Teacup and Spoon (96)

Oil on RayMar panel. 5"x7"

Oh happy day! I finally figured out how to use my camera. My photos were so dark that it was difficult to see the colors. The postings are a little closer to the true colors now. Yay!

Secrets (95)

Oil on RayMar panel. 5"x7"

Sharing information that only apples can know...

African Violets (94)

Oil on gessoboard. 5"x7"

It's Memorial Day weekend, but the weather doesn't know it. It's overcast and dripping wet. Terry's not giving in, though. He's been making trips to the nursery and ignoring the raindrops while planting new starts in the garden. He's a true-blue Oregonian!

27th Avenue (93)

Oil on gessoboard. 5"x7"

The view from the front window. Oregon is so beautiful this time of year - if only it would stop raining for a bit so we could get outside and enjoy it.

That said, I count our blessings that rain is our only complaint. My heart goes out to the folks in the the Midwest.

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Challenge/AS5010PD-5016-4E3E-87F2-8333F79BAG63

Blue Vase (92)

Oil on canvas. 20"x16"

I'm lucky to have a supportive spouse who encourages my love of painting. He brought me this beautiful pink bouquet in a blue vase so that I'd have something to paint this weekend. How sweet is that?

I'm still unable to capture the true color on the paintings. I've purchased a "photo cube" on E-Bay that is supposed to help with glare. It will be interesting to see if it makes a difference in the quality of the photos.

Copy (91)

Oil on canvas. 6"x6"

One of my favorite contemporary artists is Dreama Tolle Perry. (There is a link to her blog on the right side of this page.)

While it's important to develop an authentic painting style, it's also good to study the work of other people. After trying to copy one of her small paintings, I have even more respect for the work that she does. Unfortunately, my camera wasn't able to capture the true colors.

Graham

Oil on canvas. 7"x5" (90)

Graham's smile always makes me laugh. He's my love bug!

(This is the 90th painting since January 1, 2011 - I'm starting the countdown to my first milestone of 100.)

Hoody Guy

Oil on canvas. 7"x5"

Jonah looked sharp at the Mt. Pisgah Flower Fest. He got to wear his brand new U of O hoody.

Charlie

Oil on canvas. 8"x10"

This is Charlie. He had a lovely tail that curled up over his back when he was happy. The white of the tail and hind legs were difficult to capture in the painting.

Jeff

Oil on canvas. 5"x7"

A beloved family character. Nobody likes warmth and comfort more than Jeff!

Lily Girl

Oil on canvas. 8"x10"

This is a painting of sweet Lily, a grand-dog that we loved very much. As I painted her portrait, I had pleasant memories of the joy she brought to all of us.

KitKat

Oil on canvas. 8"x10"

This kitty was the subject of this week's Daily Paintworks Challenge. It was so much fun. I enjoy painting animals and plan to do more of them.
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Challenge/69971AF9-D076-477B-93B5-26A408C9E1C7

Little Tomatoes

Oil on canvas. 5"x7"

The truth is, I'm not too crazy about tomatoes. I love the idea of tomatoes. I like the way they look, but they just don't taste that great to me (unless they're home-grown, drizzled with olive oil and served with mozzarella and fresh basil).

They're lovely to paint, though...glowing red little orbs with complementary green stems. They don't make many unreasonable demands on a novice painter.

Ian

Oil on canvas. 8"x10"

I did more work on this painting, but it's still not right. Last night's effort was so scary that I'm pulling it off the blog!

I agree with the sentiment that portraits are "frickin' hard!"

May 10, 2011
Below is the first pass of this painting. I often forget to stand back to view the painting as I'm working on it, and that's what happened with this one. Although the color changes looked ok up close, when I moved back (and when I took the photo), I realized that the painting looked flat and washed out. That also created problems with form. Unless you viewed the painting from about 12 inches away, you couldn't see color changes and the painting looked pretty funky.

It was frustrating, but by painting often, I'm learning, and I feel like I'm reinforcing the knowledge I've gained (painting kata).

Mushrooms II

Oil on canvas. 8"x10"

Here are the mushrooms again, with more color. I'm still getting acquainted with color combinations on the palette and on the canvas. There seems to be a fine line between rich color and mud.

Mushrooms

Oil on canvas. 8"x10"

The Daily Paintworks Challenge subject for this week is vegetables. Are fungi considered vegetables?
 http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Challenge/D5D664F1-DB99-4238-AA32-46D6A93481BB

Me III

Oil on canvas. 8"x10"

Here I am again. This is a second pass on the previous painting.

Color Studies

Oil on canvas. 16"x20"

Color studies from last evening's color class.

Apples

Oil on canvas. 5"x7"

My heart wasn't in painting this evening.

I read that when you sleep, your mind works on what you've learned during the day and processes the knowledge. I'm not really sure that's true, but I'm willing to take it at face value.

If it is true, I will be processing red apples tonight.