three lemons 5"x7" oil

bowl of lemons 5"x7" oil

I realize that these paintings are looking similar. I am just having fun painting them. I think maybe i am learning how to paint small and make more interesting and complete paintings.

clementines 5"x7"

I also painted this quick little painting today.  Once again the clementines have so many colors in them.  Sometimes i have to squint to try to break down the shapes and colors i see and simplify them.

bowl of clementines 7"x 9" oil

I am having fun painting these clementines. There are so many colors in them and i like the way they reflect so well on objects around them.

darling clementine 7" x 9" oil

I really enjoyed painting this one. I loved all the colors in this that i got to play around with. It is nice to come to a point when you really enjoy painting. When i began painting daily i had frustrating days fairly often. Now i feel as though there are fewer. It feels liberating.  I used to have to push myself to go paint and now i look forward to it. My love/hate relationship with painting is changing.

Bette Sellars painting

This is one of my mom's paintings. She really is fantastic! I wish i could paint like that.

I know, this is the same painting i posted yesterday but i touched it up a little. I think this is a better image too. Not as many lumps. I meant to paint a new painting today but i am too tired. I am back at the gym this week after 2 weeks off because of colds and spring break.  Todays spin class was really tough. Hopefully tomorrow i will have the energy to paint again. It is nice having the internet to look at other artists work and get inspired. There are so many talented artists out there. In school you are surrounded by other artists and you struggle together and learn from each other. You have days when you feel unworthy next to another painter and then the days you feel smug because your painting is going well. Some days it feels like i am back at school while i look at all the amazing artists out there.  I have to keep remind myself of what i discovered in school and that is that every artist is different and unique. I compare painting with handwriting in the sense that everyone has thier own style of handwriting as well as brushstroke.  The method of which they apply paint to the canvas. My mom is a fantastic artist. I would like to get her on the internet. She was my professor in college. Every once in a while i still need a critique from her. I am lucky to have that.

tea anyone? 7 x 9

roma tomatoes 5"x7"

friends 5" x 7" oil

I just finished painting this a few minutes. Actually, i think i will be touching it up a little later. I propped my table up on top of another table to get this viewpoint and i like it. I will try this out with some other still lifes too. It is funny, when you see your work on the computer you see it differently. Sometimes in college we would turn the painting upside down to get a different perspective.  I like it when you see one of your paintings that you haven't seen in a while. Sometimes it surprises you. I gave my uncle a painting years ago and forgot about it. It was one i wasn't entirely fond of but he loved it.  Before he passed away i went to see him and saw the painting on the wall. I thought " that's a nice painting i wonder who did that" and then i realized it was mine.

apple reflection 5" x 7"

The apple painting is the one i painted yesterday. My photo isn't too great. The light is reflecting a little. It is a painting of 2 apples with an old percolator behind them reflecting back the 2 apples. The other painting is one i painted a while ago of a silver gravy boat.

strawberries 4"x6" oil

It feels good to get back to painting. I missed it. I had fun painting this too. The colors are so bright. I realize my last 2 paintings have been red white and blue. I love the colors together. It feels fun and fresh and a little bit whimsical.

red white and blue 4"x6" oil

I haven't had much of a chance to paint in a few days. My kids were sick and then i caught the cold.  I like to stack things up partly for the challenge to get proportion right but also because it reminds me of the antique stores i used to wander through as a kid. I lived in Iowa  in a little town with lots of antique stores. Sometimes after school i would go to the antique store down the strret and look at all of the items overflowing on the shelves. Now i go through antique stores and second hand shops to find still life items. I won't be able to paint for a little while. I have company and the guest room is also my studio. I am taking a break.

Here are the three paintings. I really enjoyed painting them.  My favorite is the one with all 3 pears.  I like them all together. I am feeling proud of myself today. I have stuck with painting almost everyday for quite a while. I wondered if i would stick with it for very long. I actually started back in september when school started and continued to paint even if it was just a couple of paintings a week.  I was having some health problems and going to lots of doctor appointments but i still tried to paint. I was told by one Dr i had lupus so i went to a nephrologist, rheumatologist and now just an endochrinologist.  A kidney biopsy revealed no Lupus.

All alone 6 x 8 oil

Then there were two 6 x 8 oil

red d'anjou pears 6 x 8 oil

So here are my red pears. Once again the picture is not totally clear. I need to figure out how to fix it. Maybe i need to use a tripod. My kids have gotten to my tripod and use it as a gun and i think it is a little uneven. Oh well. This was actually a pretty quick painting. I like that about it. So often i get lost in details and i am trying to steer away from that. I like the pink cloth it is on too. I think that pink softens it up a bit. I am happy with the shapes and colors in the pears.