Original Oil Painting Daffodils and Strawberries

Daffodils and Strawberries

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

My daffodils are getting a little old but I managed to paint one more still life. I added a vintage sugar server I found at Goodwill. I love how the tin top reflects the daffodils. The two glass containers are interesting: one with vertical lines and the other smooth. The star of the show is the center daffodil. It took quite awhile to get it just right. The hardest part was the shadow the objects cast and adding the hint of violet to the background wall to contrast and compliment the yellow. Even thou the wall and table are similar the hint of violet and the red strawberries make everything pop!

Original Oil Painting Grandma

Grandma

11" x 14"

Painted on stretch linen. 

Commission Portrait 

Original Oil Painting Daffodils

Daffodils

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

 When I think of Easter, I think of eggs, bunnies, jelly beans and spring flowers. Here is a painting I made using a couple of my Easter ideas: daffodils and eggs.

 I always found daffodils a challenge to paint. I found that if you do not get the right warm hue, or do not keep your colors clean they look terrible. It just takes patience. Another challenge was the ceramic pot. I love the shinny glaze and how it reflects the objects surrounding it. Tricky to do these reflections because of the texture of the thrown pot and the dark glaze. Again just with the flowers I just took my time and worked it until I was satisfied, working from the darkest colors to the lightness.

Happy Easter Everyone

Original Oil Painting Gladiolus

Gladiolus

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9" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

 My goal was to vary my edges as much as possible. To have the background push into the edges and pull out edges. I used thicker paint on the highlighted area to draw them to the viewer. The hardest decision was the background value. I wanted it dark but not too dark. I am pretty happy with my decision, hope my viewers are too.  

Original Oil Painting Fruit Overflow

Fruit Overflow

11" x 14"

Painted on gessobord.

The strawberries and grapes are the stars of this painting. The red and green complimentary colors really sing with the more neutral background colors. Yes the orange is trying to hide again, but I really needed him on the left to balance the strong red and green combo on the right. Lots of reflective color in this painting. Hope you can find them all. 

Original Oil Painting Celery, Carrots and Onions

Celery, Carrots and Onions

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

This is a painting I made using my mother's old metal measuring cup. Yes, it is still shiny and in great condition! It still has the ring on the handle, too. There is a little copper color on the bottom and that is what lead me to the carrots and onions. The celery and white cloth gave the painting the contrast it needed. The background gave me the biggest headache. I must of changed it three times, at least. I could not figure it out until I had all the objects painted first. I posted a photo of the still life I painted from below. 

Thanks for viewing my painting!

Original Oil Painting Just a Couple

Just a Couple

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10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

Strawberries were on sale at Festival Foods and I could not resist grabbing them to paint. So after a couple of hours I came up with this still life. It was a nice refresher course on how to paint strawberries. It is so easy to get carried away with all the details. To avoid this I paint them with all the details and then the next day soften the ones in the shadows and brighten the parts in the light. I posted a picture of the still life I was working from below.

Original Oil Painting Apples and White Daisies

Apples and Daisies

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

These apples sparkle! I love the way you can wash and shine up apples. So my goal was to capture what attracted me to this still life. To make the apples shine and show their vibrant colors! Keeping the table a neutral grey helps the apples' colors stand out. When I was painting this still life I had yellow daisies. I changed them to white to help keep the background neutral but there is so much contrast with the leaves I am not sure that worked. The daisies balance the composition so nicely and can stand their ground with the apples so I stayed with the white decision. I am happy with my decisions and I hope my viewers are too. 

Original Oil Painting Star Vase

Star Vase

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

Here is my painting of my son's glass star vase that he bought at the dollar store years ago. It has been sitting on a shelf waiting to be painted. I finally took the plunge and painted it. To my surprise it was not as hard as I thought. I just pre-mixed as many of the colors I saw on the glass. Doing that I could concentrate on the placement and forms of the colors. It took some time to paint but I love all the fractured color in it with its' flicks of white highlights all about. I posted a picture of the arrangement I was painting from below. I did change the leaf branch because it was hiding the beautiful clay vase way too much. I just forgot to take a picture of that arrangement.