Hummingbird

Well, I'm still using my bold strokes of color put on with a palette knife. This little birdie
is moving fast. I had to use photo's as reference for the hummingbird,.... they just move to fast to really be able to see what they look like.

Lemonade

Just a simple still Life set up. I like the warm red of the table against the cool blue tones of the pitcher and glasses. On these hot days what could be better than a glass of lemonade.

Sunflower on Blue

Some more aggressive marks went into this one. The energy level is wonderful. I think this piece is very expressive, and it was a joy to create.

Bananas

Love the geometric shape of bananas.
Again I thing the subject matter works well for the palette knife application and I like the color combination.

Onions in oil

I thought I'd give the oils another try. I had such fun with the pears yesterday.
A similar composition to the pears. I like the addition of the green swirl tray.

Pears in oil

Well, I thought I'd try my hand at another oil. I've been painting pears for years, I heard that the shape of a pear represent the female form in painting. I don't know that that's true but my first love is figure painting and after that it would probably be pears. It was fun painting in oil and I think the traditional pears colors combined with the teal-ish background makes for an interesting combination.

Strawberries

One of the few fruits I actually do eat. Although in this painting I'm not sure which is more outh watering. The strawberries or the blue/teal platter they are on. I just love the color of the platter and it complements the strawberries nicely.

Red Peppers and Teal

Fresh from the grocery store. The form of the peppers is so interesting to me. there are both curves and edges in its contour, which makes for a most perfect subject matter.

Coffe Cup (oil)

Yes, that's right I wanted to try the same image in a different medium.
I have not painted with oils for over 20 years. I developed allergies to oil paint while in college.
So, I Switched. I worked in pastels for a few years and then moved to acrylics. A fellow artist suggested I try the water-based acrylics. I tried them about a month ago and really enjoyed the experience. I thought I should try and see how to work the same image with different paint. It is curious that I kept my colors much more subtle and traditional in the oil than in the acrylic. I'm not sure why, It just seemed to work with this image. The thing about art is that it's always an adventure and a story with an ending we may never fully understand, and isn't that grand!

Coffee Cup (acrylic)

A recognizable cup of coffee. This cup is everywhere. It's like a little name tag people wear around. Again I focused on the red and green element. I enjoy the red arch around the top of the cup. It evokes a feeling of power and almost sacredness. I'm not really a big coffee drinker myself, but I do feel there is something strangely royal about carrying one of these cups around

Pink Rose

This was difficult. Hard to express the petals with this technique.
I also used a much different color pallet than usual. This piece took a long time.
In the end I got something I really like, (just a few bumps along the way).

Tomatoes on the VIne

Red and green ... the perfect color balance. These tomatoes feel like they are dancing.
I'm always drawn to this color palette. I like the softness of the green.