Bananas

Bananas – 6" x 8" Oil on Canvas Panel SOLD

I really like the brightness of this painting. It is pretty simple in composition, just the bananas on a bright background. I feel it is a cheerful painting not asking to be more that.

Lemons and Plate Still Life

Lemons & Plate II – 6" x 6" Oil on Canvas Panel – SOLD

This is the second painting of the pair and a close-up of the cut lemon wedge.

Lemon and Plate Still Life

Lemons & Plate Diptych - (2) 6" x 6" Oil Canvas Panels


Lemon & Plate I – 6" x 6" Oil on Canvas Panel – SOLD

This is the first of two paintings I painted today. I was working to create diptych where the individual paintings have a solid composition alone and then as a pair.

Tomorrow I will post the close up of the second painting.

Pomegranate & Chinese Lanterns

Pomegranate with Chinese Lanterns – 6" x 8" Oil on Canvas Panel - SOLD

Over the weekend Steve and I went out to Loudon County for the Fall Color Tour. I wanted to buy some gourds and pumpkins for painting props and also to make fresh mashed pumpkin for pies. It was more crisp and windy than we had anticipated but overall a fun day.

When I got back into the studio to paint, I fussed around with some of my new gourds trying this and that but not getting inspired. I put them aside, and will try again another day. Instead some green Chinese lanterns inspired me along with a random pomegranate picked up the week before. This painting ensued and I am reminded that there are times when going with the flow and following inspiration can lead to a more enjoyable afternoon and a serendipitous outcome. The gourds will find their way into my paintings; I just will not force it.

Have a great Tuesday! Tuesday is my day for painting in with my favorite instructor, Danni Dawson!


Here is a detail of the pomegranate and chinese lanterns. It was real fun working to create the imagery of the shiny dark surface that reflected the red and greens of the objects.

Lady Apple with Ribbon Part 2

Lady Apple with Satin Ribbon – 2-1/2” x 8” Oil on Canvas Panel

This is the second painting of this diptych I have been working on. I spent quite a bit of time today getting the painting completed and then also getting the neutral background of the two paintings to be very similar in color and value.

Here is a photo of how the two go together.

Part 1 of Lady Apple with Ribbon

Lady Apple with Satin Ribbon (part one of diptych) – 2-1/2” x 8” - Oil on canvas panel

This is the first of two small paintings I am working on for an upcoming juried “Small Works” show. The composition is of two long linear panels with lady apples and a gray satin ribbon. It is a play with on the frieze paintings I have been working on over the past year, just in miniature. For this piece I wanted to play with the complementary colors of the red and green apple offset by the rather neutral ribbon and background colors. Instead of being full of color the textures and surfaces became more important. The shiny smoothness of the ribbon and the matte neutral of the cream background were also a focus of this painting.

The second part is partially completed; I need another painting session or so to get it to where I want it to be and also to blend well with the first one. When it is up I will share it with you. Until the weekend, have a good one!

Here is another blog post with great apple pics.

Lady Apple Still Life Daily Painting

Lady Apple – 6" x 8" Oil on Canvas Panel

Hi there! How has your day been? Mine has been a good one, where I have been inspired by the fall weather and all the various blog posts that have images of apples and fall colors.

In response to all the beautiful apple pictures being posted on blogs, I painted this painting of a Lady Apple. I feel especially fortunate that this apple had a leaf on its stem.

Here are a few blog posts that have really captured my imagination:

+Heather Smith Jones - her lovely pin hole cards and the photos she takes

+Simply Breakfast blog - the October 14th entry is so peaceful, I would love to start my day this way...

+Oh So RB - Love this photo of an apple and cosmos (one of my favorite flowers)

Two Bell Peppers

Two Yellow Bell Peppers – 6" x 6" Oil on Gessoed Masonite Panel – SOLD

This painting was painted last week, around the time I painted the single yellow bell pepper, I just did not get the chance to post it on this blog or list it on eBay because work has been so hectic lately.

Keeping up to date and sharing with everyone how my painting is going is the best thing about keeping a blog, however sometimes balancing work and art can be a big challenge. Currently I am leading two projects at work, and I am mainly a team of one. It is typically not so bad, however work was particularly intense this past week, making me very tired and exhausted. I also had commitments every evening of this past week as well, meaning I came home later than usual and barely got the required amount of sleep to function properly. All of these influences have kept me from posting the paintings I had planned for… sorry about that as I really miss sharing with you.

Here is a detail of the masonite painting, the slick surface of the masonite can be a challenge and a fun paint handling experience. As the smooth surface often leads to smearing paint and if you over paint, the colors can get muddy.

Yellow Bell Pepper Still Life

Yellow Bell Pepper – 6" x 6" Oil on Gessoed Masonite Panel – SOLD

This pepper was bought for dinner however it was so bright and cheery, I was compelled to paint it.

For still lifes I typically work on canvas panels, however when beginning this painting I decided to try working on a masonite panel again. In the past I have had mixed results with the slick surface of these panels, however for this painting it just worked out. This painting was also painted on a burnt sienna and flake white ground. Most often I use a medium gray that is slightly cool to paint still lifes on, the rational is that the cool gray will immediately pop the subject matter out and make I more interesting. However since this still life was setup with this bright blue backdrop, I wanted to tone it down some without graying it out, so I thought the more warm ground would play well with the cool color of the cloth while reinforce the warm vibrancy of the yellow pepper. I think it worked out.

Here is a detail of the highlight and warm glow that occurs in the shadow area of the bell pepper, because they are slightly translucent.

For the rest of the week the paintings I will post will also be painted on a warm burnt sienna and flake white ground. For me this experience reinforces the need to always experiment and try new things out.

Thanks for stopping by, Liz

Eggs in a Bowl Still Life Painting

White Eggs in a Bowl – 6" x 8" Oil on Canvas Panel – SOLD

This is a study of a larger painting I am working on. The overall concept has been incubating in my mind for several months, and I have occasionally tried out different approaches to part of the idea. Testing and then evaluating what to add or subtract.

The design concept of this painting was to explore the subtle light and dark shapes of simple shapes like eggs against a dark background. I was inspired the quite still lifes by Francisco de Zurbarán. I like the strong light and dark shapes and the stillness of his compositions.

Here are a few detail views: