My Wall At LabourLove Gallery

This is my wall space at the LabourLove Gallery. I just put up a lot of my recent Daily Paintings because this weekend is the local Art Walk which happens twice a year. The paintings are actually lit much better than my photo indicates.  We all have spaces about this size ( 8' X 42'') right next to each other and there is a lot of variation in styles and approaches. It's a particularly lively place on Third Fridays when many of the artists gather to talk with visitors and the gallery presents a jazz concert after hours.

You can learn more about LabourLove Gallery by clicking on the Link.

Camelia Sasanqua Cleopatra

                                        Camelia Sasanqua Cleopatra       oil on canvas      7" X 5"

Despite its imposing name, this flower is soft and delicate. I picked it yesterday and painted it. Just in time too, for last night it went down to 21 degrees and none of the other flowers survived the sudden freeze.

Clustered Tomatoes

                                        Clustered Tomatoes        oil on canvas       8" X 10"

This painting is taken from another painting which was 11" X 14" and included another tomato off to the side. There were a couple of obvious things wrong with the previous painting - the values were all too close together and there was too much empty space around the tomatoes.  The paint application was too even. Probably other things were wrong with it to. I like going back to old paintings that never satisfied me and seeing if I can rework them for a better result.  This one, happily, did not end up in the trash.

Strawberry Folk Dance

 

                                          Strawberry Folk Dance       0il on Linen Canvas      6" X6"

Today is the one month anniversary of the beginning of my Blog.  I'm posting a second painting today to celebrate. I've posted 18 paintings in 31 days which is fewer than I'd hoped for, but not bad for someone whose normal output has been more like one or two paintings a month. Working smaller has enabled me to complete paintings more quickly, but the real benefit has come from the necessity of simplifying my efforts whether it be shapes, colors, values, composition, or edges. I have been experimenting with  different approaches too, focusing on experimentation and discovery.  And I've been doing a lot of drawing too which has positively impacted my ability to lay in a composition quickly.

Thanks to those of you following my progress. Your encouragement is a great motivator.

My Addictions

                                        My Addictions      Oil on Canvas     8" X 8"

I submitted this painting in this week's Daily Paintworks Challenge to paint your shoes. This is how my shoes look after about six months of wearing them.  I get a new pair about every six monhs. I've been wearing this brand of shoe almost every day since 1992. I am definitely addicted to them.

I tried to focus on the gestures of the shoelaces and the worn down shoes themselves. For
the shoes, I focused on shapes. For the shoelaces, I indulged in some calligraphy.

Ready For The Sandwich

                                       Ready For The Sandwich     6" X 6"     oil on linen canvas

These juicy tomato slices stayed moist throughout the painting process. When I finished painting them, I ate them.  Yum.

Little Rose In Turquoise Pitcher

Little Rose In Turquoise Pitcher      7" X 5"      oil on canvas

In this painting, I juxtaposed the warm yellow and red with the cool blue and green, but I find the colors a bit overpowering.  Although I think all that bold color has a certain power,  I'll try this combination again and focus on finding a different, and perhaps better. balance of intensity and calm.

                                         Portrait Sketch of Tanisha      8" X 8"     Oil on Linen Panel

I painted  this sketch of Tanisha yesterday in a small figure painting group I belong to.  Tanisha was in a car accident a few days ago and had an injured eye, but she did a great job of holding her pose. I had a hard time with my drawing and the painting is far from finished, but Tanisha thinks it shows her positive spirit and I applaud her perseverance. This posting is for you, Tanisha!

Pepper Trio

                                       
   
                                        Pepper Trio     8" X 8"  Oil on LInen Panel


I've been working with reds and yellows for the past week. Hot colors are hard to control, so I used a greyed down, but still warm, orange as the "floor" and the blue, the only real cool and the complementary of orange, to set all the hot colors off. I think maybe it worked.

Goofy Pumpkin

                                        Goofy Pumpkin  8" X 8"  Oil on Linen on wood panel

I used a lot of wet paint on this painting to give it that natural splotchy feeling. Painting wet into wet is new to me. I'm accustomed to painting in layers allowing each layer to dry before applying another. Sometimes the paint just takes on a life of it's own. In this instance, that was a good thing.