Don't Bottle it Up

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Bell peppers are tough because they are fairly translucent. Often, especially with a strong light, the colors and values change only subtly from the light side the shadow side. That said, my camera didn't quite pick up all of what's actually there. It does that sometimes with reds and oranges.

Ordered By Size

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I really enjoyed capturing all the color bouncing around in this one. I've always like painting shiny things for that very reason.

Cornered

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I'll take a better picture of this one and repost it tomorrow. The sun goes down so EARLY this time of year way up here in Oregon. I had to take the picture inside and so the color isn't quite right.

Turns out the better picture isn't terribly different. But I do think it's better.

Strawberries and Milk

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I did some work last year for Chinet, the paper plate company. I wasn't able to say much about it at the time, but I put the 4 paintings I did for them down below. I painted food, on paper plates (they added the edges of the plates around the food in photoshop). It was interesting. One of the things I painted was a fruit salad. We went around and around before hand about how it should look, and I finally cut the strawberries and they looked so cool! Anyway ... so I cut them for this painting and ... that's why? heh heh

Sweet Enough?

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I had this same sugar bowl before the fire. I have found it again, many times over. I love it. David finished one set of studio shelves yesterday and amazingly I've already collected enough to fill the entire thing! I'll post a picture soon.

Into Blue Shadows

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Several of you asked what it was I wiped after 6 hours. I was recently looking through some old photos from Germany and picked out a market scene I particularly liked. It was busy but I figured I could simplify it and make it work. Not.

The Water's Fine

Yesterday I painted for 6 hours on a larger painting only to realize it was a wiper. I hate it when that happens. My husband did his best to talk me down from the ledge, to no avail. Poor guy. For me the best remedy for this kind of mess is redemption, aka, to paint a keeper. So I returned to a familiar subject - orange slices.

Wowser!

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What I have realized about these faces is - to get them super accurate (I mean, to get them to actually look not only like a human being but like a SPECIFIC one) is hard, especially with my loose style. I found I was getting tighter and tighter and not enjoying the process much at all. So when I did this one and the one I posted a few days ago, I gave myself permission to do whatever! I decided the photos were just a starting point, and I could run wild with my brush strokes. What followed was much fun for me! And I love the result and that's all that matters.

To answer a common question, no I don't do portrait commissions. Sorry. In fact, I don't take commissions at all anymore. If you've done them yourself you know they are no fun, and I consider myself very lucky that I can afford to turn them down. If you are looking for a portrait artist, my friend Susan Carlin is super-fabulous. Check out her blog too.

Breakfast Eggcetera

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This is the last of the eggs for a while. What I liked especially about this one was the egg white pooling in the bottom of both shells. It's such a challenge to capture, but so satisfying when it works.

Goofiness

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I have to admit I was a bit discouraged after my first round of silly faces, so I took some time off. Recently I revisited my files and did a couple that I am really proud of. I decided to sit on them for a while, but several weeks later I am still happy with them so I am posting them, and for sale too. If they don't sell I will be happy to keep them for my own collection. I figure it's a win-win situation.

Eggstra Full

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This one has a similar theme to one I posted a few days ago, but with the added square-ish element in the background. Thank you all, by the way, for the comments the other day about eggsistentialism. I kind of get it now. : ) One person sent me a great joke:

A philosophy professorwalks in to give his class their final. Placing his chair on his desk theprofessor instructs the class, "Using every applicable thing you'velearned in this course, prove to me that this chair DOES NOT EXIST."

So, pencils are writing and erasers are erasing, students are preparing toembark on novels proving that this chair doesn't exist, except for one student.He spends thirty seconds writing his answer, then turns his final in to theastonishment of his peers.

Time goes by, and the day comes when all the students get their finalgrades...and to the amazment of the class, the student who wrote for thirtyseconds gets the highest grade in the class.

His answer to the question: "What chair?"

