Red Onion on a Napkin

Here is the last of that sprouting onion. There's not much flesh left, so I had to hurry to get one more in before it collapses on itself.
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Peeled Mandarine

Here's is yet another Mandarine Orange, and I still have 3 more in the fridge!
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Sprouting Onions

I'm embarrassed to say that I bought these some time ago, intending to paint them, but forgot completely that they were in their basket in the pantry. When I saw the green sprouts though I was actually pretty happy to have something a little different to work on. I hope you like them too. If you would like to bid on this painting, please click here.

Golden Beets

I never would have thought to paint beets! But when my husband brought these beauties home from the market thinking to inspire me, of course I had to oblige. What a wonderful subject! And, what a great dinner they made...sauteed greens and roasted beets. If you would like to bid on this painting, please click here.

Two Mandarines

Here are two more Mandarine Oranges. These had wonderful pebbley, bumpy skin, and they are sooo sweet!
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Peeling Mandarine

There are so many varieties of these Tangerine type oranges, "Cuties", Tangerines, Mandarines, Clementines. I usually just pick one for the title, but this time I know for sure that they are Mandarines. It said so on the label. Painting the peeled flesh is such a challenge. What value and color to make the membranes is the most difficult part, but still so much fun to try and get it right, and still keep it loose.

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Lemons Side by Side

Love painting Lemons...

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Lemon in Front

I started drinking a little bit of lemon juice in water every morning, so I have lots of lemons available to paint. I never get tired of them either. Here one is to the front, while the other is in shadow...

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From a Small Study to a Large Painting

"Foggy El Moro Morning" from my last post is a little 8 x 10 I did on location at one of my favorite places to paint lately. I would call it my muse, but I'm not sure you can say that about a place. In any case, I seem to be endlessly inspired there. No matter the conditions, I want to paint there. Up close, far away...I can't really explain it. Anyway, I thought this was a perfect piece to use as a study for a larger work. I chose to paint it as a 20 x 24. Here are the original study and the two large pieces I did from that painting. I did two, because I wasn't happy with the composition of the first one, though there are some elements I like too. In fact I'm sort of torn between the two and can't decide which I like more. Let me know if have an opinion. I'd like to hear what you think.

Foggy El Moro Morning 20 x 24 inches

Fog Burning Off 20 x 24 inches

You can see how I changed the mood and scale in the second one, but I did work a bit more on it after I decided I wanted to make a few basic changes. 

New Landscapes

Here are two landscape paintings I did during the past month which have been accepted into the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association "Less is More" show of small paintings.
I did them both at Crystal Cove State Park, one of my favorite places to paint.
The first one was done at El Moro Cove, which is now part of the state park a couple of coves south of Crystal Cove. It was cold and foggy that morning, a perfect time to paint actually, since the light stays consistent for much longer than when the sun is out. That's when the pressure is on!
The second one is painted where the Crystal Cove Cottages are located. This cottage is actually the main office where you check in if you've reserved one of the many cottages available for rental. It was a beautiful afternoon, and so quiet and peaceful up on the bluff in the sagebrush that grows wild there.

Foggy El Moro Morning
8 x 10 inches

Cottage Above the Sea
9 x 12 inches

Apple in Shadow

Here is another apple painting on a napkin. I love painting this damask napkin, part of a bundle I bought at an antique store ages ago hoping one day to use them in a still life. I'm this close to painting just the napkin...though I'm not sure how interesting a painting it would be. That would be my job though wouldn't it?

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Two Apples on a Napkin

Wow, 2 weeks since my last post! In my defense, I've been working on a bunch of other paintings for some upcoming shows, including trying my hand at a larger piece from a study which I'll post very soon. We finally got around to photographing everything today...
So, here are some lovely apples I found at Trader Joe's. Not exactly Spring fruit, but it's so cool here right now it feels like Autumn. If you would like to bid on this painting, please click here.

Still Life with Lemons & Ceramic Pitcher

Here is the third painting in this particular still life series. This little pitcher was a promotional gift from one of my favorite restaurants, Il Fornaio. My Mom and I manage a trip a couple of times a year and we never get tired of it. If you would like to bid on this painting, please click here.

Mexican Cup & Lemon

Here is another lemon, this time with one of my favorite cups. I bought it quite a few years ago in Ensenada, when my husband used to participate in the 50 mile "Fun Ride", from Rosarito Beach to Ensenada. I would drop him off at the start line in Rosarito, then drive to Ensenada for a short afternoon of shopping. Usually, I would buy plates, but these cups caught my eye and I bought two. Such nice memories. If you would like to bid on this painting, please click here.

Chili Oil Bottle & Lemon

I painted this and 2 others more than 2 weeks ago, but couldn't get around to photographing them until now. I had been thinking of adding more props to the arrangements now that painting the fruits and vegetables is less of a challenge.
I'm still playing around with the lighting, so there will be more variations to come.
I love how the light is refracted through the oil in the bottle, and lemons of course are a favorite subject to paint.
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Shadowed Mandarine

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Lemon Duo

It's fun to be painting lemons again...
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Mandarine and Lilac

I'm playing around with a new background color, Lilac.
It's a nice compliment with the orange color of the Mandarines. I'm looking forward to using it with Lemons too...
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Hanging Peel

Here is a peeled Mandarine. I love how it curls and twists in the light.
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Mayan Sweet

Here is a new onion. It's a variety I just recently noticed in the markets. It has a sort of squatty, flying saucer sort of shape, and it's quite sweet.
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Two Brown Onions

Yes, I know, more onions...I will never grow tired it seems...

