Thursday, August 23, 2012

Fresh Veggies

 
 
Fresh Veggies  18 x 22 oil on canvas
 
Living in Europe allows me to shop at the local markets often.
That's where I always find the freshest and most
delicious produce.
I'm not going to even mention the homemade macaroons...
yum.
 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Golden Bay Beach


Golden Bay Beach   6"x 6"  oil on board

Malta is has a rocky coast but there are a few nice beaches. My
favorite is Golden Bay where I spent the day recently. I went with
my son, my camera, and my IPAD.  I have an app called
free draw and it's fun to pass the time
doing color studies to bring back to the studio.
I've done this a few times and I have to
tell you, set up and clean up are a piece of cake!

BTW- the movie scenes of Gladiator in the Colosseum were
filmed on this beach.  Interesting right?  All the rest
of the Colosseum was digitally enhanced.- WOW

 
 





Thursday, August 16, 2012

Color Play

  Color Play  8" x 8"  oil on board

This painting started out as a very high key painting
but it just wasn't working out.  I decided it needed more
 PUNCH
so that's what I gave it. I played around with more
saturated fauvist color and really have a
GREAT TIME!






Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Mothers Day Out


Mothers Day Out  8 x 10 oil on canvas


There are lots of benches in Malta where people can relax
and enjoy the breeze and view of the sea.
I love it when I can catch people in candid poses
like this father and son spending time together,
giving mom some time off.






Friday, August 10, 2012

Nikki Beach Brunch


Nikki Beach Brunch   8.5" x 10"  oil on board

I've visited Koh Samui, Thailand several times.  The weather
there during December is lovely.  One of the things I like
to do there is go for brunch at the beach club and spend time
just relaxing.

The painting size is 8.5 x 10 but it also has a nice
professional frame in silver which makes it a little bigger.





Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Cherry On Top


Cherry On Top  6 x 6  oil on board

Still having fun with this theme and the endless variations.
I made another step by step tutorial so you can
follow along from start to finish!

I've created a short video you can view here or scroll down to look at he the photos below.



Here's the process:












                                                                                Finished!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Blooming Color


Blooming Color 6" x 6" oil on board


This was done for the Daily Paintworks paint a rose challenge.

I was a bit of a late bloomer in getting it in on Saturday just before a
new challenge was started.  My first rose went into the compost pile
but I decided to give it another try. 

I find everyday ordinary things that no one really thinks of
as beautiful much less intimidating to paint than something as
exquisite as a rose, a flower that has
inspired poetry and love songs since man has been creating them.

To get over my hang up about it I decided to just have
fun with it and play with the
color and the brushstrokes.
I'm glad I didn't give up!








Thursday, August 2, 2012

Bearded Ladies


Bearded Ladies 6 x 6 oil on board

I didn't actually melt yesterday when I when out plein air
painting with my friend Jeni Caurana- we just felt like it!
Malta is really sizzling right now.

I didn't realize that there are over 2000 different kinds
of palm trees.  These are the filifera that like to grow in
desert climates.





Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Cup for Two

Cup for Two  6" x 6" oil on board

I really enjoy playing with the light and dark patterns of
these small daily paintings.
I'm posting another step by step shown below.



Process:

Set up the still life with patterns and colors I like:

Make a drawing of the light dark patterns and how the canvas board will be divided.
Decide what the dominant value will be:



Start with the cherries inside the cup and then begin to paint the
cup inside the pattern cloth.


Add the dark patterns on the cloth:

Put in the background, all the lights and the stems are the final touch: