nighttime swims in the ocean with a full moon- it is an incredibly beautiful experience!

#997

Shell Fragment

8"x10"

Ok, can't get this on etsy at the moment, because I'm at the beach with no photo editing software, but I am loving this trip! I think I'm getting more interested in weathered shells, ones that have more of a history, you know?

#996

Evening on the Sound

8"x10"

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Down at the beach- happies! Also wondering- I don't think I've seen many paintings where light pollution plays a big factor- like distant light pollution like it this one, with the sky over part of the horizon glowing yellow. Do you suppose that's just because nocturnes tend to be painted either in the middle of nowhere or right there in the middle of all the light effects?

And on a somewhat unrelated note, have you ever looked at Whistler's "Falling Rocket"? (I was really really unfamiliar with his work and had never even heard of it, but I just finished a biography on him recently and it's pretty interesting stuff) It is such a cool painting, and all about crazy lights at night. I am so going to try and get some ideas next Fourth of July!

#995

Eggplant and Shooting Star

8"x10"

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I got to thinking about yesterday's eggplants, and how wonderful and purple they are and how I wanted to play that up, make it more... magical, or something. And how better to do that than a really beautiful almost-night sky? Ok, really weird, I know. But I'm really liking it, all the same... and I don't know why I'm so proud of this, but it was painted without any black!

#994

Two Eggplants

4"x12"

sold

Still in my usual corner, this time with eggplants :) I really enjoyed the extreme-horizontal format, even though it's not terribly view-able on the computer screen....

#993

Halved Avacado III

9"x12"

sold

Wow, I think I'm in love with this avacado.

Seriously, back to my usual still life situation, but this background is so much better! I used the fluid retarder like I did with that sky a little while back, and really tried to work the values of it so they wouldn't interfere with the avacadoe itself, all that wonderful color...

#992

Peach on White II

6"x6"

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.... and the computer is being retarded again, making the "enter" key double-space everything, and I have no idea why! Gr.

Ah, well. I think yesterday's pic inspired me to try the same subject again, playing with really subdued colors. Yes, I LOVE bright and sparkly colors, but what if I allowed neutrals to permeate an essentially bright subject, how would it "feel"?

#991

Peach Against the Sky

6"x8"

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Experimenting with color, I guess.... usually I'm pretty literal about it, I guess because I usually stick to lighting conditions that allow red to be red, yellow to be yellow, that sort of thing, but I really admire artists that can pull off something looking exactly like itself despite being in an unusual situation, visually... just trying to grow, I guess :)

#990

Note in Red

9"x12"

sold

This one was a lot of fun to paint, and it came together into something pretty striking, I think. You know what my favorite part is? The reflection of the cut part of the apple half in the side of the whole apple, that little streak of paler color. Too cool, something I never would've noticed if I hadn't been painting it :)

#989

Study in Blue and Green

8"x10"

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That same beautiful float from "Ocean Glass", but all by itself this time, and bigger.... I love it. Especially the shadow.

A lady at Lazy Daze told me that my work was abstract, because the objects and people in my paintings seem to be so much more themselves. That got me thinking, especially about the whole magical realism idea, and I think this painting really embodies that, you know? Without throwing anything really obvious in there, but there's the history and the imperfections in the glass, and the amazing light that's in it and shining through it, and then there's my whole studio, really, coming through with the just hints of reflections. Happy.

#988

Evening Rising

8"x10"

available

Took a cue from yesterday's piece and used a lot of retarding medium or whatever it's called, trying to get some really smooth wonderful transitions, and then going back and layering some colors, the weird light on the land and the glow around the stars, and it's like I'm not sure if it worked, because glare is such an issue, apparently, with nocturnes. I mean, it looks gorgeous in person, but have you ever tried to photograph something like this? Augh!

No, seriously, have you? Because tips would be much appreciated :)

#987

Cloud Study X

6"x8"

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Wow. Maybe landscapes are something I ought to try more often?
#986

Farmland

6"x8"

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Ok, you know that landscapes are not really something I'm comfortable with, definitely not something that I feel I'm naturally gifted with.... but after our little excursion into Virginia recently, I've got some images in my head that I can't get rid of, insisting on being painted. So I'm giving it a shot :)

#985

Tomato VI

6"x6"

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I don't know why tomatos keep cropping up in my dailies.... probably something simple, like how pretty and bright red they are :) and how good they taste! And how summery they are, which I guess means they'll be cycling out of my paintings for the winter all to soon.

#984

The Red Cushion

6"x6"

sold

There's not many things more peaceful that a sleeping kitty cat...
#983

Ocean Glass

12"x12" acrylic on cradled hardboard panel

available

I wouldn't have ever thought that an empty tequila bottle, a blown glass float, and a dragonfly could come together so well... I think the float thing is my new favorite still life subject, though. I have several of them, and they're just beautiful! Now I'm wondering if maybe one of them has a hole in it, I could fill it half full of water and that would change the way the light comes through... ok, off to check :)
#982

Naomi Sleeping

14"x14" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

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This is a portrait of my beautiful, perfect ten month old daughter Naomi :) The skin tones came out amazing on this one- I discovered how wonderful Quinacridone Red and Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide can be together- and the painting just glows! Also, I'm just in love with the way her little mouth smooshes up when she sleeps, and this caught that just perfect... and the light plays up her little bitty nose and the way the light reflects on her left cheek....

#981

Pomegranate IV

6"x6"

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... and the other one. My understanding of this fruit is that it forms kind of like a rose hip, right? With the fruity part being around each little bitty seed, and maybe that's why the flowery end still has obvious flowery parts attached, little stamens peeking out of the end of a fully formed fruit.... but the most appealing part, for me, is that wonderful color and the way it's played up by the almost leathery exterior. I don't mean like tough leathery, but like slightly shiny and softly textured leathery...

#980

Pomegranante III

6"x6"

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The other day I was wandering through Whole Foods and the pomegranates just looked delectable... not to mention that I'd gotten a request for pomegranate paintings at Lazy Daze :) This is one result, and I've got to say they are an awful lot of fun to paint, though I'm still too scared to attempt and interior shot...

#979

Plum Suspension

4.5"x9"

sold

This is a commissioned piece, to go with a strawberry I did a little while back, and it came out beautifully! I do love the suspensions thing, though I never would have thought of using a plum except for this commission...
#978

Little Green Apple

6"x6"

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The colors came out just wonderful with this little guy... that's part of the reason to do daily paintings, I guess, to discover little things like this that you want to use in larger works :)

#977

Constellation

16"x20" acrylic on stretched canvas

sold

Another one with my beloved marbles- I swear these things just keep getting more and more interesting! I wonder what the next step in their evolution will be...
#976

Cow Skull with Red Thread

16"x20" acrylic on stretched canvas

sold

I am so loving this skull!!! The red thread was something to brighten up the composition.... it was inspired by Vermeer's Lacemaker, but my friend Amna very accurately pointed out the blood symbolism. I just think it was so, so much fun to paint, to really make real.... this is exactly life sized, too. Which is funny, 'cause it feels bigger.

#975

Dolly

6"x6"

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Another installment in the series of overwhelming cutenesses that are Naomi's toys :)

#974