Category Archives: Still Life

Final Post on Day 7 ~~ Shells and Pearls

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It was Day 7 (and I was in a chatty mood): Hmmmm. Here’s a little still life I did day before yesterday. Dear cousins want oysters & pearls for their daughter’s new office. This was the first take; am now working on something bigger with a single oyster. Will share when it’s done.In the meantime, what are your thoughts on my current dilemmas: I set the oysters up on a white tablecloth (bottom photo), but the first cut was perhaps too monochrome & bland; so in the next pass I pushed the cloth toward lavender. I think it may now be ‘too too’. The background behind is probably too similar. Finally, the cloth, as painted, is wonky & needs to be reshaped & redone in any event. Ideas, y’all???

Shells and Pearls. Oil on Arches Huile Paper. 10 x 12.

Paintings 24 & 25. Mock ‘Frescoes’ of Gouache Painted into Damp Plaster

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I’m currently taking a class on mixed media and was intrigued when teacher Susan Hostetler mentioned “mock frescoes”, made by painting gouache into still-damp spackle or joint compound slathered onto cardboard or other heavy substrate.  I decided to try it.  My first attempt was a simplistic sugar bowl sitting on our kitchen table.  My quick contour was misshapen, so I touched it up with some water-soluble pencils, moistening the marks to blend them into the gouache.

I then plopped down a seashell (interesting shape though dull colors) and tried again.  I was happier with that one, though disappointed when a little flake popped out sometime later.  Maybe a fixative would deter this type of defect — will have to research it. . . .

 

Painting #23. Another Experiment ~~ 15-Stroke Shells!

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Sometimes it’s fun to challenge yourself:  can you make a painting in a very limited number of strokes?  Say, 15?  I decided to try it the other day.  I placed three shells from my beach-combing stash on a sheet of paper and attacked, carefully plotting color and placement of each stroke.  At 15, I was itching to do ‘just a few more’ to beef it up ‘just a bit’, but gritted my teeth and concluded the effort.  Here it is, along with a snap of the shell subject.

In keeping with the spirit of the test, I made only a few light guidelines for size and placement, before constructing the design via ‘color-shapes’.

 

Painting #18. Toothiness I ~~ the Start of Another Intermittent Series

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My hubby and I stick our toothbrushes into a tarnished old holder in between brushings.  Awhile back, I started paying attention to how they’re standing ~~ are they facing each other leaning in for a kiss?  Are they turned away from each other?  Is one facing away while the other looks on?

It’s been fun anthropomorphizing these humble objects.  I’ve even started noticing brush positions at other folks’ homes — family, mind you, not friends!!  I’ve taken photos of some of these little vignettes and even crafted some arrangements.  They’re a form of truthiness — errrr toothiness, right??  Or am I just crazy?

Here’s a painting of our ancient holder and current brushes, from life . . . .

#18. Toothiness I. Oil on Arches Oil Paper. 8″ x 10″.

 

Painting #17. Back to Painting the Big Flowers ~~ Another Pull-Out-the-Stops Hibiscus

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This hibiscus was growing in my sister’s yard.  I generally shy away from screaming colors but, hey, this one was trying SO hard I just had to snap its portrait and paint it.  We may need sunglasses for this one!

Neon Hibiscus. Oil on Primed Arches Oil Paper. 20″ x 8″.

Reference Photo

Painting #15 Maple Leaves from Life — an Experiment with Rubber Widget

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Last week I painted purple irises atop leaves from the Japanese Maple out front.  I focused on the irises rather than on the leaves in that one.  After the irises faded, the lovely tangle of leaves and stems continued to hold my attention.  So I painted them – or tried anyway.  The leaves are mostly very dark — deep reds and greens, so I wanted a light background, but what color?

I tried one color; nah.  I tried another; nah. The next morning, I covered it all up with a creamy yellow/white and didn’t like that either.  In frustration, I picked up a rubber wedge tool and scraped off the top layer of background, trying hard not to wipe off the leaves themselves.  I was left with all sorts of interesting marks around the leaves.  They’re weird but I like them and thought I’d keep ’em.  Let me know if you like them or hate them!

#16. Tangle of Japanese Maple Leaves in a Pitcher. Oil on Arches Oil Paper. 10″ x 8″.

The leaves and vase I painted (from life).

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Painting #13 – Another Veggie Watercolor-Gouache for a Collector

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After painting that cauliflower a few days ago, I started regretting that my collector had selected my dinky mushrooms as part of her four-veggie series for the kitchen.  I decided to do a more ‘fulsome’ substitute for her consideration — celery!  Here it is.  She’s happily taking it instead of the ‘shrooms!

Celery. Watercolor and gouache on paper. 11″ x 14″

Celery Painting and Subject.

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