Back to the Light

Painting the juicy lemons again....this time working with the aim of achieving a sense of transparency in the slices.

"Meyer's Lemon"
6" x 6" - oil on hardboard
03/11-13/08

The Dark Side Again

Still dealing with the Shadow side of life. Wanting to emphasize how we perceive ourselves to be different, yet we are all the same underneath our skin.

"The Confrontation"
6" x 8" - oil on hardboard
03/10/08

Working with Shadow

I worked on creating a sense of mystery with the three lemons huddled together in the bowl. I emphasized this with the large shadow looming behind them that almost looks like a cathead.

"Three's Company"
6" x 6" - oil on hardboard
03/08/08

Bun Buns's Farewell

Bun Bun was a good friend of Jim's. He traveled back and forth from Jim's home in Emeryville to Jim's cabin on the Navarro River near Mendocino. Bun Bun caught a mortal disease. He had happy days on the lawn in front of Jim's cabin. I did this egg tempera painting as a memorial of Bun Bun for my dear friend Jim. Bun Bun now lives on giving life to a tree that was planted above his dear little body.

Bun Bun
6.5" x 4.5"
NFS

Bun Bun

The Medium

I love it when I crack open an organic free range egg and find that rich orange color. That means the animal has a varied and rich diet. Since I use eggs in my egg tempera paintings and my husband eats a lot of eggs, I am thinking about getting a couple of chickens for the yard.

"Egg Study"
6" x 6" - oil on hardboard
03/06/08

Tea Junkie

I drink a lot of tea....usually loose leaf in a tea sock. But the beauty of this used teabag caught my eye as it sat disposed in its tea bowl.

"Still Beautiful"
5" x 5" - oil on hardboard
03/05/08

The Cupboard Was Bare

Moving away from the dark background for a study in yellow and orange. Because of the diagonal plane the orange appears to be moving down the runway like a model on display.

"Runaway Orange"
5" x 5" - oil on hardboard
03/04/08

Reflections on Struggle

I set this still life up with a black cardboard (with paint sploches on it) reflected into the orange squeezer. It gave me quite a challenge to paint. With all of the color reflected into the multi-planes of the squeezer it was hard to create definition....so I took a sharp bamboo stick and scratched into the paint to give it some sharp outlines. Then I added some hot color to the shadows and the painting came alive!

"Squeeze Me"
6" x 8" - oil on hardboard
03/03-04/08

Fruit, Fruit, Fruit

Yummy fuzzy kiwi. I heard on a radio show once that you should eat the fuzz as well as the inner fruit for the most vitamins and minerals. So I now eat them that way like an apple. You get used to it after a while, like eating a fuzzy peach. I planted another smaller variety without the fuzz in my yard, but I really like the big fuzzy ones the best.

"Kiwi Time"
6" x 6" - oil on hardboard
02/29 - 03/02/08

Visions of Light

The idea for this came from one of my internal visions that won't let me go to sleep at night. So I have to get up and find my sketchbook and quickly lay down the idea so that I can go back to bed. Then the sketch will plague me until I paint it. I have reworked this painting a bit since I took this photo, but it is in a show now, so this photo will have to do until I get it back.

"Ineffable"
8" x 10" - egg tempera on 3/4" cradled hardboard
February - April 2008

Passage to Another Time

When I started on this painting I sat with no preconceived idea. I just put out a bunch of pigments and tempered them with the egg yolk medium and just started laying down color after color, hundreds and hundreds of tiny brush strokes heaped one upon the other....eventually something started to appear. The "portal" part of the painting was originally on a diagonal to the painting surface. The idea for the tree just came to me as I painted, and then I added in a background landscape from imagination.

"The Portal"
8" x 10" - egg tempera on 3/4" cradled hardboard
January - April 2008

The Color of Glass

When we bought our charming bungalow house built in 1947 here in Eugene in 2005, it came complete with this 60+ year old camellia tree right outside the kitchen window. It graces us with flowers for several months and then lots of debris on the ground which houses unbelievable 4" slugs. Well, I try to overlook that part and just enjoy the rich blossoms!!

This painting is about the camellia blossom, but also reconnecting what it feels like to paint clear glass.

"Evening Flight"
8" x 6" - oil on hardboard
02/27/08

Occupied Japan Figurine

I found this charming figurine from WWII in a local thrift store and had to bring it home. I thought I would place him in the kitchen. I figured how could I have anything but a great day if I looked at this grinning yellow rabbit!!!

"Happy Days Are Here"
6" x 6" - oil on hardboard
02/24-26/08

Shadow Play

I have painted this charming clown toy a couple of times in the past. In this version I played with the shadow to make the painting a little more fun!

"Cavorting with My Shadow"
6" x 6" - oil on hardboard
02/22/08

Uncle Joe's Mint Balls

I don't usually eat candy, but had to buy this charming can of mint balls just to paint it. This can has sat in my various studios just waiting for the right time to be painted. I finally sat down on the night of February 21, of this year, to immortalize the 'ole Joe in paint. The can will remain unopened in my lifetime.

"Can O' Uncle Joe's"
6" x 6" - oil on hardboard
02/21/08

Let it Begin with the Apple

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After an absence from painting in order to start another business, I made a vow to start again. I headed for the kitchen to find something to paint. I read on another painter's site to paint only the things that you love. Well, I love apples and then there is that whole Adam and Eve blaming thing......! I usually eat the fruit that I paint when I am finished with the painting...that way I cannot go back and compare endlessly to make sure I got it right.

"It Started with the Apple"
5" x 5" - oil on hardboard
02/14/08