Next to the Umbrella

Here I captured one of my painting buddies stepping back from the easel. The underside of the umbrella is illuminated by the early morning sun which attracted me to this scene in the first place. I kept the surrounding greenery simple, while tree trunks and cast shadow are leading to the focal point. 

Red and Orange

This Pomegranate had all colors from pink to orange to purple. I find that the color red with all its nuances is still a struggle for me. I guess I need to paint more red fruits and veggies ...

More Apples

Another apple painting as they are easily available and always sitting on my kitchen counter. The multi coloration offered a nice challenge.

Peppers and Onion for Dinner

Here is an arrangement with complimentary colors. The onion was put in place to be the anchor to hold it all together. I keep on wondering if the composition is too split in the middle -?

4 Bananas

A very familiar sight, bananas are probably the most popular fruit. Even though they grow in South Florida, these came from the store. I enjoyed to play with the yellows, pinks and the different plains of the fruit, in particular banana number 3 is just peaking out from under.

Pommes

Multicolored apples and a pomegranate, the ancient apple - hence the title. I enjoyed to play around with warm and cool color tones here. The idea of fall and harvest comes into mind -

Brussel Sprouts in Red Cup

Mini cabbages posing in complementary color mode, lit up with a day light bulb. It seems that green tones are getting easier for me to mix and paint. I want to believe that painting in plein air is to blame for that ...lol...really, it helps seeing colors. 

Lunch

I enjoyed observing the different shades of brown-orange-yellow to create this paper lunch bag. The inspiration for this painting came from the "Daily Paintworks- Weekly Challenge" website. The theme is painting a "Back to school" picture or a memory of it. My take on this is... Lunch was always my most favorite time at school when you could mill with your friends and relax a bit.

Red Umbrella

With the beginning of a new school year, unfortunately time to paint came to a halt. To fill in, I am posting this painting  from almost 2 years ago. I still like its peaceful mood. At the same time my friend's red umbrella pops out and creates interest. In my opinion this is a great image to get lost in or to meditate with - just imagine you are the person under the red umbrella looking at nature.... relax!!

Crepe Myrtles in Morning Light

I am still working with acrylics here, trying to find a way to be more spontaneous with this medium. An additional challenge is that the colors darken after they have dried. Despite all technical challenges, I find it came out as a pretty happy picture. Hope it brightens your day!!!

Pappy

This comes from my daughter's stuffed animal collection. I like the human-like expression in their faces.... Cuteness Alert!!!

On the Lookout

The weekly challenge for the Daily Paintworks website was painting this crow from a given photo without using black paint from the tube. I am one of the artists that do not have black on their palette as black can easily become dull, appear isolated and "dirty" other colors. Also, to me it is more fun  creating a "cool" or "warm" black with a mix of other colors (usually blues and reds) to better tie the black/dark into the entire painting. An additional challenge here was that I painted this with acrylic paints. I really missed the smooth blending that is so great with oil paints. I think it came out OK though...

Best Buddies

Motivated to enter a pet painting into Daily Paintworks - Weekly Challenge, I finished this from a photo of our oldest hens. I wonder what they were chatting about so early in the morning....

Sabal Palm Window

Just finished this over the week end. I am enjoying summer vacation which allows me to paint more regularly.

The Enlightened Cherry

Do you see how the light hits the edge of the cherry that is sitting in the bowl's cast shadow? Being separated from the giggly group huddling together in the cherry comfort bowl, this one is meditating about the deeper meaning of its existence. I think this cherry has leadership quality and is going to teach the others about the new found truth of cherry-existence....

Green Mangos

Yes, mango season is at its peak. Even though looking quite green, these mangos are ripe and sweet. I enjoyed the challenge in which the fruits and their stems work nicely together as a composition.

Apricots in a Jar

... and more apricots in a Mason Jar. As you probably notice, the painting surface seems different than usual. The reason is that I used a "slippery smooth" pre-gessoed press-wood panel. I had difficulty to make the oil paint stick. It seems it picked up the bristle marks of my brushes, maybe sable brushes would work better on this surface. However, I think I like the rather "scratchy" look. What do you think?

Apricots On Blue

I like to play with complementary colors in still life pictures. This one is a bit bold, however, seems to vibrate so nicely. Apricots are one of my faves.

Thryallis and Crepe Myrtle

A happy and sparkling flower still life to celebrate 4th of July, the U.S. Independence Day. Thryallis and Crepe Myrtle are bushes in full bloom right now in Florida.

Path Leading Out Of The Forest

Despite steamy humidity and relentless mosquitos I was able to finish this in the nearby park. I love the different color tones on the sandy path. The idea was to give the mood of the shady coolness in contrast to the intense sunlight in the background. Hope you like it.