"Baby Bella Mushrooms"

My original idea was to compose a painting of mushrooms using a color palette of browns and creams. At the grocery, I found these Italian mushrooms in a bright cobalt container and my concept changed from muted colors to bright. I added the yellow can of plum tomatoes and the painting became a composition of primary colors with an Italian theme. Sometimes I just have to follow where the objects take me.

"Baby Bella Mushrooms", 12"x 9", oil on linen   SOLD

"Beachcomber"

This girl was totally absorbed in her search for shells and pebbles. I liked the way the wind blew her hair. The yellow bucket added a great shot of color.


"Beachcomber", 6"x8", oil on linen, Sold

"Boy in Life Jacket"

Besides the cute boy squinting in the sun, what attracted me to this image were the orange reflections on his face. I'm happy with the way his hair turned out — looks wet and spiky.

"Boy in Life Jacket", 8"x6", oil on linen, SOLD

"Jane in Mink"

Over a year ago, our niece Jane drove up for a visit. We spent a day hanging out in the studio talking about art and sketching. Jane agreed to pose for me. She proved to be a very patient as well as pretty model. Fun to paint, too! That afternoon I made an oil sketch and took lots of photos, but went no further. I finally pulled out the photos a few days ago and painted this. It has renewed my interest in painting figures. We'll see where it goes.

"Jane in Mink", 6"x8", oil on linen, NFS

"Sunny Breakfast"

I can tell it's spring because I'm in the mood for yellow. I decided to include the coffee pot in this bright composition, but didn't want it to overpower everything else. The dark areas of the coffee cup and silverware help offset the coffee pot. I also tried to keep the values of the background objects darker so the lighter brighter foreground objects have more importance. The spoon handle leads the eye into the painting and to the melon slice, the focal point.


"Sunny Breakfast", 16"x 20", oil on board, SOLD

"Farm Eggs and Tea Cup"

My friend Stacey raises chickens that lay the most beautiful colored eggs. The gray carton was a perfect neutral background for showing off the variety of muted greens, blues, and rosy browns of the eggs. The pale yellow of my favorite tea mug complimented these soft colors. The eggs were delicious, too!


"Farm Eggs and Tea Cup", 12"x 9", oil on linen, SOLD

"Green Apples in Blue Bowl"

"Green Apples in Blue Bowl", 6"x 8", oil on linen, SOLD

"Bottles & Green Apples"

"Green Apples & Bottles", 8"x 6", oil on canvas, SOLD

"Box of Tissue"

Here's another composition with a dark background. The translucent quality of the tissue paper is interesting and challenging to paint. Light goes through the paper as well as bouncing off it. To capture the crinkles and planes in the tissue, I used all the painter's tools such as: lost and found edges, value shifts, changes in hue. The one I found particularly important was color temperature. Often I saw an edge without a hue shift and not much of a value shift. To create that edge or plane, I used a warmer or cooler version of the color. For example, one plane would be a yellow-orange while the plane next to it would be more lavender. Light going through the paper is usually warm; light reflected off it is usually cooler. This painting was a good exercise in observation.


"Box of Tissue", 12"x12", oil on board   SOLD

"Clementine & Jar"

I decided it was time to compose a painting with a dark background. My idea was to achieve a sense of atmosphere and space. I wanted the jar to emerge from the darkness by painting just a few of the highlights and reflections. Then I added a blast of color with the clementine. I've been painting a lot of oranges. It's a welcome color in February when everything outside my window is white.


"Clementine & Jar", 8"x6", oil on linen, SOLD