New paintings.... Pears, Strawberries... cherries

I've been working on a couple of new paintings for an upcoming show our art club is having.  They will be posted for sale on ebay in a month or so, if they are still available.  

"Blooming Iris" Oil on 5x7 inch board

I was inspired to paint this iris, as it was just opening. It's petals opened completely as I painted it, but I had taken a picture of it for reference before I started.

"Bowl of Strawberries" o/b 6x6 inches

Available on ebay,

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This little painting is sort of a "sister" to the "Cup of Strawberries" painting I did a couple of months ago.  Wonder how this painting might look in a frame?  Below is an example...

"Suspended Grapes II" Oil on 6x8 inch board

Available on ebay,

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This is how I began this painting, with a charcoal sketch on a (dry) toned board.

Below is a possible framed look.  The painting is sold unframed.

"Suspended Grapes" Oil on 7x5 in. board

sold

Every so often I'll see a painting of a suspended bunch of grapes, and I've been wanting to try to do one myself.  So, today was the day, and I love how it came out!  I started out with the light casting a long shadow, but I changed it later.

Also, for fun, I digitally put the image in a frame just to see how it would look.  (The actual painting is not framed)

"Blue Bottle, Orange, Mums" Oil on 7x5 in. board

 Available on ebay,

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Painting is sold unframed, below is an image of how it might look framed.

"Cup of Strawberries" Oil on 5x7 in. board

sold

Happy New Year to all!  Here is a new little painting to start the year off... I am looking forward to lots of painting and drawing this year, especially during the cold winter months. The days may be shorter, but I spend more time inside. 

"An Eternal Light". Oil on board 7x5 inches

Available on ebay,

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Below are a few "in progress" photos.  I loved trying to capture the brightness of the candle flame.  I didn't keep it lit the whole time,  I put it out now and then to make the candle last longer.

Started this one today... 11x14 canvas

A red rose, shiny metal creamer, and a bowl with lemon... I'm always very excited when I start a new

painting, I just hope the excitement lasts through to the end.. I'm taking my time and started with a raw umber under painting for this one.  It seemed to put me at ease knowing I just have to work with values, dark and light, and that's it.... I did sneak in some red on the rose though, I couldn't help it!

"Fruit and Butterfly" Oil on 8x10 in canvas

Available on ebay,

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Another new painting... and I did finish the other still life I posted earlier, I just need to get a picture once it dries.  Thanks for looking!

Autumn still life

I've been slowly getting myself back into painting, and after doing a couple of little practice paintings, I set to work on this 8x10.  I've refreshed my mind, gotten some focus back and I am finding ways to make sure I am relaxed and am enjoying the process of painting. I'm very excited with how this one is progressing!

Getting back to work... hopefully soon!

Available on etsy,
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I have been away from my studio, and my blog.. and the computer for most of the summer... I just stopped trying to do any artwork with my eyesight giving me so much trouble.  I had cataract surgery scheduled for the end of August, and another in September.  Now, both of my eyes have been done, and still need time to heal, I still have some flickering reflections in my right eye and a bit in my left.  They say it should go away... but I am so impatient, I just want to start doing something! So, I am re posting this painting of cherries, I adjusted the color of the picture now that I can see better.  

Thank you all for your comments, I'm sorry I didn't get them until now, I had a problem with my computer, and I stopped using it, and didn't check the blog.   

Since the cataract surgery, my eyesight has changed dramatically.  Everything is brighter, and clearer than before, it's taking some getting used to.  Another big change is that I can see fairly clearly for distance, but I can't see clearly up close, and need reader glasses for that.  (I used to be extremely nearsighted, so without my glasses everything was blurry for me except up close to my face was clear) So, I will have to learn how to do my artwork looking through the reader glasses, and then looking over them to see my subject further away.   ;-)... I haven't tried to paint anything yet.  I've just been practicing sketching for now.  It's been so long since I've painted anything, I feel as if I've forgotten how!  I hope not! lol...

