More peaches!

I subbed again this week at the watercolor class - we had another still life with delicious looking peaches.  We all decided that we did NOT want to paint a basket... or a glass bowl... or a metal bowl... so Barbara found this wonderful ceramic colander.  It was blue gray - a perfect compliment to the yellow/orange peaches.

She tried several different cloths under the colander - a lace napkin, a fancy damask cloth and finally a fun orange and white checked towel.  (After all that, I decided to leave out the cloth - I am still into 'simplifying.')

Lastly, she flooded the entire set up with a spotlight which added strong shadows and made the peaches glow!  At the end of the class it is amazing to see how differently we each paint the same thing.  Wish I had taken pictures of all the other paintings.

The Fig Leaf

I just checked the temperature gauge in our shady backyard - it reads 105!  An email alert informs me that the heat index is 122 - it's best to stay inside... and of course, do a little painting.

I subbed again in the watercolor class this past week.  There is a beautiful fig tree next door to Barbara's house - the leaves are amazing as is the fruit (for those who like it).  Tuesday's still life suggestion was a fig branch, some figs, several peaches, a basket, some grasses and a table cloth.  I am trying to simplify - so I just painted a few of the things offered.

I love the color, shape and texture of ripe peaches (I also LOVE the taste!), but from where I was sitting I could only see one peach.  Then there was the fig branch - LOTS of leaves - I singled out one with an unusual shape.  I sketched in two of the figs in my preliminary drawing and I was ready to go. I got a good start on it in class and tweaked it a bit this afternoon.

Many of my artist friends paint standard size paintings so they can use the same size frames.  I find that after I paint something I like to look at it in different ways and often end up cropping out a part of it (or one time I even turned it upside down) to make it more interesting.

 So, I tried The Fig Leaf in a couple different mats - I think I like it better cropped.

I am also thinking about changing the title to highlight the peach instead of the leaf... maybe something like 'Summer Sweetness.' Well, that's not quite right...yet.  I'm open to suggestions...

Issy's Bracelets

What a great week - a class and then two days of nothing on my schedule!  I have been swimming and painting every day.

I have a dear friend - now living in Vermont - who adopted two adorable Korean girls.  I have known them since they came into Courtenay's family (Chloe is now 12 and Issy almost 10!)  and I think of them as two more grandchildren for me.  We don't get a chance to visit often, but I always have my camera ready.

I was looking through old photos recently and came upon some special ones of these girls when they were little.  So, of course, I have to try to paint them.

This is a work in progress - still lots of tweaking to do and yes, it needs a background...  It also needs to be scanned instead of photopraphed - it was still wet and I didn't want to put in on the scanner.  I'll get there.

Finishing the Peppers

Yesterday I was a substitute in a watercolor class.  For the past couple of weeks the class has been working on painting steamed crabs.  Our teacher had crabs for dinner, saved a few in the freezer and brought them out for us to paint.  Having done a lot of crab painting for my banner, I really didn't want to paint crabs one more time... (and the crabs had been in and out of that freezer a few times...hmmm).

Two other students were working on fig leaves - again nice, but it didn't excite me.

Aha... there on a little table near me was a bowl of several peppers!  That looked promising, so I took three different kinds and put them on the floor next to me.  A bird's eye view - something a little different.

It was fun. I sprayed water and I painted.  I love wet on wet - the way watercolors run into each other and create wonderful surprises.  At the end of class we looked at each other's paintings and talked about what to do next.

I always have a question about what to do with the background.  There were a few suggestions - a tablecloth, add a few olives, a plate... the tile floor /could be a tile countertop. 

So, I brought it home and played with it this morning.  I tweaked the peppers a little and added tiles. I rather like it this way - looks more finished.

Now, it needs a title - any suggestions?

The Delicious Delicata

Every summer when we go to Vermont to visit my son (organic farmer) and his family we look forward to eating all their delicious organic veggies.  We usually arrive on a Saturday and go straight to the Montpelier Farmers' Market  - immediately heading to the High Ledge Farm stand.

After hugs all round, I enjoy looking at all the produce.  It's displayed in baskets with fun signs - the rattlesnake beans' sign says something like "My mother doesn't like the name of these beans, but they are delicious and my favorite."  The tomatoes have a warning label that reads, "Consumption of these tomatoes can lead to feelings of euphoria and lightheadedness..."; the German butterball potatoes say, "This butterball ain't no turkey, Bub!" and the zucchini says, "Good enough to leave your car unlocked."

Well, the signs are fun...and the vegetables are beautiful.  I have photographed them several times thinking they would be fun to paint. I am particularly fond of the delicata squash - they are indeed as tasty as they are lovely to look at.  All shades of yellow/orange with stripes of greens and oranges.

My painting somehow just doesn't do them justice, but it was fun to try.

Fresh Farm Market Basket

A couple weeks ago I was involved in a silent auction fundraiser for our local library.  We had original artwork, dinners, services, a Y membership, dolls, handmade items, etc....  There were over 50 items.

The one I had my eye on was the 'basket' of goodies from our local farmer's market.  I put basket in quotes because it was more than just a basket... yes, there was a basket with a couple loaves of bread, cheese, an onion, a gift certificate, a bag of sprouts, an organic pizza, and some funny looking things that my organic farmer son informs me were garlic scapes.  Then there was also a lovely hanging basket of petunias, some freshly cut sunflowers and a t-shirt!

The bidding was hot...  but, I won it!  Ta-da!

Many thanks to all the vendors for your generosity.  See you at the market on Saturday!

"OAAO"

So, what's that you say... "OAAO"?  That's the St Michaels Art League's current exhibit at the library here in St Michaels.  It stands for "Oil and acrylic only."  I have actually put in my two paintings.  'The Ground Ball' was tweaked a bit from the last posting.

Tomorrow there is a reception at 5:30 (at the library) for all the artists and friends.  Sara Linda Poly, our exhibit judge, will be there to share her ideas about the artwork and give out some prizes.  Everyone is invited.  What can beat refreshments and great paintings?

Here is the tweaked version...  can you tell the difference?