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Two More Mandarines

Here they are again...

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Two Clementines

Here are some more of my favorite February fruit...Clementines, aka Mandarine Oranges, aka "Cuties"...not sure where the last name comes from, but it says that on the box.
I'm trying a new surface to paint on. Instead of linen, I'm just painting on the same composite board, with a couple of coats of oil-based primer. It completely changes how the paint and brush strokes look. I think I like it, and it's a lot easier than gluing linen on all of these little panels...

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Jewel Tones

Here is another onion. I just can't stay away...
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Mandarine Orange and Bowl

Mandarine Orange season again, so expect a few more. Here is one of my favorite bowls that I bought years ago in China Town in San Francisco. Seemed like a good pairing.
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January Sunset at El Moro Cove

As some of you may know, Socalpapa, the group I exhibit with,  lost its brick and mortar gallery space on the Newport Peninsula last year. Not to be defeated however, an on-line Gallery presence has been established in partnership with DailyBrushwork. Our second show is now up and paintings are exhibited for viewing and purchase. Please click the link here, and you will be taken to the first page of our current Winter Exhibition.

I have one painting in this show, "January Sunset at El Moro Cove", 8 x 16 inches, unframed,  $600. It's a studio painting I did from the smaller one I painted on-site that will be showing at the Crystal Cove Gallery starting next week.

Side by Side

Here is the last of my Valentine themed paintings for this year. I think I'll try flowers next year; candy, especially dark chocolate, is just too tempting. It wouldn't be so bad if I could buy each candy I wanted to paint individually, but they come in these HUGE bags!
Anyway...enjoy

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Three Hearts

More Valentines Day candy....

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Kisses in a Row - Redux

I forgot that I did this arrangement last year, (though the order they are in is different), until I looked it up to decide on the title. I must have like it.
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Sweethearts

I have a love hate relationship with Valentines Day candies. I love to paint them and I love to eat them...

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Winter Storm Coming

Here is one of two new paintings I'll be dropping off at Crystal Cove in a few days. I do love painting in winter. The air is clearer, there are fewer people on the beach, (I still prefer painting the solitary visitor in a scene, to the hordes of summer), and there is always promise of spectacular clouds. This is my first attempt at a painting that is chiefly about clouds, and was really fun to experiment and try to catch that misty, moving, ephemeral liquid atmosphere that is a cloud.

Blushing Pear

I found this pear in Trader Joe's and fell in love with the stripe. I find pears, as opposed to onions, tremendously difficult to paint. In fact, I don't even like to eat them. But, I find their colors so enticing I can't resist trying to capture it every now and again. I linger for way too long at the bin in the market, holding each one up to the light, digging down, moving some fruit out of the way in order to find the perfect combination of shape and color.

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Pomegranate with Pomegranates

I was inspired by the original Daily Painter Duane Keiser to attempt this little vignette. He frequently seems to grab a "found" arrangement of objects by chance, so I tried the same thing. This fresh pomegranate has been on my shelf, in front of the other paintings there waiting its turn for a week or two, but each time I looked at it, I couldn't help appreciating the little tableau it was a part of. So, voila, a painting is born.

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Mormon Barn - Grand Tetons

I finally photographed the big painting, though the quality isn't the best because it's so big I couldn't get the lighting quite right. Anyway, hopefully you can get an idea of what it looks like.

Katie

Last Christmas time I painted 4 or 5 dog paintings of my various family member's pets. I've still a few more pets to go I think, but managed one more for one of our dear friends.
This is Katie. She is definitely part Chihuahua, but has a scruffy wiry-haired coat from some other breed. Maybe a bit Terrier too? Anyway, 2 or 3 times a year we dog-sit for our friend and we get to have this dear dog with us for a week or two. I painted this as a Christmas present from a photograph I took from an earlier stay last year when the weather was much warmer and too perfect for her to agree to come back inside. She just plopped down in the sunny grass, looking very queenly and refused to budge.

New Year's Apple - SOLD

 As I mentioned in my last post, I was working on a very large commission in December, and instead of the 2 weeks I expected to be away from posting, I was working right down until a few days before Christmas. This was a huge project for me as you can imagine, as I typically paint sizes ranging from 5 x 7 inches to the occasional 12 x 16 in. This piece was 3 x 4 feet! It has been a wonderful opportunity to grow as an artist and to learn so much.

Living as we do though in a rather small condo, the challenge of creating a work space to complete the painting was pretty challenging. We basically moved my studio down from our small loft to the slightly larger living room. We covered the entire floor with a heavy canvas drop cloth, including the furniture because I'm a pretty sloppy painter, and the painting of this piece took over our lives; so, no Christmas Tree or decorations. Finally on the 23rd, I was done. We put everything away, I put up a few lights and a little wire tree to hang ornaments on and stacked the presents for our families  in the corner of our dining room. Funny though, it was just as wonderful a Christmas as it would have been with the whole array of decorations and a tree.

After this big lead up, I should be posting a photo of this large painting. It has been drying though this last week, and isn't quite ready to be moved and photographed, so that will come in a week or maybe a bit less.

Instead here is a little still life to commemorate the New Year. A Poinsettia and an Apple. I titled it "New Year's Apple", because for some reason this strikes me as hopeful.
Apples are so basic; a wonderful symbol of life, and gifts, and appreciation for the simplest things in our lives.

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I hope this first posting of the New Year finds you all hopeful and filled with excitement for whatever challenges, and changes, adventures, and pastimes, reunions and travels that are in store for you.
Thank you for being faithful followers of my not so Daily Paintings. It is so much appreciated.