"Purple Flowers and Turquoise Ribbon on Yellow" OIl on 6x8 inch hardboard

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"Cherries and Daisies" Oil on 5x7 inch board

I began this painting with the cherries and little bowl, but decided it seemed a bit boring... and with a garden full of blooming flowers I should try and paint a few of them.  So, I picked a couple daisies to add into the picture.

 

"PB&J" Oil on 5x7 inch board

I've always wanted to paint a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.   I used to make them for my kids, and each time I would think how pretty the jelly was, and I'd notice the swirl designs in the peanut butter and how it might make a nice little painting.  So, when I saw Abbey Ryan's DPW painting challenge, inviting others to paint a PB&J, I was excited!! Yes! I'm totally gonna do that! lol....    and so I made a pb&j but I like how the peices of bread look before putting them together in a sandwich.  So, I set them up and took pictures from an over head view, and then made the sandwich,cut it, and took pictures of that... and decided I liked it better the first way I had it.
So, I quick printed out the picture I liked best, and used that to go by.  And, I left my "deconstructed" sandwich out on the table,  so I could still see the actual colors of the subject to paint by.  There was only 1/2 a sandwich left then,  I couldn't help but eat the other half! It looked and smelled so good, and I haven't eaten a peanut butter and jelly in ages! Yum!  ...  thanks Abbey for the challenge, what a treat it was!

my painting with the reference pic below it

...an extra piece of bread to get the color right

jelly on a new piece of bread to help

Oh, and just a side note... I discovered this painting will look just the same no matter which end is up...ie:

...although, my signature would be upside down...hmmm.

"Cherries in Glass" Oil on 7x5 inch board

Painting Cherries today.

This dessert glass is very pretty, and has a sort of cut design in it.  I bought it a couple years ago, because I thought it would be nice in a painting.  I finally decided to give it a try.  I don't know quite how to go about painting it,but I figure if I just copy the shapes and colors, it should turn out ok.

"Strawberries in June" Oil on 5x7 inch board

 I started this thinking I would include the wood grain in the picture, but I decided to leave it out.

I also decided toward the end to add some leaves and stems to make it a bit more interesting. 

"Pink Moscato and Summer Fruit" Oil on 7x5 inch board

I first painted this glass of wine using fruit juice in the wine glass... but I decided to get some real wine instead.  So, I picked out this pink Moscato because of the color. I don't know too much about wine, and I've never had Moscato before, so I tried it, and wow, is it sweet.  Too sweet for me, but, I think it goes nicely with the fruit in this painting:-)

My fruit juice "wine"

The real thing :-)

"Rose and Black Plum" Oil on 5x7 inch board

"Peeled Orange and Creamer" Oil on 5x7 inch board

I cut this orange peel with a knife and it created this cool spiral shape.  I didn't happen to take any pictures while I was painting, until close to the end... when the painting looks much like the finished version anyway.  So, I'll post what my set up looked like.

"Cherries and Grapes" Oil on 5x7 board

Sometimes it takes so long to decide on something to paint.  I bought these cherries and I wanted to paint them on a white cloth.  but I could not get the cloth to fall in an interesting way no matter what I did.  So, I tried a few different things and finally decided on this little espresso cup and grapes to go with them.

I started with a value sketch using acrylic raw umber, white and black on a gessoed panel.  I let that dry and continued with oils. 
...just for fun... I snapped this pic of my set up and the collection of  discarded subject items beside it.

"Peach and Creamer" Oil on 6x6 inch board

 

 

I only took this one picture as I began painting, and then forgot to take anymore.  :)

"Grapes and Ivy" Oil on 6x6 inch board

It's a nice day, and I should be out mowing the lawn, but... I"d rather be painting!  

Besides, it took me most of the day yesterday to decide on this set up, but didn't have enough time to finish painting it. 

"Spring Yellows" Oil on 8x6 inch hardboard

 I drew with a charcoal pencil on a gessoed panel...

I decided to add a strawberry, and  then I painted it in with acrylic raw umber and white.. after it was dry I painted over it with oil...

"Orange Cream Donut" Oil on 6x6 inch board

I don't usually buy donuts, but this one was so pretty I couldn't pass it up. 

"Tomato and Garlic" Oil on 6x8 inch board

I always liked the way red and gray look together.  The red just looks so pretty against the gray.   I don't usually paint vegetables, and I don't remember ever painting garlic, so this was a good lesson for me.  This was my second version of this painting, I didn't like the first (not shown), and changed things around.  I was very happy with this one :-)

"Spring Primrose" OIl on 7x5 inch board

'Primrose" work in progress...

Click on any image to enlarge

I bought a potted primrose a couple week ago at a flower show, and I've been wanting to paint it ever since.  I finally decided to try, and plucked a little sprig of flowers off the plant and put them in this little metal container.  The container is only decorative, and water leaked from it, so I put a wet paper towel around the cut stems and set them in it.  The bottom flower is a loose flower, I set that in a thimble of water, and tucked it in.    Since my set up seemed so fragile, I didn't think it would last the hours it would take me to paint it, so I took pictures just in case.  (you can see the lower flower had already drooped from where it had been in my picture)

I printed out one of the pictures, and it was helpful to use it for my drawing.  I started on a white gessoed panel, using thinned raw umber acrylic paint.  Once this was dry, I began with oil. 

I painted in the background and table top first.   I was so excited, even at this early stage, I knew it was going to turn out ok!! :-)

I couldn't quite match that gorgeous pink of those flowers, but I tried my best.  I haven't tried painting flowers in a long time, and I'm so glad I did.  I was thrilled with how it came out, and just in time for Spring. 
I will post the finished painting in a day or two, when I get a chance to photograph it. 
Thanks for visiting!

"Artichoke and Lemon" Oil on 6x6 inch board

Artichokes usually show up in the grocery store around this time of year.  I had this one sitting around for a couple of days until I was done with the painting.  It was still good enough to cook and eat.  I make them like my mother,  stuffed with a mixture of bread crumbs and grated romano cheese, and cooked on the stove, in a pan of water, with a bit of olive oil, salt, and a few cloves of garlic floating in it.  It takes over an hour, but it is sooooo goood!  The lemons are useful to keep the cut edges of the leaves from browning, but I don't usually bother with that.  It looks nice for the painting though.  :)

"A Bowl of Lemons" Oil on 9x 12 inch Canvas

I should name this painting, " Snow Day Lemons"... hahahha.   A couple days ago, a nice blizzard came through here and pretty much shut everything down.  It was kind of cool, even the Weather Channel was reporting live from a location near the Lake.  It lasted the whole day, and for the whole day, I set up this still life and painted it, while listening to the weather channel, and occasionally looking outside to watch the storm.  I finished it up the next day.

This picture could be better.  The highlights on the lemons are a little blown out, and the yellow is too bright, and the background seems to have alot of glare. .  In real life, the lemons are a deeper yellow and the fleur de lis are a little more subdued.   This image looked better on my computer, than it does on the blogger website.  ??   I guess, I'll try and see if I can't get a better image of it in the next few days.