"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.

"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!!

"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.

"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.

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.

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.

Dark Cherries, and Lemon

click images to enlarge
Oil on 5"x7" board
Since my last post, I've tried painting a couple different things; a day lily, which was beautiful in real life, but not in my picture, then another try at a small vase holding a daisy, and a zinnia... I didn't like my painting of that either, I guess my heart just wasn't in it. So. I went to the fridge and got out a lemon and some cherries... I know I'm repeating myself, but I can't help it. I just love the colors you can put into the yellow of the lemon, and the cherries are like little gems... the top photo is the best.

White Zinnia with Cherries

Oil on 6"x8" canvas panel
Here are a couple of pictures of the Zinnia painting. They were taken in bright outdoor light on a sunny day, so the colors look extra bright, and there is a bit of a glare on the wet paint. I like this painting alot, because I always want to paint the flowers I have in my garden, but I seldom want to try, it looks so difficult. But, I tried, and I was happy with how it came out. I should try more often.

4 Rainier Cherries

above is a close up image, click either image for enlarged view

Oil on 5"x7" Canvas Panel

This is the cherries painting I did a couple days ago, I thought it needed a little more work, and now I am happy with it.

Lemon and Golden Rainier Cherries

click images to enlarge

Oil on 6"x8" Canvas Panel

Pencil Sketch

Here is the Lemon with cherries painting I did yesterday, I posted 2 pictures because I couldn't decide between the two, which one was better. One has less glare, one has better focus. I also thought I would also include a picture of the sketch I had done before painting. The heavier outlines in the drawing were made as I transfered the image to my canvas panel.

Small Wedge of Watermelon, with Cherries

Click on images to enlarge


Here are a couple of photos of the finished painting. I think it's a nice little summer time painting. I'll remember how hot these last few days have been here, every time I look at it, and of the other piece of melon that didn't make it into the painting, I ate it instead.

This painting is SOLD.

Lemon Cherry

I saw these cherries in the store and bought them so that I could use them in a painting. It didn't occur to me to eat any of them, until I was arranging some, and thought I'd try one....I couldn't stop eating them! they were so delicious!!! It was hard leaving the 4 on the table... I really tried hard to finish this painting, only so I could finish eating those cherries. They were fun to paint. The lemon on the other hand was more challenging than I expected. I'm happy with how it finally came out though. I will post it for sale on eBay soon.