Miniature Still life – $125
Another miniature on canvas block. The “Cuties” Mandarin organges were not to be found when I went to Safeway looking for items to paint. I wonder what people think when they see me standing in the produce department staring at a pear or holding an apple up to the light to see its colors. Maybe they don’t think about it at all.
Miniature Still Life – $125
I found several canvas “blocks” stored in my studio. 4″ x 4″ and 1.5″ deep. I filled each one with a black background and set about finding fruit and flowers to paint. Because the paintings in this series are under 25 square inches, they are considered miniatures. That means I work with magnifiers and the finished product would be about the size of the square your fingers would make if you put your index fingers and thumbs together. This Bartlett pear was waiting at Safeway just for me.
Small Still Life on Canvas Block – $125
Another very small painting that I created using the chiaroscuro (light/dark) style. It’s a slightly tipped plane, meaning you can look down on the subject a little, rather than having it at eye level. The linen napkin that the bowl sits on was a wedding present to my mom in 1935. It still is lovely and now soft - great for draping – from so many washings. Paper napkins will leave us without the beautiful linens of the old days. That’s sad. However, this painting looks happy to me.
Small Still Life of Mandarin Orange and Peel – $125
This very small block of canvas is over an inch deep so it stands out from the wall when hung just as is without a frame. I think it is fitting to have a small piece of fruit as the subject of a small painting. Guess I could paint a giant pumpkin, but the meaning would be lost. I will try to get a richer picture to post. This doesn’t show the vibrancy of the original.
Chiaroscuro – light and shadow painting style – is the use of lighter and lighter layers on a dark background to bring out the subject. I enjoy watching the orange “come up” out of the black cnavas. It’s like magic. After I am through and I sign my name, I say, “How did I do that?” It’s the technique. It does it for me.
Still Life of Oil Bottle and Fruit – Oil on canvas – $125
A still life of small mandarin oranges, “Sweeties” it says on the bag. The robin’s nest and some grapes make up a quiet scene. Serene scene. The grape leaves aren’t out yet so I used dried ones from last season. The nest is real, rescued from a downed tree branch by my daughter. Last season’s also. The eggs are imaginary. Does it show? There will be more real ones soon. I see the robins in the yard.
When the painting is varnished, it will lose the dull look in the background. I am waiting for the oil paint to dry. It’s a wonderful moment to see the original colors emerge with the application of the transparent coating.
Still life: Flemish style oil on canvas – $195
Miniature English style landscape. Oil on silk – Accepted into the World Federation of Miniaturists Exhibition in Moscow, September, 2012.
This is an homage to my Gr Gr grandfather, John Steeple, a noted watercolorist in Victorian England. He painted in Kew Gardens, Wales, and the English midlands. I study his paintings to imagine the quiet of the spot, the birds in the air, the water lapping up against the reeds and marsh plants.
Miniature still life of grapes and yellow Chinese bowl – Accepted into the World Exhibition of Miniaturists Exhibition, Moscow, Russia.
This framed acrylic on silk is a favorite subject of mine. I love to paint brilliant highlights of darker items that are set against an even darker background – the style is called chiaroscuro – literally meaning light dark.
Grapes, and their complex leaves, are subjects that demand to be painted. Living in Sonoma County, in the wine country of Northern California, it’s just natural to choose the fruit that grows in vineyards that cover the hills all around this area. So here they are in all their tiny glory. They are real grapes from the produce department at Safeway. Where do they find these in February? South America? And they taste good, too.
Miniature oil on ivorine – not currently for sale
When I saw a TV program on the endangered Siberian Tiger, I thought of painting this magnificent animal half-focused, half vanishing. Only 300 or so remain in the wild in Siberia. They could be extinct in our life-time. An animal we can only admire from afar.
I have no idea how one would help support the work of the Russians who are helping these creatures who have no voice in their own welfare, but I bet you could find out online.
Reclining nude in chalk and charcoal on black paper – $40
Annie was the tall, slim and graceful mondel at Figure Drawing on Thursday evening. She has modeled for our group a number of times and always is an inspiration.
If you can imagine the sounds of soft jazz playing in the background, the subtle scratch of charcoal on paper and the swishing of paint brushes in water filling the warm air of the studio, while French bread, salami and wine are being shared,
then you know why we all go back there every week. Plus, we get to take home an artist’s “snap shot” of how we see the figure before us. How good the snap shots look when the model is as lovely as Annie.
