"Ripe Today"

Oil on 6"x6" hardboard
Here is the finished painting, and I love it! I'm gonna get busy and do another of this fruit while it is still looking fresh.

"Ripe Today" Work in Progress...

I bought lots of fruit at the store today, can you tell?? The peaches had a sign that said "ripe today" and they aren't kidding. I'll have to finish this painting today so I can eat them! I also added some golden cherries, strawberries and green grapes. I think I will take some pictures of this plate of fruit and do another larger painting of it.
My original set up didn't have the white cloth in it, I added that after, and then decided to take it out. Maybe I'll try another painting with it in?
I started this painting this afternoon, I might be able to finish it tonight... I hope.

"Found Cherries and Lemon"

Oil on 5x7" hardboard
I discovered these cherries while walking by a park nearby my home. It had just rained and some of the lower branches were hanging within easy reach, so I picked a few bunches. They are alot smaller than the cherries from the store, but they are just as sweet.
I'm still trying to keep my brushstrokes loose. It seems to help if I warm up by drawing first before painting.

"Summer Bouquet"

Oil on 5"x7" hardboard
These are some of the flowers blooming in my yard right now, roses, bachelor buttons, and daisies. I wish I was better at painting flowers. It took me days and a few roses, and quite a few tries to get that rose to look the way I wanted it to.

"Sweet Cherries"

Oil on 5"x7" hardboard
I've been trying to keep my paintings a bit looser, I always seem to like the look of them less "finished" But, I always wind up tightening them up a bit, and I loose the freshness of it. I tried keeping this painting of cherries a bit looser.

"Lime, Orange, Lemon and Cherries"

Oil on 5"x7" hardboard
I'm happy to be finished with this one, and now I'm satisfied with it. Whew! I think I'm painted out for a while. I need to mow the lawn and catch up on my laundry!!

What I am working on next....

I started this painting yesterday, and it seemed to be coming along very nicely. It looked good under my lights on the easel, but when I brought it out into the other room, the colors looked much duller, especially in the orange. I took it outside to take pictures of it, and it looked even duller out there! So... it's back on the easel, and I scraped back some of the paint off the orange. I am praying that when I continue this painting tomorrow, that I won't ruin it!

"Lemon, Lime and Cherries"

Oil on 5"x7" hardboard
I had a hard time painting the green color of this lime. I think it's because there are so many ways to make green, I can never decide which way to go. I tried using different blues and yellows together. Prussian blue, winsor(thalo) blue, cad.yellows, yellow ochre, raw sienna.. but it seemed like the more yellow I added to the blue to make it green, the lighter it got. I needed a very dark green. So, then I tried using a green to start with; viridian, winsor green, sap green, and adding yellows or deep reds like earth red to it. After many experiments, I found that any green I made needed much more red in it than I imagined. I'm always learning and re-learning things like this every time I paint. I don't think that will ever change.

"Bowl of Fruit with Lemon"

Oil on 6"x6" gessobord
This painting started out with just a lemon and lime in a glass bowl, but it seemed to need more to fill in the empty space. Before I knew it, I added the grapes, then the strawberry for color and more grapes in the background. I tried to keep the background fruits loose, so that the lemon still seems to be the attraction, which is what I intended in the first place. My favorite part to paint was the glass bowl, and the patterns in it.
(I'll list this painting on ebay later this evening)

"Watermelon Still Life"

Oil on 6"x6" hardboard panel

(below) My set up, and painting in progress...

I wanted to do a composition that was a triangle shape within this square panel, and this wedge of watermelon seemed to do the trick! The green grapes added a nice compliment to the red colors of the other fruit. I took quite a few pictures out doors on a partly cloudy day. Some of the images were brighter, and some in a lower light. I had a hard time choosing just one to post, so I thought I would just post a couple, why not? I think it might give a better impression of how the painting looks in different light.

"Cut Orange and Strawberries"

Oil on 5"x7" board
It always surprises me how different a color is in reality, compared to what color I think it is. The color orange out of the tube is nothing like the color of this orange fruit. It's hard to give in, and just make a color that matches the fruit and use it in the painting, no matter how it looks on the palette. These oranges now look to me, more real than any others I've done.