Ginger Man oil on claybord 5×7″ $100
I’ve wanted to paint ginger for a long time. I thought this piece was vaguely anthropomorphic and then when I started to paint I realized it had a face! I may have emphasized the features just a trifle, but basically this is what it looked like. In my opinion ginger is right up there with garlic as a culinary essential.
Garlic Pot oil on claybord 5×7″ $100
I’ve been working on huge landscapes but in between while waiting for them to dry I’ve started a new series of still life paintings. I found a lot of little 5 x 7″ claybord supports I bought for painting flora of the forest floor. So I thought while snow covers everything outside I could use the claybord for still life paintings of edibles. You’d think that a small painting would be easier to dash off but actually it takes longer than some regular-sized landscapes. It’s very good practice for noticing all the subtleties of forms. And the little pieces prop up nicely over the doorway to the kitchen where I already have a lot of paintings of fruits and vegetables on the walls. A friend gave me this pretty ceramic garlic keeper and this makes the third painting I’ve done of garlic–tells you how I feel about garlic!
As I may have mentioned I’m fairly obsessed with clouds and if we only had a fast connection I’d join the Cloud Appreciation Society (www.cloudappreciationsociety.org) to get pictures people send in. I’ve read the book–The Cloudspotter’s Guide– but don’t feel very confident about identifying what’s what. Mainly I love the colors and shapes just for themselves. The problem with painting clouds on site is that they of course change in seconds. Occasionally with a small painting I can get something recorded, other times I try to remember, sometimes I get a photo and sometimes I invent them. I’m trying something new here–really BIG paintings. Someday I’ll have a show with space to hang paintings that would be too large for a lot of galleries. In the meantime a friend has said I could store them in her garage. This one is not quite as large as the next one in the series but it gave me a feel for slapping down paint with a big brush.
Rejoice! oil on masonite 27×36″ $850 unframed
Red Onions oil on birch panel 8×10″ Unframed but ready to hang $250
Here’s a little painting I did recently. I hadn’t planned to paint these onions but they looked so good sitting on the counter I had to set them up in a still life. I might have worked longer except I wanted to make a carrot salad! Now they’ll get hung in the kitchen with all the other paintings of fruits and vegetables. I was intrigued by the play of light on the rounded forms and the variation of colors, from red purple to a spot of bright red reflected under a piece of skin.
Lillekat oil on masonite 16×20″ NFS
My granddaughter is crazy about cats. For some girls her age it’s horses but not for Emma. Unfortunately she has asthma and can’t have a cat in the house. But when she visits us I take her to see a neighbor’s cat with whom she seems to have developed a special relationship. I thought a good Christmas gift would be a painting of Lillekat and Emma did seem pleased. Since we’re in Utica and couldn’t photograph in my studio, the glare is worse than usual. Anyway, I liked the composition of the cat on the windowsill with the pink flowers in the garden behind echoed in the cat’s nose.
Nancy’s Studio oil on masonite 18 x 24 $600 unframed
I did this one months ago but forgot to post it. I was on a hill above a friend’s wonderful studio. The shadows were what I particularly liked. Some of the foliage was turning so I had a little color besides the green.
Roses and an Empire oil on masonite 18×24″ gold frame $650
I started this still life while the Knockout roses were still blooming and finished it when apples got ripe. I finally had to buy a fresh rose and cut up more than one apple before I was done. I’m pleased with the results though, particularly the drapery. This one is a bit looser than usual and I think more painterly. But I did add several glazes to deepen the shadows. I do a lot of still life paintings in the dark with little lamps on the palette and on the painting as well as on the subject. It’s tricky because I don’t have very good vision in dim light but I really like the contrast. I also was pleased to arrange a set up that used the complements red and green since this is the other painting that will go in the Christmas show–not that it’s really a “Christmasy” painting. The photo cuts off some of the gold frame unfortunately but I didn’t have time to redo it.
Twisted Oil on masonite 18×24″ $650 framed in black frame
For some reason I haven’t gotten around to putting the finishing touches on this painting. Anyway, it was the first one I did when we went to Maine in Sept. The mosquitos nearly ate me alive but I still enjoyed painting these twisted trees–thought they had real presence. And I really liked the way the light struck the big pine.
I’ve been getting ready for a group show that Strafford Artworks is opening next weekend and then that will be the last one for a while. The show of my little paintings in the Strafford post office is going well; I’ve sold several–not big prices but it’s always a thrill when somebody wants to own one of mine.
I’ve really gotten behind again with posting! After I moved my big show from the Hanover Library to the Lyme, NH library I decided I’d hang an “Everything but the Kitchen Sink” show in the Strafford Post Office. I had a couple of boxes full of small paintings I’d never shown–sketches, experiments, etc. So I pinned up 25 of those and have sold several. Getting it all organized took some time so I guess that’s my excuse for not blogging lately.
A few weeks ago I went with friends to a beautiful site in Strafford, with a pond and lovely gardens. I liked the greenhouse as well as the fall foliage in the background. The early light was beautiful but I was painting in the shade and nearly froze.
Tomato Heaven oil on masonite 12×16″ $350 unframed
Cox’s Head oil on birch panel 18×24″ $700
After two very pleasant sessions at the beach in Maine I was ready to paint rocks. While we were eating lunch at a quaint little mini-farm I asked the only other diner where we could find some. He gave us complicated directions to places I think we never found, but on the way we discovered a lovely bluff, Cox’s Head. It was very windy but so isolated I thought nobody would come by to kibitz; I can’t stand to be interrupted when I’m in the zone painting. Anyhow, I thought it was a beautiful place, with the beginning of fall color, water and yes–lots of rocks. Two carloads of people actually did come by but nobody bothered me.
