Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!!

Too bad my cat wouldn't cooperate, and sit where you could see the pumpkin's face, but after 10 pictures, I decided this one was good enough :) Have a great day!!!

Flowers with Banana and Lemon

Oil on 8"x10" canvas panel

Winter is getting a bit pushy around here lately. We had such a nice mild autumn up until a week or 2 ago. Since then it's been icy cold, windy and rainy. My garden looks pretty beat up, but I managed to pick a few survivors for a painting. I'm not sure what these yellow flowers are called, but they are very sturdy and last a long time into the cold weather. The purple ones are bachelor buttons. I had no idea they were such a hardy flower, but they seem to have outlasted most others in the garden. I started this painting yesterday without much hope for it, but I continued with it today, and I feel much better about it. I think I am a little more patient today, and find it easier to continue a painting, rather than starting something new. and besides, the weather is bitterly cold, windy, and they are talking about a bit of snow in the forecast. I hope I don't see any of those little white flurries for a while. I'm just not ready. I'd much rather stay inside and paint.

October Rose...

Oil on 5"x5" board

Here is a better picture, taken in outdoor sun light.

October Rose in a Saki Cup

Oil on 5"x5" Ampersand Gessobord

There aren't many roses left on the bushes outside, we've had quite a few windy, chilly days, and a few nights that the temperature dipped down into the low 30's. I still have flowers in the garden that have survived though, lots of zinnias, and merrigolds, impatiens, morning glories, etc... I want to try to paint flowers more often, and I'm happy with how this one came out. I may replace this photo, when I get a chance to take a better one. This one was taken outdoors on a very cloudy day, the colors are much cooler than they should be.

Red Pear and Bananas

Oil on 5"x5" Ampersand Gessobord (two pictures, same painting)

I had a pleasant time painting this, and I think it might have been because I bought a couple of new brushes. I seemed to be able to put the paint just where I wanted it, instead of fighting to get it where I want it. Whenever I go to the art store I take the longest time, looking through all the brushes. I feel the hairs, and hold them pretending to paint with it against the shelf to see how the hairs bend... I want one that is soft, but still sturdy enough to use with oil paint. Sturdy, but not one that has hairs that are too stiff, and scratch at the paint. I get softer ones, and then they wind up too flimsy, or once the oil paint is in it, the fibers seem to all stick together in one mass that leaves marks in the paint... grrrrrr! I wound up buying a couple of small filberts from winsor and newton, called "eclipse". The fibers are soft and natural, and not flimsy. I forget, but I think they were labled as black sable. It doesn't say on the brush, and they weren't expensive. I was looking for a mongoose brush, but there weren't any in the store I was in. Maybe I'll have to look online for some. Anyway......

The fruit in this painting is sitting on a glass salad plate. I didn't think I'd be able to make the plate look right, but, it seems to look ok to me.

"Fresh Cut Apple"

Oil on 6"x6" Ampersand Gessobord

I was hesitating to try and paint a cut apple because the white of the apple changes so fast and becomes more yellow. And I love the color of that fresh cut apple!! So, I just made sure to try and do the white first before it changed on me. I like how this came out, and the pictures came out good too, I couldn't decide between these two, so I just thought I'd post both.

Apple on Cloth

Oil on 5"x7" Canvas board

It's apple season here, and it's always nice this time of year to go to a farm market for apples and apple cider! I think this one is a macintosh. I had painted this picture a few days ago, and wasn't happy with how it was coming out, so I put it aside. I worked on it again today, changed a few things, and now I like it much better.

New Picture, "Autumn Leaves"

Oil on 5"x5" board

Here is a new picture of the touched up painting.

Day trip to Corning, NY.

My sister and I took a drive down to Corning N.Y. where we spent most of the day strolling down Market St. and visiting the shops there. We stopped in a couple of glass studios, which had the most wonderful blown glass items I've ever seen. Also, we stopped into an art gallery, called the West End Gallery which just happened to be getting ready for a show of Thomas Buechner's artwork. I've always admired his floral and still life paintings, and it was a real treat to see so many in person!! There were many other artists represented there, and lots of lovely paintings to look at. Needless to say, it was a great afternoon!!! There's nothing better than to spend some time in an art gallery looking, and thinking and talking about ART!!! It just makes me happy. The gallery's website is www.westendgallery.net if anyone is interested to take a look and also, Thomas Buechner has a website, www.tombuechner.com.

Autumn Leaves

Yikes! Has it really been 10 days since my last post? I haven't been painting much, and I feel like I've stalled out. I did manage to sit down and try a few times, but I just didn't have any luck. Instead, I started to clean up and rearrange my work area, hoping that would refresh me. I always felt I had my easle in the wrong place, or maybe the table I put my objects on to paint is in the wrong place. I'm left handed, and I want to be able to look to the right of my easel at my subject. I had it the other way around. I had it that way because during the day the easel was in the light from the windows that way, but at night the easel wasn't facing the light of the room...so- well, you get the idea... anyway, I took some time and rearranged some things, and cleaned up my shelves and tables full of all kinds of things that accumulate over time. I did manage to do a small painting of 2 pretty autumn leaves that I found in my yard. The leaves here are just starting to turn color, and the colors always amaze me. Unfortunately, just after I took the picture of this painting, it over turned, and when I tried to catch it, I put a couple finger prints in it, hahaha.... so, it'll need a few touch ups.

It's been quite a few days since my last post, but I just couldn't seem to get much accomplished these last few days. I started a painting of an apple on a cloth, and wasn't happy with the colors I used to paint the white cloth, so I changed that, then I wasn't happy with the apple, and changed to a different apple... etc... so, I finally finished it, and I'm happy with it, but can't seem to get a good picture. I like to take pictures outside in the natural light, but it's been raining here for the last few days!!! so I haven't been able to take any pictures. I started a couple of other small paintings. Nothing I was happy with.... I think sometimes I just temporarily lose touch with that thing that does the painting, and I'm left trying to do it on my own.. at least, that's what it feels like. Do you ever look back at a really nice painting or drawing, and say - how did I do that????
Why can't I do it again now????? I'd really like to be able to be more consistent. or maybe that never happens?????