Shot Glass and Flask

Shot Glass and Flask

oil on board

5x7

Reflective surfaces and glass can both be a challenge as there is so much to see and capture with all of the highlights and reflected images. I guess it just seemed logical to try to put the two together to create a very challenging painting. I kept my brushwork simple and limited my palette and was happy with the resulting painting. The contour of the flask made for a very interesting reflection.

Pear with Mexican Scarf

Pear with Mexican Scarf

oil on canvas

6x6

This lovely scarf, a holiday gift from my sisters-in-law, has turned up in multiple paintings. The incredible variations in color are simply irresistable to paint! In this painting I paired it (no pun intended) with a beautiful ripening pear. The bright lime greens played off the colors in the scarf perfectly!

Jug-O-Tomatoes

Tomato Jug

oil on board

10x8

Before I moved on from the whole tomato run, I thought I would try a slightly larger, more ambitious painting with this small antique jug. I like the little tumble of tomatoes showing through the glass of the old jug. This little garden of mine has been a great source of subject matter this summer!

Tomato Shot

Tomato Shot

oil on board

7x5

Another painting of my series of little "shots" - this one with some tomatoes from my garden. I am really happy with the shine on the smooth skin of the cherry tomatoes and the way they just fit so neatly into that little shot glass!

Sugar Daddy

Sugar Daddy

oil on board

5x7

This one was a lot of fun - almost as much fun as the trip to the candy store to look for painting subjects. All of the different kinds of candy just brought back so many penny candy memories!

The label was difficult, but enjoyable to paint.

The Ultimate Kitchen Painting

Cucumber Melon

oil on board

10x8

So, this is what happens when you go on a painting trip and are simply painting the items you find around you in the condo. I was intrigued by the transparent yellow-green of the soap and the neat glow it cast onto the foreground where the light was shining through. The dramatic black background made the whole thing pop! I have never painted anything with writing on it. That was tough.

The Missing Egg...

Broken Egg

oil on board

5x7

And here is the missing egg from the carton - I figured I would take a stab at painting it as well. The egg had really settled out from sitting, but I do like the richness of the yolk and the crisp shells.

Breakfast for Two

Breakfast for Two

oil on canvas

10x10

This is one of the dailies painted while on our annual Sylvan Lake painting trip. My friend and business partner, Tammy, had taken an egg to paint...which is why there is not a six-pack (my original concept for the painting). All in all, it turned out okay, and I liked the empty space in the carton. The angles were very difficult to get right, but I did enjoy capturing the color of the cardboard.

Zip-locked Tomatoes

Zip-Locked Tomatoes

oil on board

5x7

These are the first of the tomatoes from my "garden" ... all done in containers, but as I said before, I haven't killed anything yet, and it is the closest thing to a garden that I have ever had. I guess this painting could go under my "stuff in stuff" category - I loved painting the plastic bag, right down to the blue and red stripes of the zip lock top!

More B.C. Cherries

Cherries in Cut Glass

oil on board

7x5

Thgis is the second of the cherry paintings, completed while on my annual painting trip to Sylvan Lake with my business partner, Tammy Watt. We completed numerous dailies during the duration of our trip. It was interesting to see how two very different painters approached the same task. The glass dish, given to me by my mother, was a particular challenge, but I tried not to overthink it, and just paint... somehow it worked!

Five Cherries

Five Cherries

oil on board

5x7

During my recent holiday, I was doing dailies every day and in looking for ideas asked for some help on Facebook for some fresh new subject matter. There was definitely a variety of responses! One of my friends suggested B.C. cherries, and this was the first of the cherry paintings that came from that suggestion. It didn't photograph well; wet, with lots of glare, but you get the idea.

Red Pepper Squared

Red Pepper Squared

oil on canvas

6x6

This is definitely one of my favourite subjects! I never tire of painting the rich vibrant colors of peppers. I painted this for the door prize for the latest art show of the Emerging Artists Society of Alberta, on for the month of August at the Loft Gallery in Sherwood Park.

Red Grapes

Red Grapes

oil on board

5x7

I thought the yellow background provided a nice contrast with the rich red of the grapes. I enjoyed painting the variations of color on each grape.

Three Tomatoes

Three Tomatoes

oil on board

5x7

I like this composition! And the color! It's no wonder vine-ripened tomatoes rarely make it to the salad before I get get to paint them! This one was really fun to paint.