BIRD POSE

LISTEN TO THE BIRD

I have been playing around with still life set ups and arranged this group of pieces to include a cute little ceramic bird.  One of my passions is to watch and study birds, and I thought it was high time that I include a bird in one of my paintings.  I also love to paint the reflections of glass, so included a small vase too.  In my mind, I can imagine the little bird singing to the vase and bowl of apples.  Wonder what is on his mind?

ENJOY!!

APPLES

THREE ACTORS

I painted this still life using some favorite objects.  The napkin is in my favorite green color,  and the shelf is a random piece of scrap wood I found.  These apples are the good old Red Delicious type.  I love painting them because I get to mix up a really deep red for the darks.  I like the dark, dark shadows and the orangey yellow of the background.  I can imagine these apples as three actors on stage, with the stage lights gleaming on them.

Enjoy!!

STILL LIFE ON MY MIND

READY FOR MY REVEAL

I have been thinking about doing some still life painting.  Now that the weather has turned, its comforting to be inside in my studio and painting from my own set up.  This apple and knife on a plate had me stumped for a title.  Then it came to me; the apple is going to be sliced open, revealing its juicy flesh.  This apple happens to be my new favorite, the Honeycrisp.  Eating one of these is like having dessert.  

ENJOY!!

KEEPING AUTUMN ALIVE

The Colors of Autumn, study

Autumn is probably my most favorite of all seasons and I am very sad when all of the leaves have dropped and there is no more splendid color to enjoy.  There is a tree that I pass almost every day when walking our dog that always has the best color of any on the street.  When it was at its peak, I snapped a few photos and used them for this study. Now it may seem boring to you to see that this is just a painting of a few branches from a tree,  but I feel that this painting is like a still life - a beautifully arranged composition that leads the eye through the subject. I like how the branches grab your eye and lead them from the left to the right of the painting, showing the motion of the wind as it ruffles through the tree.

ENJOY

HEADING INTO WINTER

GOLDEN GRASSES

Very soon,  these lovely golden grasses will be hit with a blast of winter snow and this beautiful landscape will transform once more to a frozen silvery land while the earth hibernates underneath.

This painting is another in a series of small landscapes inspired by my recent trip to Utah.  The colors will seem exaggerated once winter arrives but for now I love how the purple of the distant hillside is echoed in the shadows around the grasses. I also like how the light hits the bare aspen branches.

ENJOY

"Gold Leaf" SUNSET

GRIGGS SUNSET

I have always been fascinated by the use of gold leaf in painting.  I love the effect it gives to the work and have used it successfully in the past.  This painting has gold leaf in both the sunset and the water.

It's very hard to tell from the photo that there is gold leaf on this, but looking at it from various angles does the trick.  The inspiration for this piece is from a photo I took during a sunset near Griggs Reservoir.

Enjoy