Cake Still Life with Cherry

(above) "Cake with Whipped Cream" Oil on 5"x7" board (Below) Work in Progress...)


I made this pound cake the other day, right from scratch! We made strawberry shortcake with it, but there was more cake than strawberries. So, I just ate it plain with whipped cream on top. So Good!
I've been wanting to paint something with frosting or whipped cream, so I set up a little still life with a peice of cake on a plate with a fork, but the whipped cream on top didn't last long! It melted,(it was the spray can kind), so I had to re do it, and take lots of pictures before painting. so I'd remember how the cream looked. I kept my cake nearby to paint from, because I can't get colors and shapes as well from looking at photos, or images on a screen.

Also, don't forget to vote in the Daily Painter Contest! If you haven't already, here is a link to the contest page... Click Here!

"Lemon, Cherries and Strawberry"

Oil on 5"x7" hardboard panel
Here is another painting of the same fruit, only I added a lemon. I forgot how difficult it is for me to paint a lemon!! I don't know if it's the shape, or the color, or the texture, or maybe all of the above.. but, it seems every lemon I've ever painted took many tries.

Also... There is still time to vote in the next Daily Painter Contest... if you haven't already, why not take a second and vote! Click Here for the contest page.

"Fruit on a Plate"

Oil on 5"x7" board
Note to self: Draw!! Draw!! Draw!! before painting! Things always go smoother, and come out better! Why don't I take the time to draw before each painting?? Because most of the time I'm too impatient, and want to make a painting, rather than enjoy the process first, and then get a good painting from it.

Who Will Become the Next Daily Painter????

The Daily Painters website is having a contest to find their next member to include in their online gallery! And I am really excited to find out that I have been selected as one of the top 20 artists!! It's such an honor to be included with other artists whose work I admire!!!

The voting is open to visitors to the dailypainters website until May 30th, and then the ten artists with the most votes will move on to the final round of judging. So, take a moment and click this link to the contest page, scroll down to find your favorite artist, (hopefully it will be me!) and click on the 5 gold stars to vote!!!!!! Thank You!!!
Thank You for your votes everyone!!!!

"Sea Shells" 5"x7"

Oil on 5"x7" hardboard panel
I love sea shells, they remind me of summer and the beach!
I used yellow ochre, transparent earth red, prussian blue, and white, plus a little cad. red, and cad. yellow for this painting. I love using prussian blue to mix with once in a while, it's very strong, so a little goes a long way.

"Venus of the Doves" 8"x10"

Oil on 8"x10" hardboard panel

Since this painting was a challenge for me, I thought using only one color and white would make it a bit easier for me... HA!
I used raw umber thinned with some turpentine to do the first sketchy stage. Then, I started mixing the raw umber with white as I worked in more detail. I found out that there really weren't any details to be drawn.. just value changes, and shapes. I also found out that when you add white to raw umber, it's like adding cream to coffee, the color changes so much! It's so much cooler, and grayer. I liked the warmer version of the under painting. I tried to leave that showing through in spots. I was doing ok, until I started working on Venus's face. It's all in shadow, and it took many tries and many messes to wipe out, but the second it looked right, I stopped and left it be. When I look at it now, I think her face is a bit too dark... but I'm not touching it!!!!

I would have liked this painting to be more colorful.. with some pretty rosy browns and cooler blues and grays, etc. but, it's good for a first try. I actually did add some alizarin crimson and ultramarine blue to the raw umber to get a darker color for the background.
My favorite part is the little angel holding and kissing her hand.
Thank you everyone for your generous comments! I appreciate them all so much!

"Venus of the Doves" 8"x10" WIP

I took many pictures of the artwork and sculptures during my visit to the National Gallery of Art. I thought that I might try to do a painting or drawing of them when I got home. So, here is my work in progress, or "wip". This is a marble sculpture called "Venus of the Doves". I am absolutely amazed by sculptures like this... I can't seem to think in this sort of 3D perspective. I can understand adding to the form, like in working with clay, but carving away from a solid form, to take away the negative space to leave the positive, is something I have a hard time imagining. So, when I see sculptures and statues like this, I am astounded by them!! It's such a mystery to me how they were created. A solid peice of rough marble stone turned into soft smooth forms! And the light falling on the forms is so beautiful.. I hope this painting will turn out nicely...

"Banana with Strawberries and Grapes"

Oil on 5"x7" Ampersand Gessobord panel
I wasn't too excited about this painting, until I had an impulse to add the blue across the top and include the same color in the shadows. That really made a difference!! I like it much better now.
(I will post this to ebay later this evening. )

Another Small Painting on Paper

"Sweet"
Oil on 6"x6" Strathmore "Acrylic" Linen finish paper.
I really enjoy the feel of this paper. I know it comes in larger sized pads, I might like to do a larger piece sometime. But, for the time being it seems that doing these small practice pieces really helped me to warm up and get back into the flow of painting, after being away. I could easily wipe the paint off, and start over... again and again. Great exercise!

"Lily of the Valley" Oil Study on Paper

Oil on paper, 6"x6"
I've been wanting to try painting on paper again, and on my latest trip to the art store, I found a small pad of Strathmore "Acrylic" paper, with a linen finish! So cool!!!! I put gesso on it, and did this small painting of a lily of the valley. It was a very nice surface to paint on!!
I'm a little unsure of how a painting like this would be framed. I'm thinking I would probably mount the paper to a board, and then frame like any other oil painting?

Back from my Visit...

I'm back from my trip. It was a great time spent with friends, and even got to visit the National Gallery of Art for the first time!!!! What an awesome beautiful place that is!!!! Now, I've got to get myself back into reality, catch up with things at home, and hopefully get into my studio soon and start painting again.