Original Oil Painting Nuthatch Nestled in Daisies

Nuthatch Nestled in Daisies

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10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

Original Oil Painting Copper Kettle

Copper Kettle with Friends

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

I found this copper kettle at the local antique shop. I am starting to become a pack rat when it comes to still life objects. I hate dusting so they stay in the basement on shelves until I need them. I wonder what other artists do with all the still life objects. Do they eventually end up at Goodwill or in a rummage sale? Maybe I should look into antique shops that rent objects. Well for now this copper kettle was painted once and will probably be painted again. Thanks for viewing my Copper Kettle painting! 

Original Oil Painting Daisies and Lilacs

Daisies and Lilacs

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

These are the first flowers of the season from my yard except the white daisies which came from the field behind my house. I was so happy to see that my lilac bush looking so good after last year. I was very close to yanking it out and I am glad I didn't. I really need to be more patient. 

Original Oil Painting Unraveled

Unraveled

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

Original Oil Painting White Roses and Daisies

White Roses and Daisies

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10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

My goal was to capture the strong sunlight hitting the bouquet. When the sunsets it casts such a strong light into the house, making my little bouquet so dramatic. I loved the look and knew it was not going to last long enough for me to paint it. This is a case where painting from photos helps but I did note the shadow colors, my impressions and what caught my eye in the first place. I use photos as a tool but my real life observations are my best tools.

Original Oil Painting Blue and White Pitcher

Blue and White Pitcher

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

I love these blue and white vintage style pottery. I found this beauty at the Goodwill store. I can not tell you what was the most challenging part because the whole painting was challenging. The glass, orange flowers, background and pattern pitcher all have fractured color. This took several days to paint but it held my interest and I am pleased with the results. 

Original Oil Painting Worry Bird

Worry Bird

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10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

This is a painting of a ceramic worry bird. I have heard of worry stones that people would rub with their thumbs when they are worrying about something.  Kind of like rubbing your worries away. Well, my brother gave me this worry stone bird that he bought at a craft fair. I am lucky that I have not used it much for worrying but I did enjoy painting it. Now I am waiting for that magic lantern with the genie inside. I guessing he is keeping that one for himself.  

Original Oil Painting April Bouquet

April Bouquet

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10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

I love the variety of shapes in these flowers. The tiny little white flowers with their dabs of color, the daisies with their strokes of color and the pink flowers with their fractured color. I made a lot of premix color for the pinks. Taking a petal at a time painting each color I saw. It drove me a little crazy with all those bright colors but I do love color! At first I thought they were a little to shocking but the colors grew on me. Probably  because we had so may grey days lately, the bright colors give me hope that brighter days are ahead. When I posted this the sun was out, yeah! Bring on the sun!!!

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. 

Original Oil Painting Vintage Creamer

Vintage Creamer

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

Here is another painting I made of a creamer. I love finding these vintage creamers and other things at Goodwill. In this painting I worked hard at keeping the strongest highlights on the center of interest which means making the grapes, orange and dish in the background more subdued. That orange kept wanting to jump into center stage but after painting it three times I am satisfied where it is: strong but silent?

Original Oil Painting Orange Glow

Orange Glow

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

To create this yellow / orange glowing affect, I painted with lemon medium in all the oranges, greens and whites. The orange of course was done with the most intense oranges I could mix: permanent rose with cadmium lemon and Rembrandt's permanent red medium with cadmium lemon. The compliment of yellow: violet at the bottom only enhanced the intensity of the yellows more. I posted a photo of the still life I painted from below. I only had these bright shocking pink daisies to use but it helped with the drawing . I changed the color of the daisies to white and gold to work better with the other objects. Shocking pink would of competed too much with the center of interest: oranges. I hope you can feel the warm glow.

Original Oil Painting Flour Sifter and Apples

Flour Sifter and Apples

11" x 14"
Painted on gessobord.

Here is a painting of my reflective flour sifter with apples and daisies. Painting reflections is like painting a puzzle. You have to go by each piece of color. Then you step back and see which piece needs to be enhanced and which piece is not essential.

 I worked hard on keeping the viewers' eyes focused on the center of interest which is the apple pieces. That is where you will find the strongest and largest highlights. I posted a photo of the still life I was working from below. I left the pattern off the table cloth because it would draw too much attention away from the center of interest and would make the painting too busy. Thanks for viewing my painting.

Original Oil Painting Goldies

Goldies

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10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord

This is the second painting of my series of big flowers on small boards.

Big thanks to Dan Edmundson's  photo reference!

Original Oil Painting Late Summer Golden Daisies

Late Summer Golden Daisies 

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord. 

These are some golden daisies that came up with my petunias this year. I did not intentionally plant them. They must of been tagging along with the petunia plants I bought. What a nice surprise and that is what painting should have. I am always looking for happy little surprises with the brush strokes. Finding hits of color here and there in my still life and playing with them. Thanks for viewing my painting and I hope you find surprises in your day, too!

Original Oil Painting Onion Friends

Onion Friends


12" x 12"
Painted on gessobord.

Some paintings almost paint themselves. This is one that did not. I really struggled with it. I had to force the warm harmony on the daisies and that was a battle. Everything in the still life had a warm tone to them except the yellow daisies, wierd. But I was not going to give up even if the tomatoes started to look a little tried. I must of painted the daisies three times before I could get the right values. I ended up using a reference photo I took to help finish up and then just turn to the painting and asked what do you need. Forget the still life, forget the reference photo I took, just focus on the painting.  Because in the end it is only the painting that matters!

Original Oil Painting White Daisies and Peaches

White Daisies and Peaches

12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

Here is another attempt painting on a rougher gessobord. 

Original Oil Painting Purple Daisies in a Coffee Pot

Purple Flowers in a Coffee Pot

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12" x 12"

Painted on ampersand gessobord.

Original Oil Painting Untitled Still Life

Romantic Flowers

12" x 12"

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Here is my final touches added to my still life painting. I added a glow behind the left pot to connect it to the oranges and I also added a small leaf behind the rose so the single left did not look out of place. I got rid of some dirty colors and worked on the modelling of the left vase. Now I am happy with it. I hope you can tell the difference in the one below which was 90 % done. I am also happy that it photographed well. 

Original Oil Painting Cut Strawberries Daisies

Cut Strawberries Daisies

12" x 12"

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