watermelon slices , Oil on 6x6 board

I don't know why I have had so much trouble getting an accurate image of this painting. I usually do wind up taking many photos of paintings in different lighting, but this one for some reason, just would never come out as perfectly as I wanted. Either the reds were too red, or the background was too chalky looking.. the highlights on the red watermelon would look way too pink... and so on. So, after a few hours of trying to pick the one best photo, I am giving up and I'm just going to post the 2 or 3 best ones.

This will be posted on ebay later this evening.

I started a painting of an apple on a cloth today, but I didn't finish. I also went to the art store and browsed around and bought a few new brushes to try, and while there, I noticed that in the October issue of the Artists' Magazine there is an article about Duane Keiser! I really enjoy his work, and it was a very nice article about him and his artwork, and career.

Watermelon Slices

Oil on 6"x6" Ampersand Gessobord

These last few slices of watermelon were getting a little too ripe, so I didn't mind using them to paint. They were going to get tossed out anyway, at least they made a good subject before they went.

Red Pear Oil on 5x5 board

I painted this red pear today on an ampersand gessobord. The previous painting of the cantalope was done on a canvas board and I can see the difference in the way I paint on different surfaces. I like them both, but I wonder if I'll ever prefer one over the other as time goes by??

Also, I thought I would mention a couple of websites that I have been enjoying. These 2 artists each use"uStream.tv" to broadcast a live, interactive painting session from their own studio. The sessions are also recorded so you can view them at a later time. They are David Darrow, and Susan Carlin. I have a link to their sites in the "favorite blogs" section on the side of my blog page. Check it out some time, it's a real treat to watch a painting session in real time! There is also a live chat available to communicate with the artist. I haven't tried that yet, but it's not necessary to sign in to watch.

Cantaloupe Slices and Green Grapes

Oil on 5"x7" Canvas Panel

This cantaloupe was not a very tasty one, unfortunately, so it got cut up and used as a subject for a painting instead. Now I feel better, it didn't go to waste :) I will put it up on eBay this weekend. (I also need to take a better picture, this one has a bit of glare)

Mask on Red

Oil on 5"x7" Ampersand Gessobord

This is a painting of a ceramic mask that I've had for years. (I've had the mask for years, the painting is new) I've drawn it before but never painted a picture of it. I thought it would be fun to try.

Listings on eBay

Today I was informed that 2 of my paintings were removed from eBay, because I had included a link to my blog in the description. The paintings had been bid on, and were within a day or 2 of auction end! geee... I had understood this rule about links, but I don't think the link itself was the problem, since links to a page that further describes an item is allowed, and that's why I included it. What isn't allowed is a link to a page that offers sale of items outside of eBay. I had read the rules, and thought I was ok, since I don't offer items for sale on my blog other than on eBay. I think my wording in the descriptions were misunderstood. I had written.."to see other views of this painting, and other paintings of mine, please visit my blog..." and then the blog link. I had another painting listed that wasn't removed. It had the same link in the description as the others, only I hadn't added the.. and other paintings of mine part. How confusing is this!!!!!!!!?????? geeeeezzzz!! Couldn't eBay at least send out an email or something first before they yank your listings off in the middle of an auction?? So, anyway, I reworded my descriptions and relisted both paintings, and hopefully the bidders will re-bid.
Ohh Welll... I guess if thats the worst thing that happens to me today, I'm in good shape. :)
Now, I'll go back to what I was doing before all this happened and PAINT!!!! :) :) ;)

Banana in Shadow

Here is the banana I painted yesterday. It's oil on 6"x6" Ampersand Gessobord.

A change...

I've been thinking about changing the background color of my blog to the dark version, since the white seems to me to be too bright to display the images on. I would prefer a gray color instead of black, but, gray isn't an option. Only white, blue, a yellow ochre color, and black. The black seems easier on the eyes, but now I have to go back and change some of my type color choices to something that will show better on the black.
I painted a picture of a banana today. I didn't quite finish it, so hopefully I'll post it tomorrow.

Wine Glass of Grapes

I worked a bit more on this painting today. As I looked at it through a mirror, it seemed a bit lopsided to me, so I added a couple more grapes on top of the glass, and changed the pattern of light and shadow. I was having such a pleasant time coloring in all those pretty grapes, that when I was finished, and stepped back, I felt like my idea to let the top most grapes go out of the picture , made it seem a bit off balance... so, to fix that I might add a couple grapes going out of the picture toward the bottom edge somewhere... but where??? Maybe I'll just leave it alone for a while and look at it again tomorrow.

Red Grapes in a Wine Glass (progress..)

I thought I would paint some grapes today, since I have a bag full in the fridge, and they are such a pretty red color. I put them inside a little wine glass just for something different. I took some pictures as I went along, so I thought I'd post them.

My subject...
My sketch...
Adding some color...
... and trying to finish it off with some pretty color in the grapes, and nice reflections in the glass. I think I'm satisfied with how this is coming out so far.

This is oil on a 5"x5" Ampersand Gessobord.

Peeled Orange on Red Book

Oil on 8"x10" Canvas Panel

I've been working on this painting, and now I'm much happier with it.

Little Crab Apple (Finished)

Oil on 5"x5" Ampersand Gessobord

( I changed the background color to a cooler gray. It was more of a light brown before, and didn't seem to do much to show off the apple)

Little Crab Apple

This little crab apple is from a tree in my backyard. I thought it would be fun to paint just one. I switched from painting on my canvas panels to an ampersand gessobord. I always like the smoothness of these boards, and it seems as if I have better control of the paint on them. I painted this picture late, so I couldn't take a very good picture of it. Plus, just as I was finished with it, I picked it up from the easel, and it dropped out of my hands!!!!! and it landed (of course) face down on the floor. Geeez! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I think it might have a few little spots I have to fix up.

Peeled Orange on Book

Still working on this one.... I took out the line where the table surface would meet the back wall...I just couldn't figure out how to shade/highlight in that area. I like it better with just a gradual change of value. I reworked the orange over and over, and I'm still not 100% happy with it, the shading and red reflection from the book seems to have me puzzled as to how to paint it... I'll leave it alone for a while, and look at it again in a day or 2 (if I can force myself to wait that long!) then maybe I'll be able to see better what to do with it.

In Progress...Peeled Valencia Orange, with Washington Cherries :)

This is an 8"x10" canvas panel I'm painting on, so I thought the orange by itself looked a little lonely in all that space. So, I thought I'd add a few cherries to help fill the area around the book a little better. (to be continued...)

Orange on a Red Book

Above: the painting in progress.
Below: A picture of my set up
Oil on 8"x10" Canvas Board

It's been a little while since I've posted anything, and the reason is because I was sick for a few days. I did alot of sketching while I wasn't feeling well, but no painting. Now that I feel better, I thought I would paint something that I had sketched, but, none of those things appealed to me anymore, so I carefully peeled an orange, and set it on top of a red book. It's something I've been wanting to try. Plus, I like looking at my color wheel, and turning it to see all the color combinations it has to suggest. And if I put the window on yellow/orange, it points out the compliment, plus a bunch of other possible color schemes. So, I picked out the "triad": a color scheme with 3 colors equally spaced from each other. Orange, yellow and red. So, I'll try to stick with that for this painting. Really though, if I look at this color wheel long enough, with all it's color combinations, you can find a reason to put just about any colors together in a painting, and have them work. It's just a nice way to help visualize them first.