"Mummy's Apples" 8" x 8" oil on gessobord

I appear to be working a lot with apples these days, but I really wanted to get to know the apple well. And how to better understand than to draw or paint. I love the shape of apples and how different varieties are rounder than others. The Red Delicious are not round at all, but have odd angles and bumps on the bottoms and tops. The Granny Smith's, which I have painted here, are nice and round with a wonderful hue of green throughout the skin. These mums have been in bloom for me for over 2 weeks and I should have painted them with more frequency. As the Holidays are approaching, I'm trying to come up with some new and different things to paint. Perhaps I should focus more on color rather than object.

"Red and Greens" 8" x 8' oil on gessobord

Sometimes during the Holiday Season I will paint a candy cane. Like the mercury balls, why not take advantage of using these unusual objects as my subject for a few weeks out of the year. Though the candy cane is front and center, I did not want to make the painting scream Christmas. Hard not to, huh? Anyway I enjoyed the process, especially with it submerged in clear glass. 

"Opposing Teams" 8" x 8" oil on gessobord

Here we are at that time of the year where all the teams come out wearing opposing colored shirts. I picked blue and gold with a magenta referee. I always think these Christmas balls are going to be a cinch to paint and I'm not sure if it's best to see each ball as a solid value and keep all the colors of that ball one value....or to go outside the predominant value. I will keep trying with these. I cannot draw a circle, but I can paint one. Why is that?

"Unscrambled" 8" x 8"

Once again, I'm painting eggs. I usually go back to eggs when I cannot get any other composition to work. The fork, I meant, to come more forward. I guess the way to do that is to make the end larger...foreshortening!

"Almost to the Top"

Well, this has been an interesting week. So many people have been devastated by Hurricane Sandy hitting New England. My area has had much flooding, trees down and power lost, but mostly things are OK. No water, electricity, flush, heat, so I have done no painting. But I do have some pieces I have yet to post. Stacking up the cups again and working on the rose here. 

"And Then She Blew Her Top"

Not much to say here but that I tried unsuccessfully to peel this orange in one piece in a circle.

"Mother May I?"

I've been wanting to paint one of my Steiff animals for awhile, so I threw in the apple to give a sense of scale.  So, not a lot going on as far as problem solving, but painting some new things. I hope to have my power back on in a day or two, so I can get back to work.