Forsythia in Mason Jar

This 5"x7" oil on gessobord was part of a glass study.  What I like about this still life is the complementary colors and the mason jar lid.   When I moved into my home 20 years ago the entire property was lined with a 10 feet deep forsythia border.  It took quite a few years and our hard work to remove all of the forsythia for new gardens. This is cutting is from the one bush that remains.  I hack away at it every year after it blooms... so I guess I have a love/hate relationship with forsythia.

Tulips Together in Glass

This quick still life painting from class is an oil on 6x6 Gessobord.  The object of this lesson was the value sketch.  It's funny that the most important lesson I took away from this painting class was drawing.   Once you have the values down, the rest is much simpler.  Also, VALUE VIEWER my favorite iPhone App helps.  Choose a picture from your library or take one with your iPhone, and  the Value Viewer will break the picture down to three values.   This app definitely rocks - it's also good for checking out values when choosing fabric for quilting.  

Daffodil Conquered

This is probably my umpteenth attempt at painting a daffodil.  Patti Mollica taught us in her class that if you want to master a difficult subject, keep painting it until you can do it with confident strokes.  She was correct.   I'm sad my 8 week class is over, but I learned so much from Patti.  She is an outstanding teacher and painter.  Hoping she teaches a class in the Fall.  Oil on 6X6 Gessobord.

Scarlett

Haven't posted in a while.  My beloved Scarlett passed away yesterday.  Miss Scarlett was an amazing dog who always had a smile...lover of people and food.  She was a large part of my family and existence.  She will be truly missed by all who knew her.

Tulip on Windowsill

As I was setting up a still life in my light box, I turned to the window and the light hitting this tiny vase was so spectacular I had to paint it.   Usually I'm painting in the evening, so this was quite a treat.  Happy Easter.

Orvieto Cathedral

This week's homework assignment for art class was to do a value sketch and a painting of the Orvieto Cathedral.  There was nothing fast and loose about this assignment.  When the DPW Challenge was announced, I was quite pleased it was The Easter Challenge.  I guess it was pure serendipity on my part.

Bowled Over

This was a fun little still life I set up and painted in class this week.  Love the buttery feel to it.  Wish there was more hours in the day to paint.  6x6 oil on gesso board.