Lemon Slices

6" x 8"
Lemon Slices #75

I cut up one of my many Meyer lemons this morning and practiced translucency again.  But first, I worked out the composition, so I didn't find myself in a fix like I did yesterday - that was terrible.  I like these little slices - they have lots of personality.  If they're not all dried up, I may paint them again tomorrow, but on a different background.  (I frequently get caught in a rut, for those who you who don't know me well)

Four Little Tomatoes

6" x 8"
Four Cherry Tomatoes #74

I decided to bail on the lemons today and painted cherry tomatoes instead.  It was a nice change of color.  Plus, I used a complimentary color for the background, just as my Guru suggested the other day.  Everything was coming together nicely, when I stepped back from the painting and realized I had made a dreadful compositional mistake. Let me explain.  At this point, I had only painted 3 tomatoes - the 2 at the top (the eyeballs) and the one sliver at the bottom left (the nose).  I had painted a tomato face!  It was awful.  Once you see something in a painting, you are never able to get that image out of your mind! SO I had to perform painting triage, and quickly added another slice of tomato in the bottom right and kind of salvaged the whole thing.  Edgar Payne would certainly not approve of this composition, but it gave me a chance to practice my tomato painting technique.

The Loose Lemon

6" x 8"
The Loose Lemon #73

I set the timer on this baby; 45 minutes from start to finish.  I think it's one of my best because it's so loose.  Setting a timer and sticking to it, makes me efficient with each brush stroke because each stroke matters.  There's no time to waste, goofing around with bad color or an incorrect drawing.  It was finished just in time for my critique!  The main feedback for the past 3 lemon paintings,  is to get "more color in the shadows".  The one above does this the best.  The other suggestion is to play around with colored backgrounds that will make the lemon pop.  I'll get on that tomorrow.  

Here's our painting Guru, Tim Horn, showing us his work.
We are all drooling in the front row.
Everyone stands when Tim puts up his work.

White on white

6" x 8"
Lemon and Mug #72

I thought I'd add a mug to the mix today.  I can't begin to tell you how challenging it is for me to paint a dumb mug.  Well, the painting is not that hard, its the drawing that's a real doozy.  I tell myself all the time, that I just need to draw a mug a day,  until it becomes easy.  That, along with sit-ups, meditation and walking the dogs.

An Abundance of Lemons

6" x 8"
Lemon #71

 My little lemon tree is about to uproot itself from all the lemons hanging from its branches.  I love this prolific tree.  Every year it bursts forth with so many Meyer Lemons, you just wouldn't believe.  It lives in a terra cotta pot, tucked away in a corner of the front terrace.  Most of the time you don't even know it's there, until it's covered in bright yellow lemons.  So, get ready for some lemon paintings!
Thank you all who braved the scary storm and the nightmare traffic to come to my show Wednesday night! I can't tell you all how much it meant to have so many of my most favorite people, all together in my studio, surrounded by my paintings.  THANK YOU.  I had such a blast and can't wait to do it again.  Maybe next time we should crank it up a notch and have some live music -make it more of a party. (Wait a minute, I'm getting way ahead of myself)  In the mean time, I need to get back to work and finish the one hundred paintings and then start another one hundred paintings...

Seventy!

6" x 8"
Olive Branch #70

I hit Seventy today with my silver cup and an olive branch.  I struggled with that cup, but finally found a color that seemed to work.  I've been busy getting ready for my show on Wednesday and of course, it's taking a lot more time that I had originally thought.  I'm going to try to paint tomorrow, but I need to photograph some of the work before I hang it on Wednesday.  First, I need to track down my tripod...that could take a while.  (I rarely use a tripod anymore because my usual subject matter doesn't like to sit still for very long -unless they are watching TV).

Art Show
10 Liberty Ship Way Bldg

Bay 1  Suite118

Sausalito

Wednesday Dec 10 

5pm-8pm

ART SHOW

I'm having an Art show at my studio next week!

The First One Hundred Days

Come to my studio to celebrate 100 consecutive days (almost) of painting

There will be good wine, good friends and a few good paintings 

10 Liberty Ship Way Bldg

Bay 1  Suite118

Sausalito

Wednesday Dec 10 

5pm-8pm

Almost Seventy

6" x 8"
 Almost Finished

Today was my first attempt at painting Staffordshire.  I had to leave before I could finish, but I'm off to a pretty good start.  However, now I see some glaring drawing errors, and I while I was there,  I could not paint that persimmon on the left to save my life - it kept floating off into space.  I could not make it sit down and look round!  I finally had to walk away.  It will be good to return again in the morning with fresh eyes and make corrections.  I'm going to set a timer so that I won't fuss with it too much!

The Set-up 

Mary Catfish Cooling her Jets.  She didn't seem too stressed about painting Staffordshire today.

A Very Rainy Day

Cy Twombly

It rained so much this morning that HW 101 flooded and the Southbound lanes were shut down, so there was no way to get to my studio.  It was a traffic nightmare all through Marin so, I had to stay home - no painting.  I thought I would share some of my favorite paintings by one of my favorite artists today.  Here are two good ones by Cy Twombly.  I love love love his work and especially love these two.  I have a humongous empty wall in my house which needs a humongous Cy Twombly.  Since his last work sold at Sotheby's for 21 million, I think I may forge a copy.  It will be so fun to paint after all these still lifes.

Another Cy Twombly

Back in Business

6' x 8"
Persimmon #69

It took me a couple of days to remember how to paint.  Well, at least that's what it felt like after returning from Thanksgiving vacation.  I began this painting on Monday, but had to walk away after I realized that I was spinning my wheels and basically just pushing paint around.  Fortunately, things came together today and I completed this persimmon painting.  I love the orange and blue together and that cute little kettle.

I just got my new palette in the mail and I love it! It's custom made by WindRiver Arts.  It's beautifully made and fits perfectly with my old French Easel - look how big it is!  This is my studio still life set-up.  Picture me here every morning while its raining.  I'll be back at it tomorrow painting number seventy - maybe some lemons and more reflection.

My old French Easel and beautiful new pallete