Egg Stack

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I've been getting quite a few emails lately about my workshops. Although you can't see them all yet, I am booked already for all of 2012 and most of 2013. I also have a list, of about 60 places, that have asked me to consider scheduling with them in the future. I am happy to put anyplace asking on that list, but I make no promises. I am lucky enough to be able to be choosy with where I go. I am also planning to cut back in the coming years to 6 or 8 workshops/yr instead of the breakneck 13 or more I've been doing. I love teaching, but I also love my studio time, and lately I've been yearning for more of the latter.

Here are some answers to questions I get all the time: No, there is no secret list!! I post new workshops as I can and they tend to fill up fast. The best way to get into one is to watch for them and sign up right away. I don't handle the registration, so I don't know when there is a spot open, unless they tell me, which isn't often. I also don't know how long the wait lists are. And no, I will not keep lists of everyone who wants to be notified when I schedule a workshop in their area, sorry.

I am looking into cloning myself as a solution to this problem. : )

Eggsistentialism

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I have to admit, my dad came up with today and yesterday's titles. I am not that clever. In googling how I might spell today's, I tried to refresh my memory (from college) about the meaning of existentialism. Apparently, perhaps due to paint fumes, I've actually gotten dumber since then. I couldn't make heads or tails from the few definitions I read. Anyone have a simple synopsis?

Bowl-Egged

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I think you have to be from Texas or at least the south to read the title for this one right. I tried to think of a way to type a kind of pronunciation but couldn't quite make it. I hope it's clear enough.

Climbing Out

So, my mother looked at this and said "what are they?" I didn't even consider that the eggs might not be recognizable as such. But now that I think about it, I can see how it's much clearer when they're cracked open.

Here are some photos of my kids last week in San Antonio. The space was great, and besides keeping me out too late every night, my kids were pretty great too. : )

Here they mostly all are (1 left early). We laughed, we cried, we learned a lot and generally had a lot of fun!! I am still catching up on email from the last week and a half, so if you've written me, I thank you for your patience!

Egg on the Edge

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I am visiting my family for a few days while I'm here in Texas, before heading back to Oregon. I was busy all day today so I'll have to post about last week's workshop tomorrow. Meanwhile, here's an egg I painted while I was still at home. I was on a little egg kick, so expect more.

Trying On Bottles

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Still alive ... teaching here in San Antonio ... worn out ... just enough wine ... going to bed. : )

Power Breakfast

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This is my example painting for this week's Daily Paintworks challenge: the Paint Your Breakfast Challenge! I fibbed a little since I don't eat bread ... or fruit, actually. But I do eat plenty of eggs. In fact I wish I could have painted this morning's breakfast. It was called something like Phil's Cheeseburger Attack Omelet. Only in Texas. : )

Cozy Rosies

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I'm heading out early tomorrow for Texas! I've got a workshop in San Antonio next week and I'm spending some extra time seeing my family. I'm very much looking forward to it.

Rose Rapture

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The last time I tried painting roses I had a heckuva time. This time didn't seem easy, but maybe easiER. It seems no matter what I paint, if I squint, and paint what I see as I'm squinting, it usually turns out. This is especially true with roses. If you get bogged down in the details you get lost REAL fast.

Stacked Nearby

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You've probably noticed I've been into stacking apples lately. Here I've added a rose to complexify things.

After my post yesterday my friend James said the table he mentioned is suddenly out of stock, so he looked up 3 others and posted links at the bottom of his post.

Race to the Top

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My buddy James Coulter posted today about a still life stand he got recently that is much cheaper than my tripod. He says he spent $80 on it. So if you're looking for a cheaper alternative to what I posted the other night, this could be it. I'll post a link on my other blog too.

Apple Accumulation

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This is daily painting number 1500. It kind of snuck up on me otherwise I would have done something to celebrate. We did go out to dinner tonight, coincidentally. And I had a big steak. I guess that works.

I was a humbug in my last post about the new year. I was just kidding. I meant to say - 2011 was quite an adventure - here's hoping 2012 is bit LESS exciting. : )

Nested Bowls

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I just posted a ton of info on my New Beginnings blog about my new tripod and shadowbox. It took a lot of work so you'd better check it out. I mean it. Oh, and happy 2012 (grumble grumble). : )