"Three Flowers" 8" x 8" oil on gessoboard

I needed a little help to set up this arrangement, so Piper did all the work. I stepped up to the easel with no previous judgements or expectations of what was to happen. And, you know, I really did enjoy working this out. I think that when I begin in my studio in the morning and begin the task of setting up, I just get a bit too worked up and frustrated. So, I've decided to set up the afternoon or evening before. I'm working now in a 12" x 12" format and sticking with the gessoboard, which is a surface I love for applying paint. My flowers all seem to look alike so I want to work with an orchid or rose to really throw a challenge in front of me. Stay tuned. To purchase this painting you can go here.

"On the Bright Side" 12" x 12" Oil on Panel

First let me say how thrilled I am to have so many of you tuning in to my blog. I love sharing my work and also enjoy reading and BIG TIME smiling at all your comments. Thank you!

We are not officially into winter yet, especially it seems with the springtime weather we've been having in SW Connecticut, but I'm really for the lock-in. I no longer have my nanny job with Piper, but still see her on a regular basis. She's really awesome for 13! So, that is supposed to leave me with a lot more time to paint. Right? Well, I'm creating delays in charging out of the starter's gate. But I think I'm settled with getting those long overdue chores out of the way, like the leaf clean-up. I have been painting all along through these months but very sporatically. Painting more out of guilt than desire. I'm writing more now about my working process again as I paint and sitting back to just study what is in front of me. I have a little show coming up in March and want to have consistently good pieces to offer. I've never considered myself a painter of flowers, but I'm finding that the floral still life are the ones that sell in my ETSY shop. I'm constantly searching for my voice in my work and I know that evolves through process and time....lots of it, too. I want to work larger, as I mentioned before and the 12" x 12" today is a comfortable size for me to tackle in a day or two. Nothing ever seems finished, but I know that at some point I have to release myself from the point of control to letting the piece go as it is. I know I need to practice every day and I really want to paint everyday. I just want to make sure that I'm excited about what is before me and not just settling for random objects on a table that offer up no inspiration. It's a really awesome experience to actually see the brush strokes before me without even picking up a brush. I want to surprise myself all the time with little random quirks from my brush, however my focusing ability is too random for consistent and sustainable awe...... So here's to a Wonderful and productive ( in your own way) Holiday for you all to enjoy with all the people and pets you love and way too many calories for extra credit. I hope to be entertaining all of you with some pretty awesome attempts with painting the still life over the next few weeks.

"Compliments" 12" x 12" oil on panel

I have been working in a larger size, 12" x 12", but I still love a bit larger. The tangerine in the jar had a really bright reflected light going across it. I find it a challenge to paint a group of fruit when they each have a varying lighting condition.......reflected light, direct light, light in shadow, reflected fruit. Value is the key as well as the color intensity. I was taught that color was a product of light, however, I find the most brilliant colors in the half tones. Guess I didn't follow the rule here or the front orange would be glowing with orange. Did I break the rule or is this a mistake? If I had made the front orange more intense, then your eyes might not be able to take the jump into the picture to view the rest.