Market Peppers

Here is another from what I'm now calling my "Market Series"...

Market Avocados

Last year when I visited some friends in Santa Barbara, I took a bunch of photos of all the produce when we visited their Farmer's Market. I did a painting of some apples last October I think, or November, but always wanted to continue with some of the other photos I took. So here is a painted interpretation of some avocados.

Pomegranate #5

Pomegranate #4

It's Pomegranate season again, and here is one cut in half per my husband's request. This was pretty fun to paint, so I'll probably do more like this.

Grandma Rose

Here is a portrait of my step-son's and step-daughter's Grandma, who passed away last week at the age of 92. She was one of the most unique people I've ever known, whimsical and sprightly and almost like a little fairy sometimes, and with a warm and trusting heart. This one is for you Lizzy...

Aquatics Show - November 6

Here are the two paintings of mine that were juried into the Aquatics Show. 

Check for the details included here and come by if you can for the opening. Should be fun

Schooner at Dawn

Here is a little painting I did from a photo that was taken coming back from Catalina. I think it's a schooner. I loved the colors and other worldly look of the boat floating on the calm sea. I entered this painting into a new show coming to the Socalpapa Gallery next month. Hopefully this one will get in.

Persimmon Branch #2

Here's the second branch.....finally

Persimmon Branch

A couple of weeks ago, a friend gave me a bag FULL of Persimmons from a tree in her yard. They were beautiful and I was able to paint a couple of paintings before they got too ripe and had to be eaten.... Here is # 1

Gourd #7

Finally, the promised third gourd. This one is like the first, but with whiter skin and yellow rather than orange stripes. The variations on these Autumn fruits seems endless...so maybe more?

Baker Staging Area - Santiago Canyon

Our painting group has been granted some exclusive trips into areas previously off-limits to the public. But now the Irvine Co. has ceded these wilderness areas to the Orange County Parks. They are offering us these trips because next May, we'll have a large Juried Art Show and Sale to benefit the parks, so this is a fantastic opportunity for us. Today we had access to a small area just off of Black Star Canyon, for those locals who are reading this. Here is the painting I did today, fresh off the easel, no touch ups yet...so a little rough, but it has a feel for what it was like at 7:30 this morning, just as the sun was breaking through the sycamore and eucalyptus. A beautiful morning to be out...

Crookneck-Gourd # 6

Here is the second painting in this series of gourds. I tried a slightly different composition. I like including the second "wall", it adds a lot more dimension...

Gourd # 5

A couple of weeks ago a friend gave me 2 gourds to paint. So, since it's well into Autumn now, here's the first of my Autumn themed paintings....

Drooping Sunflowers

I bought some sunflowers from Trader Joe's a few days ago, intending to paint them. I trimmed the stems and put them in a vase. Within a day they had wilted. I couldn't figure it out. The vase was opaque with a pretty narrow opening, so I didn't notice that I had forgot to add any water. So, yeah....no wonder. Anyway, that's why they are hanging down like this. I decided to paint them anyway...

Mexican Mug #2

Here is the same mug turned in the opposite direction.

Mexican Mug

I bought 2 of these mugs years ago when I was shopping in Tijuana with a friend of mine who used to travel there a couple of times a year to buy carloads of stuff to resell up here in the states. I've manage to break the handle on one of them, so it's a brush holder, but this one has been begging me to paint it. I love how the red clay shows through the glaze where it's chipped, and I love the pattern and how the deep blue color changes to light blue where the glaze is the thinnest. It's a huge challenge to get the pattern to float on the cup as it recedes into shadow. I plan to do at least one more, or as many as it takes until I'm happy...