Pear and the Moon

6"x8"
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I don't know where this one came from... but that's one of the wonderful things about doing daily paintings, if you get something in your head that is outside of your usual fare, you can give it a shot :) Fun to paint, either way. I mean, who doesn't love painting pears?

#1285

Out of the Shadows

6"x8"

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An experiment- I love how it came out, though! Very mysterious, but I still got to put some detail in on it....

#1284

Peach Slice

4"x4"

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Yay for peaches being in season! I love living in the South, even if it is insanely hot and humid...

#1283

Three Blueberries

4"x4"

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Three gorgeous blueberries that we picked ourselves from a local organic farm (Nice Berries Farm in Cedar Grove)... three out of the fifteen pounds or so we brought home. I think Nugget and I might actually turn into blueberries!
She is twenty one months old today, by the way... time goes by so fast.

#1282

Heirloom Tomato on White

3"x6"

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Summertime in North Carolina is a beautiful thing... even if it is so hot and humid that it feels like you're swimming through a sauna every time you open the door. This tomato was delicious :)

#1281

WIP

9"x12"

work in progress

Just the first few steps in a piece I'm working on...

#1280

Twin Cherries

4"x4"

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... and more cherries!

#1278

Dandelion and Storm

8"x8"

sold

I think this eye-level still life thing might be a good way to bring in my love of painting skyscapes... the trickiest part is getting the light to feel right, you know? And making sure the sky doesn't compete with the intended center of interest. It's always something :)

See the little dandelion seed blowing across the shelf?

#1278

Beauty Marks

12"x16"

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Something pretty to share with you :)

#1277

Row of Cherries

3"x6"

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I was so happy with this one when I finished it, but it just would not photograph properly..... gr. I saw some cherries in the grocery store looking just irresistible earlier, and I succumbed to temptation.

#1276

Secrets of the Sea

12"x16"

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You can see it evoled some! I like the sand dollar a lot more than the marble, even though the marble is more typical for me... and the lock is locked now, of course. The angles just weren't working. What do you think?

#1275

Garlic Clove

2"x4"

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And a happy long weekend to everyone :) Be careful with the fireworks... unless you live near me, in which case the rain is keeping you from being outside blowing anything up. And I have to say, I'm grateful for it- it means that the four day screaming bottle rockets bender that has been going on in the neighborhood is finally over!

#1274

Daisy

3"x6"

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Something simple and summery. You know my favorite part? That it is a flower Naomi picked for me :) My second favorite part is the way the yellow center makes such a nice reflection....

#1273

Sand Dollar

4"x4"

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I'm so tickled with this one! About halfway through it I got to thinking that I might have seen a Duane Keiser piece that was uncomfortably similar to what I was doing, but after I got done I looked and I swear I couldn't find it... I hope I'm not infringing. Or maybe I just imagined it. Either way, it excited me to try and paint something so flat, laying flat on a flat surface, and still give it some depth :)

#1272

Green Acorn

2"x4"

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Happy Friday, everybody! And a long weekend coming up... even though my job is kind of every day. That's part of why it's so much fun, right?

#1271

Unlocked WIP

12"x16"

WIP

Grumble grumble grumble.... the marble needed to change, but I don't think I did the right thing with it, and I lost the wonderful rust on the lock. I love how dark the wood got, though, it really makes the shell come forward.... I think I know what to do next, which is a good feeling... No, I ought to think on it some more. I'll let you know :)

#1270

Unlocked WIP

12"x16"

WIP

Got this all laid out and I'm just tickled with the idea!

#1269

Blue Swirl

4"x4"

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Pale on pale instead of bright on dark, like the last couple of days.... I really love pale on pale when I can pull it off :D

#1268

Lemon in the Light

4"x4"

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Something bright and summery... a survivor from the lemon poppy seed pound cake / lemon massacre this past weekend.

#1267

Lime in the Light

4"x4"

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Looking forward to a good week. Nothing went as planned this weekend, but that's ok, and I'm working on some paintings that I'm really in love with, which always makes everything better! This lime... fun light, and just a small play on words :)

#1266

Two Olives

2"x3"

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Happy Saturday everybody!

