Avocados

Avocados make a great painting study, the colours and shapes are seemingly simple but the challenge to arrange them into a pleasing composition took me longer than I would like to admit.

What I also learned, other than how to paint them, was that there would have been about 50 million pounds of them consumed today, Super Bowl Sunday.

Another interesting fact is that they are in the top ten of sexy foods, enjoy!!!

5" x 7" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

Salsa Bowl with Salad

This was my Saturday lunch. Just before I threw the tuna on, I realized what a good study it would be with all the shapes and colours. I decided to create a warm backgound, with some of the colours I used in the tomatoes. Since blue and orange are complementry colours it made the painting a little more vibrant.

4" x 6" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

Salsa Bowl with Melon

I received this lovely bowl for Christmas from a friend who made it in pottery class. She called it a salsa bowl, but I must confess I use it for more than just salsa.



4" x 6" acrylic painting on gallery wrapped canvas - SOLD

Broken Pot

Re-awakening my dormant artistic self these last few months has been a challenge. The more I study, the more I realize I have to learn.

When I was having breakfast this morning I noticed my broken pot lying on the wet deck. I thought it would be a good study, playing with warm and cool colours.

4" x 6" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas - $45. incl shipping

Venice Window

One of my resolutions this year is to learn how to make use of those snatches of time I have in a busy day , so I squeezed in a little painting time between work, supper and playing "Settlers"with my family.

I decided on another Venice painting. I love windows and wanted to try a more traditional painting of Venice.

It's a beautiful city!!

5" x 7" acrylic painting on canvas panel - $40. incl shipping

Venice Bass

Another good memory from Venice. I built up the background with a lot of paint and texture that was such a part of Venice.

Last night we watched "A Few Days in September". It was a good movie and had lovely views of Venice and Paris. When seeing the places I've travelled in movies, it always brings back that wonderful nostalgic feeling.

(Be warned there were a few scenes that weren't for the squeamish.)

8" x 10" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas - SOLD

Venice Packpackers

This painting is a good example of what happens when one is too eager to paint rather than taking the time to plan the composition and the values. There is no real focal point. I then spent a lot of time trying to create one. 

Lesson learned, hopefully!!

I guess I could blame it on my daughter. For Christmas she gave me a gift certificate to the local art store, so I went today and bought new paints and brushes. I couldn't wait to try them out.

8" x 10" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

Paperwhites

It was great to be able to have some time to paint after the last few busy weeks.
These paperwhites almost literally grew in front of my eyes. I started to paint them against a white background, but it wasn't working quite the way I had planned. I ended up painting Quinacridone Gold and Quinacridone Red in layers, adding Cerulean Blue at the end. I quite liked the contrast of the white petals against the rich colours.
6" x 6" acrylic painting on gallery wrapped canvas

Opatija Sun

I saw this woman in Opatija, Croatia which we visited in May of this year. It was a beautiful spot, not a lot of tourists yet and this woman who was a local seemed to be enjoying the warmth of the sun.

There was also something familiar about her, she resembled my mom and my aunts, it made me miss my mom very much.

I actually painted this picture earlier this summer but I'm still undecided about the backround.

6" x 6" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas NFS

Japanese Mandarin

When I was growing up, one of the first signs of Christmas was getting a box of Japanese oranges.

Yesterday when I bought this box and peeled my first orange of the season, the smell brought back all those childhood memories.

4" x 6" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas - SOLD

Bird of Paradise

It was a frustrating painting day, the painting I had planned just didn't come together.

So I did a quick loose painting of the Bird of Paradise that I had received on a special occasion

6" x 6" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

Coffee Table Collection

One of the perks when I worked in a bookstore was ordering books out of a catalogue for a very good price, needless to say I have a whole collection of big coffee table books.

I almost always chose the book for it's cover.

6" x 8" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

Venice Musicians

When we were having lunch in Venice, these two musicians showed up and played for us. I am quite pleased with this painting, there are a few things I would like to change but thought I would leave it for now as I'm going away for a week.

I am tagging along on a business trip to San Francisco, I hope to be inspired, have some fun and check out some of the art galleries while I'm there.

8" x 8" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas - SOLD

Venice Alley

I was very fortunate to be able to spend some time in Venice this past Spring.

This painting is a more traditional painting and the warmth of the Venetian sun that day, found it's way into my studio on a rainy Saturday morning.

8" x 8" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas - sold

LIMES

I was making Adzuki Bean soup and these limes were one of the last ingredients.

Well OK, to be totally honest one of the wedges was saved for my husband's Corona. For a cool autumn day this was a very strange mix, healthy nourishing soup and a Corona.

4" x 6" acrylic on a gallery wrapped canvas - SOLD

Kiwi

I looked at the kiwi and thought it would be interesting to try and paint, it isn't pretty to look at, plain, brown and rather prickly. The inside though is quite different, bright green, translucent and juicy.

When I sat down to paint, I didn't have a plan. It was one of those paintings that just happened and it was a very enjoyable morning.

4 x 6 inch acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

Lemons

I drink lemon juice almost everyday, it's supposed to be good for you, cleansing and all that.

In the last year lemons have become a staple in my kitchen. I use them for a variety of things, but my favourite use of lemons is as decoration. A bowl full of lemons on a table or counter is a visual delight and mine are usually in a beautiful deep blue pottery bowl.

5 x 7 acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

Kodak Memories

When my son went back to college this Fall he left behind two little Kodak film canisters, they were part of my Dad’s collection.

Inside I found negatives of travel trailers, my older sisters as little girls and a mystery wedding.

Painting the film became possible only when I concentrated on the shapes and colour.

5" x 7" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas