Lemon and Cherries

5x7" oil on canvas board. $40, Available here

I was in the mood to do something kind of traditional to get myself back into using oils - I'd been having a bit of a block. I decided to try doing a simple still life against a dark background, and found that I loved how luminous it made the lemon look! I had fun trying to suggest the texture of the lemon's skin with careful brushmarks.

Loose Lemon

6x6" acrylic on paper. Currently NFS

This is for a weekly challenge- the idea was to paint the same object four times, starting out neat and tight, and using looser brush work each time. I've written a bit more about this one on DPW and you can read my thoughts here! 

The Dimple Glass

6x8" oil on canvas board. $45. Available here

One last entry for the Thru Glass challenge- though I'll probably paint more glass still life compositions in the near future because I'm having so much fun with them... This glass really challenged me- fractured bits of colour everywhere! And on top of that, I had the window open and the whole scene was bathed in flickering sunlight, which threw me a bit as the spots of light kept changing places. But I'm really pleased with the result!

Captured

7x5" oil on canvas board. $40  Available here

Another entry for the Thru Glass challenge, something a little more complex this time. I wonder what the lemon did to deserve its imprisonment?

Finally, Fennel

5x7" oil on canvas board. $40. Available here

We've had a hard time finding fennel in the stores lately- bad weather has been affecting the crops. Luckily we picked some up the other day and I was quick to paint it! Is it just me, or does it look like it's waiting for someone to high-five it?

Fading

6x6" oil on canvas board. $40. Available here

Daffodils are just as interesting and beautiful to me when they start to dry and crinkle up as when they're fresh. They form such interesting shapes! And I particularly liked the shadows they cast on the wall behind them here.

Safe In Here

7x5" acrylic on canvas. $40. Available here

Here's another painting featuring one of my new plates; this time, the lemon is taking refuge from the tomato gang. I really enjoy the colours in this one, and the vertical composition.

Almost Invisible

7x5" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here

I really enjoy painting glass- it's a lot of fun to capture the subtle reflected colours and spots of light that suggest its form.

The Green Jar Returns

6x8" acrylic on canvas board. $45. Available here

I dug this green glass jar out of a drawer today- I'd been wondering where it had disappeared to. I used it quite a bit in my early daily paintings, so I thought I'd try it out again. This is my last attempt at the Chunked Challenge (simply because I don't want to swamp the page with my own entries!) something a little lighter and brighter than the previous one, the items have a bit more room to breathe here!

Huddled Together

6x6" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here

The first of a series of attempts at the Chunked Challenge. I didn't quite manage to simplify the forms as much as I'd like... I realised afterwards I probably should have chosen a slightly simpler subject to start with. But I do like packing lots of things into the canvas! It's so fun to create these compositions with lots of pops of light and colour.

Popular Pear

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here

Pears like this one are a real challenge- trying to capture the mottled colours without affecting the way the shading reads can be pretty tough.

Tomato Red

6x6" oil on canvas board. $40. Available here

I found some bright, fresh tomatoes in the fridge, and built a composition around them. I tried to capture all of the different shades of red in the tomatoes, using a combination of Cadmium Red and Alizarin Crimson, with a bit of Cadmium Yellow to lighten it in places, and Phthalo Blue to darken it.

Soft Colours and Long Shadows

4x5" acrylic on canvas board. $30. Available here

Here's another little still life with lemon slices, this one with a much gentler palette.

Primary Palette

4x5" acrylic on canvas board. $30. Available here

Here's another little still life in acrylics. The highlights on the cherry tomatoes came out well here, I think.

Colourful Crowd

4x5" acrylic on canvas board. $30. Available here

I really love the way light bounces back off brightly coloured objects to create colourful shadows. I'm really enjoying these bright, vibrant arrangements at the moment.

Cornered Lemon

4x5" acrylic on canvas board. $30. Available here

I really enjoyed painting the bright colours in this little picture. I wanted a warm, light feeling. I'm really happy with the shapes the shadows create.

Lemon and Radishes

4x5" acrylic on canvas board. $30. Available here

I have discovered a tv show I quite enjoy, a bit unusual for me as I normally lack the patience for them- they just take too much commitment. You mean I have to watch 10+ episodes to find out what happens...? That's a lot of tv, you know. I could be painting. But this one is just too good to walk away from, so I've been setting up small still lifes on my desk and trying to paint while watching it.

Yellow and Red

6x6" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here

Lemons converse with a strawberry. I really love the vibrant colours acrylics provide, though my scanner choked on the yellows a bit. These wedge shapes are great fun to paint, and you can build a really wide variety of great compositions with them.

Brown Vase in Evening Light

6x6" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here:

Here's another still life composition with a different small vase bought on the Isle of Wight. I was struck by how it looked when the warm sunlight hit it- it became almost purple. So I pushed that colour, and set it against complementary yellows and creams. I am liking how my brushwork is becoming more confident, I put it down to the larger works I've been doing- they loosen you up a lot.

Small Vase in Primaries

6x6" acrylic on canvas board. SOLD

I've finally got around to using this little vase in a still life! I bought it in a little shop on the Isle of Wight, which was full of all kinds of fascinating things- there were shelves and shelves of empty glass bottles, lots of crates of vases and jars for 50p each, old posters and collectables... I loved this guy's shape and the strong blue colour, and had to have him.

I paired it up with lemons and strawberries to make a composition focusing on the primary colours. More and more these days, I find myself painting only with white and primaries on my palette. I don't miss the secondaries as much as I thought I would.