#1265

Dandelion II

3"x6"

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I love this one so much I don't really want to sell it, especially for the $20 dailies price... it reminds me of the first time Naomi held a dandelion, how carefully and thoroughly she studied it, touching and looking at and smelling every little thing... and then she popped it into her mouth! Ah, well. I'll put it on etsy anyways, and if it doesn't sell I'll be more than happy to keep it forever. And if it does I'll paint another one :)

#1264

Radish

3"x6"

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It's a late radish, but a beautiful one. I love the farmer's market!

#1263

Shell Sketch

12"x12"

nfs

Just an idea.... but I am so in love with the shadow! I should try this for real sometime.

#1262

Wide Awake

5"x5"

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'nother silly little owl...

#1261

Shooting the Moon

5"x7"

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Back in town again, trying to get back in my groove... I got two wonderful stuffed owls from Busy Little Hands at the last Whimsical Women show, and I think they've inspired me here :D

#1260

texture experiment

6"x6"

nfs

I wouldn't usually share this, but I have had an astonishingly unproductive day... here I had fun with layering translucent browns and other earth tones, and spraying water into them as they dried.

#1259

sketch- Blue Shawl

18"x24"

nfs

I love painting people! It's funny and so amazing what will catch your eyes....

#1258

the Scarf

6"x8"

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#1257

Dandelion Puff II

6"x8"

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I love dandelions! They're getting easier to paint, too.... slowly but surely :)

#1256

Orange Pepper

2"x4"

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Something little and hot and bright and summery!

#1255

Bluebird

6"x6"

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I got this at an absolutely amazing antiques store in downtown Durham ages ago, and I've tried to paint it a few times... this is the first time I think it's worked :)

#1254

Shell and Brown Glass

8"x8"

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All in harmony.... It was that amazing Sadie Valerie painting of an abalone shell that inspired me to try this shell flat on its side, too... there's something really cool and subtle about the idea.

#1253

Artichoke and Red Box

8"x10"

sold

A fun painting, all about drama in the form of a vegetable... heightened by the complementary colors thing. And brought back together by the reflected light :)

#1252

Two Violets

8"x8"

sold

I am so in love with this one! I tried to go for a really high-key composition, but still have the full range of values- which really makes the violets "pop", especially since they're set against that gorgeous little cloud. I want to try this same idea with other flowers, I'm just waiting to see which ones....

#1251

Abalone and the Sea

6"x18"

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I'm so excited about this one! One of Sadie Jernigan Valerie's gorgeous still lifes inspired me to paint an abalone shell flat like this... and of course, extremely horizontal compositions like this can be an awful lot of fun. The water droplets and the gorgeous blue of the worn wooden box are the "sea" in the title, but I think my favorite moments in the painting are the glimpse of iridescence where you see the inside of the shell, and that precarious instant where the shell meets the wood, how it balances itself...

#1250

Shotglass

3"x5"

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I am really liking this clear glass against a black background thing! Which reminds me, I ought to go hunt down those glass chess pieces like I used for the last one- I bet they'd look nice in a proper still life setup...

#1249

Hot Pepper

4"x4"

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Summer really is here.... and it feels like it's going to be an exceptionally hot one. I'm hoping for rain this weekend, though!

I had fun with this one- the halo effect isn't something I've used lately, but it can be very pretty, especially with the right colors.... You have to be careful doing it in acrylics, though, the drying time is so much quicker than with oils!

#1248

Blue Crayon

2"x4"

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I love having my little girl around 'helping' all the time.... and sure appreciate it when she loans me things for still life subjects!

#1247

Daisy Shot

3"x6"

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Nothing interesting going on in my head this evening, that's for sure.... oh, well, if I was good with words I'd be a writer and not a painter.

Blue Marble and Cloud

6"x8"

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I've seen a couple of other artists paint this idea, the still life object against the sky.... and I really like it :)

#1245

Gentle Wisdom

16"x20"

commissioned piece

This one was a joy to paint, and a joy to deliver. The quinacridone gold gives a wonderful glow to the background, and I had such fun with all the little wrinkles on the elephant's face, and then the ear is so wonderful and smooth next to all that textures.... I'm so glad I got to do this!

#1244

Sugar Pea

2"x4"

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And I did it before they went out of season! Had a heck of a time with it, though- my little girl kept trying to eat the subject matter!

#1243

Cork

2"x3"

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What? All the other painters have done one.... :D

Clothespin

2"x4"

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Beautiful day, but it is definitely summertime now! Oops, and kindof late at night- sounds like it's time to take the tiny angel off to bed :)

#1241