PRACTICE

6"x6"

OIL ON BOARD

Just an apple, I know. And not a very good photo either but this was just a practice piece. I have been watching a few painting videos lately and was inspired to scrape this painting down several times and start over. Sometimes painting for no other reason than playing is good for us and I intend to do more of it in the future.

IN THE FOLDS

8"X8"

OIL ON BOARD

PRICE $120

I have friends who belong to a local arts group that moved into a very spacious studio last year. My friend Diane decided to set up a large still life in the main room of their meeting site and she invited me to come and paint with her. The set up is just beautiful. I took small panels since I knew I would only be able to paint one day and this is the painting I did first. I will post the second one later in the week.

WINESAP

6"x6"

OIL ON CANVAS

PRICE $100

It's apple time in the midwest and winesap apples are my favorite. I bought two of them at the local farm market and couldn't wait to taste that typical sweet, tart very crisp apple. What a disappointment. Mushy is the only word for it. So the second one is in this painting.

THE GROUP 6"X6"

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These apples look more appetizing in the painting than they do in person. They are very wrinkled and soft by now. I made another stop at a different Goodwill today to pick up some new things. Couldn't really browse because I had both of my terrified cats in the car. They had just visited the vet for their yearly check-ups and shots so I didn't want to leave them for long. New (old) stuff will be appearing in future paintings.

APPLE BOWL 6"X6"

I really like this color combination. Whenever I see grapes in a painting I think of the Dutch still life painters. You notice that I have decided to leave out the dead fish that sometimes accompany the grapes.

VIEW FROM ABOVE

6"X6"

OIL ON CANVAS PANEL

PRICE $100

I approached this painting like one of my larger paintings from the beginning. As a result, I had some wiping to do. I tend to forget that the spacing is so much tighter and sometimes I need to put a background color down when I start the painting. This one was frustrating but a great learning experience.

WALLFLOWER

6"X6"

OIL ON CANVAS PANEL

PRICE $100

Kind of looks like the flower is acting shy. I know, It's dumb. I am so tired from my week of studio cleaning, shelf buiding and organizing that my brain is a little foggy. My next project is varnishing a bunch of paintings. I do that when I know I will not be in the studio for a day so I don't have to smell it.   

APPLE GATHERING

6"X6"

OIL ON CANVAS PANEL

PRICE $100

Back to still life. I'm a little more comfortable painting apples than cars but the challenge was fun. We got the ice part of the big storm and I would rather have gotten the foot of snow. At least the plows can clear it away. I have been using my forced isolation for doing some more studio organizing. I may just get this place cleaned up if we keep having bad weather.

LAST VERSION

This is the version I've declared finished. This painting was a lot more tedious than I anticipated but now that it's finished, I like it alot. I've been painting the little paintings so much that I think I'm getting used to instant gratification. I was asked why I put the apple in there and I'm not sure I actually gave a good explanation. As artists most of us are looking for something to challenge us. Looking at the subtle changes that happen when part of the solid form is viewed through glass sets up the problem of how to inerpret that with paint. What color do I see and how do I show the bit of distortion that happens. And then we hope for the best.

GREEN APPLE

6"X6"

OIL ON CANVAS PANEL

PRICE $100

I like playing around with different perspectives and this one was a bit of a challenge. So was the color in the vase. The orange fabric was casting a very strong reflection on the lit side of the vase but when I painted it, it didn't work. So in that instance you have to make a decision about what will make the painting work. I chose to make the reflection not so bright and light.

REFRESHING

6"X6"

OIL ON CANVAS PANEL

PRICE $100

I'm not quite sure why this title popped into my head, maybe it's the color combination. Maybe it's the contrast with all the winter snow and very cold temps we are having right now. Anyway I love the colors in this one.