I'm not sure what the end result of my eyesight will be... it's still a bit blurry in the distance... but it's still early,  they say vision improves during the first month after surgery... I hope so.  Or, I can just get glasses to correct that I suppose... we'll see!

"Assorted Cherries" OIl on 5x7 inch canvas board

I took this photo from above,  with the painting lying on the table beside the cherries.

I've been slowing down a bit with my painting, as I've been having more and more trouble with cataracts affecting my eyesight .Over the last year especially it's been a nuisance,since my eyes are very nearsighted the cararacts just make it worse.  So,the  doctor says I'm ready to have surgery (in late August) to replace the cloudy lenses in my eyes with clear artificial ones.   Hopefully afterwards my eyesight will improve and the glare and cloudiness will be gone, and painting will be a little less challenging!

Purple Iris

I love botanical drawings and paintings. I don't think I'll ever become an expert at it, but I just can't resist when flowers are blooming in the garden.  I used pencil, watercolor and some colored pencil for this iris. 
(not that it matters a whole lot, but I just discovered after I took the picture, I had signed it with tomorrow's date... Oh well..)  I"m sure I'll be doing more of these as more of my flowers come into bloom.

"Cherries and Berries" Oil on 5x7 inch canvas board

This painting was done from a photo I had taken last summer.  I also bought some new cherries to add to the picture and to use as reference. 

 I began this painting a little differently, it is painted on a canvas panel that I applied 3 or 4 extra coats of gesso to, and sanded to smooth out the texture of the canvas.   I thought I would try an acrylic underpainting. so, I loosely painted it in with acrylics, and when it dried, I completely painted over it with oil.  

Below is a picture of the underpainting stage....

Hope you like it! and Thank you for looking at my artwork today!

"Halved Pomegranate" Oil on 6x6 inch board

sold

This is how the painting might look in a frame... (the painting is sold unframed)

"Sweet Strawberries and Creamer" oil on 5x7 inch board

It's a lovely spring day here, and I'm enjoying the longer daylight hours.  I don't feel so limited with time during the afternoon when I get the chance to paint.  So nice.  

Below is a pic of this painting in progress...  the tracing paper drawing propped up there is what I used to transfer my drawing onto the board.  There is thinned oil paint scribbled on the back. 

"Three of Hearts" Oil on 7x5 in board

My pencil sketch

This is how I started the painting, using very thin paint

 This is my little set up, it's been a long time since I've cut paper dolls, it was harder than I thought it would be. I decided to change the clubs to hearts to add some color.

"Reds, Yellows, Blues, Green and Gray" Oil on Canvas, 8x10 inches.

sold

I thought it would be fun to paint a bunch of random things... I especially like the red yarn running through the picture. 

"Chocolate Heart" Oil on 4x4 inch board

Available on Etsy

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A chocolate heart just in time for Valentine's Day.  To save time, I didn't give this one a week long auction, just a" buy it now" option, that way it can be purchased at any time. Even though it needs about 3 days to dry, it will have a better chance of reaching the buyer before the 14th.

Here is my little chocolate painting and set up, below:

Working on Carnations and a Tangerine...

I had sketched this still life set up in pencil, and I really like the sketch so I thought I would do a painting of it too.  It seemed pretty well planned out, but now that I've come near to the finish of it, I feel like it's not quite right. 

Maybe it's that sharp line dividing the background and table...I kind of liked that line when I put it in though... My sketch has a lighter background... but, I put a darker background in my little value sketch and I liked it,  the proportions are different in my painting though.. and of course, my carnations are completely wilted now... hmmmmm.... a work in progress.....

"Winter Afternoon Snack" Oil on 6x6 inch board

sold

I had done a few sketches using a cup of coffee and the windmill cookies, you can see one over on my drawing blog- here.  I really like the shape and designs on the windmill cookies and wanted to do a painting.  Also in the painting are  a chocolate dipped spritz cookie and some grapes. 

It snowed here today, and I was looking out the window as it began to get dark, and it struck me that a lot of the snowy landscape colors of blue, violet, and brown were similar to this little still life I'd just done

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