Lemon and bowl

1/27. Lemon and bowl, oil on linen panel, 5x5 in. SOLD

I was confident in putting another element into the picture and wanted to keep it loose and quick but I really struggled here. At the start it seemed that this little Japanese dipping bowl would be the tricky thing, but it was the lemon that gave me the hardest time. I fudged with the color the whole time and with its "seat" in the bowl, just unable to make it feel like it wasn't weightless there. Maybe it was the second indirect light source throwing me off, or that I was starting to get hungry but forced myself to keep going, or it was a few too many bad songs and annoying commercials on the radio at the time. Eventually, though I lost the looseness I managed to unify some parts color-wise to get it at least in the right direction.

Pepper shaker

12/21. Pepper shaker, oil on linen panel, 4x4 in.

Thought I'd go back to something other than produce. This was incredibly hard, and I was surprised it turned out ok.

We're off on Sunday to see family (the East Coast gang) and it seems I'll probably be without Internet access for a while. I'm bringing my paints though, and might actually produce something but who knows. I'll add more to this post perhaps when I get back.

I wish everyone and their families a very happy Christmas - yes, not a happy holiday or winter break or season's something or other. It is, after all, the Christ-mass that the holiday marks and for which most people have scrambled to get gifts and cards in the mail in time, even if they don't personally agree with any of it. I wish plenty of nuts and a tasty orange or two in the toe end of everyone's stocking! See you soon....

Nylon twine

9/9: Nylon twine, oil on canvas panel, 4x7 in.

There are times I see things that I've done wrong and wonder what I was actually looking at. Like the angle of the tube....

Coffee cups

8/30: Coffee cups, oil on canvas panel, approx. 6x8 in.

I always enjoy seeing the frothy pattern along the inside of the cup that my coffee leaves behind, so I thought I'd examine that here. We are spoiled: our daily "coffee" is cappucino made in a 2-in-1 regular-coffee/espresso-and-cappucino machine that we got at Wal-Mart (that also had an open-box discount). It takes more effort than just flipping a switch, but worth it.

I was very shocked this morning to find my little pig buddies were the Illustration Friday pick of the week! Thanks to whoever made that decision, and to everyone who left a comment - if I was confusing before, I painted it with oils (I'm really not good with acrylics). I apologize for having a dead portfolio link for the longest time, but until I get the "real" site redone, the link now goes to the Flickr set where I've put those images.

Also, I want to share an article I just saw about an old friend, Jenga. She's a good person doing a good thing - check it out here. (You can read more in her blog "The Wheels On The Bus Go Round And Round," which is in my links list.)

Baby food jar

8/29: Baby food jar, oil on canvas panel, approx. 5x3 in.

Just an attempt at painting glass, which I kept to 45 minutes or less.

Old English word of the day:

glæs [glăs]

Spools

8/28: Spools, oil on canvas panel, approx 3x5 in.

We had a power outage this morning that lasted until about 4 in the afternoon, so I'm posting very late. The drawing here is a little off, the shapes sort of cut-out and awkward like some of those portraits of children from the Colonial period (the creepy ones that stare at you), and it didn't photograph well either. But it looks good from farther away in indirect light.