Original Oil Painting Hand over Hand

Hand Over Hand

12"  x  12"

Painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

I painted this cross over composition in my studio. I like how the composition has the objects cross over each over. It reminds me of how we use to choose who is up to bat first by placing your hands on the bat 's neck and the last one to get their hand over the other person's hand wins. Is it the onion or the scallion? I will let you decide. 

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!

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Original Oil Painting Orange Cow

Orange Cow

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12" x  12"

Painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

Original Oil Painting Skippy

Skippy

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9" x  12"

Painted on Ampersand Gessobord

Original Oil Painting Autumn Begonia

Autumn Begonia

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12" x 12"

Painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

Painted from a studio still life using my 2017 bright orange begonia!

Original Oil Painting Pumpkin Iris

Pumpkin Iris

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9" x 12"

Painted on an Ampersand Gessobord.

Original Oil Painting Sun Captured Tulip

Sun Captured Tulip

10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

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I painted this from a photo I took of a tulip in the shadows but captured by a spot of light filtering through the tree buds above. As the wind blew the tulip went from sun to shadow. Since I first saw it in the shadows I decided to call it Shadow Tulip. It was luck that I captured  the tulip when the light was hitting it.  Thanks for viewing my Spring Tulip of 2017!

Original Oil Painting Double Header

Double Header

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

Let me first state: I have a love / hate relationship with dahlias. I love the beauty of their multi color petals but I struggle trying to capture it. I feel this is one of my better attempts. 

Original Oil Painting Kingfisher

Kingfisher 

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9" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

Original Oil Painting Fireworks Tulip

Firecracker Tulip

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10" x 10"

Painted on a gessobord.

Well, it is the next day and I am calling it done. If I work on it more I feel it might look over-worked.  My goal was to capture the sheen the tulip petals have. I am happy with my attempt at capturing one of  Mother Nature's beauties. I hope others agree.

I also re-titled this painting from Wild and Crazy Tulip to Firecracker Tulip. It was painted around the Fourth of July and seems to fit that title more. Thanks Deirdre McDowell for the idea!!

I was working from a photo I took at Evergreen. I posted it below.

Original Oil Painting Cactus Tower

Cactus Tower

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11" x 14"

Painted on gessobord.

I painted this using a reference photo from Judy Wright. Thanks Judy for a wonderful photo. Judy's photo is posted below.
The title popped into my head when I was listening to all the political news playing in the other room. For some reason Trump Towers stuck in my head, hence the name Cactus Tower! It is funny how things get stuck in your head but the title seems to fit. 

Original Oil Painting The One and Only

The One and Only

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8" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

I used a reference photo from Paint My Photo. Thanks Ruth Stewart for the beautiful photo I could not of made this painting with out it.

Original Oil Painting Fragile Glass

Fragile Glass

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

Here is another painting of Goodwill items: the glass decanter and gold reflective metal bowl. Yes, the gold is not real but it is some kind of metal bowl painted gold and the decanter has a heavy metal ornate handle with lid. I threw in a vintage table cloth and fruit to complete the still life. 

I gave it the title: Fragile Glass because I keep thinking the glass will break some day, so better paint it now. The handle and lid will last forever but they are nothing with out the glass. 

I loved painting all the reflections and I like how the cloth recedes while the leaves come forward. There is a lot of pull and push in the composition if that makes any sense?  

By the way that is not an apple in the bowl. It is a plum that hasn't ripened yet, but by the time I finished this painting the plum was rip to eat, yum!

Original Oil Painting Cactus Flower

Cactus Flowers

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12" x 9"

Painted on gessobord.

  

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 Hidden Crock

Hidden Crock

 12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

My main goal in this one was to put the paint down with out messing with it too much. So much easier said than done. This is the fifth or sixth still life I painted working with a wet on wet painting technique. I still find myself blending with a soft brush or palette knife along the edges of different color values. I guess this is my preferred style. Old habits that work well for me are hard to break but I do see my edges are improving.  

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 Evening Light

Evening Light

12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

Here is another landscape painting where I am trying to capture an evening sunset. I decided on a red-orange to be the color of the light as it sets. It is reflected in the snow mountain tops, tree tops, leaves, clouds, water, etc. I posted Christine Huard-Adams' reference photo below.

Thanks Christine for the awesome photo!

Original Oil Painting Yellow Carnations

Yellow Carnations

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

These are the yellow carnations I bought over Christmas. I tried to create a more old master's look with the dark background and rick color. The carnations are much darker in this painting than in real life. What I am trying to create is an interesting old world look so I spent more time looking at the painting towards the end than at the still life. I posted a photo of the still life I was painting from. I used photo shop to lower the blossoms so they fit the composition better. I like to use both still life set up and photographs to work from at the beginning but than I have to listen to the painting. Let the painting tell me what works. I hope you like my choices. Thanks for viewing my first painting of 2016!

Original Oil Painting Hibiscus Sunrise

Hibiscus Sunrise 

12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

I used a reference photo for this but made a lot of changes. One of the petals in the back was too short so I pulled it up. Then I used several pictures I had to finish the background. To say this painting was a challenge would be an understatement. The hibiscus had so many shades of orange and yellows to start with but add to that a whole new set of oranges and yellows to create in the shadows. I came very close to scraping the whole thing off but I just kept coming back to it.

 Painting can be kind of a puzzle or mystery that needs solving.You see all the beauty in nature and you what to convey what you see and feel, but how? So you try this and that, all the tools you know and are learning through trail and error. Well at the end I am happy this turned out. Hibiscus are wonderful flowers and I love the tropical colors they have. I hope that was conveyed in my painting. 

 

Original Oil Painting High Key Fruit Bowl

High Key Fruit Bowl

12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

This painting is very different than what I usually paint. It is call high-key painting. High-key painting uses a lot of tints and mediums. It is like all the dark and middle values are lightened. It gives the painting a light, airy quality. I painted on a slightly rougher surface, to enhance the sparkle. This is very different from my more dramatic paintings. It is just another way of expression. I hope you enjoy viewing my lighter way of painting.