Still Life

“Magnolia Muse”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

I sketched this the other week but just could not finish it until now. The magnolias bloom, flower and fade so fast that I knew to go back to complete this would be pointless….

“Winter Hibiscus”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

It’s wonderful to have a flower pop in front of me unexpectedly. I was painting china in the hutch the other day. When I walked into the next room, this hibiscus stood out like a house on fire. I couldn’t wait to finish what I was doing to get to this blossom…

“In Doc’s Hutch”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Having not regularly done a still life, this was a challenge. In someone else’s kitchen where I never painted before it was even more so especially with them all watching me create. Luckily, I was offered a glass or two of wine as I worked and the painting flowed smoothly out from under my brush…

“Pepper Play”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

It felt good to change gears and work inside on a still life. I purposely tried to loosen up a little and not always have sharp, crisp, delineations between colors……

“Late Bloomer”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I wandered about at the Polly Hill Arboretum this evening scouting for subject matter. I found only one bloom from the bigleaf magnolia cultivar. This is one of my favorite magnolias, Magnolia Macrophylla “Julian Hill”. The leaves are almost a foot wide and sometimes almost 2 feet long with giant blooms 18 inches wide! It was just past ripe and the weather had begun what would become a long, slow spitting contest which carried on through sunset. When I returned emptyhanded to my studio, I looked in my unfinished pile and found this magnolia I had started a while ago. The visit to the arboretum had given me the right idea on how to finish this piece…

“Spring In The Air”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I was introduced to this yellow blossoming magnolia tree a week and a half ago. I have been watching and patiently waiting for the full bloom to come. I received the email early this morn that today was my day. I have not been disappointed. It is a magnificent creamy yellow citricy color, quite different from the whites and the pink blush white blossoms I usually have painted. A real challenge to create out of a limited value range of yellows and still stay on track. There are no pure white highlights, but the lightest light yellows. I did cheat and put in 2 areas of white on top of the yellow highlights just to give it a final push against the subtler darker yellow values. But they do not read as pure white as the traces of the underpainting of yellow contaminate the attempt…

“Morning Bright”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

Continuing with my daffodil obsession, I found this orange cup by a neighbor’s stonewall. I couldn’t paint it where it was or I would have been found run over by the side of the road. So I cut and brought it home to paint outside on the east porch (in a vase) with this actual wall and view behind it. Plein air, sort of, alla prima for sure…

“On the Pond”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

The first daffodils are out, but it was all rain the first day. I had to work from the van a couple of times to get them right. They are such optimists in the winter landscape. Always make my heart skip a beat upon first discovery!…

“Slices”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

A little fun in the kitchen last night…

“Pear Piece”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

It was not nice outside today… So I decided it was time for a still life. I had been saving these pears for just such an occasion. The fabric and layout fell easily into place, an unusual happening…

“Half and Half”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

On rainy days I enjoy setting up still lifes to paint. Figs can be a challenge because of their dark color, but cut open they offer a different story. I really wanted to eat this, but had to wait until I had finished. It was good!…

“A’s Rose”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I picked this rose the other evening when it got down to 31 degrees, just in case. Today it rained all day and winds gusted to 50 mph. I was happy to stay in and have this flower to work on…

“Let’s Play Ball”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

This was a part of a larger still life I had one of my recent Oil Painting Classes paint. They were doing so well with the still life that I set up next to them and just painted this baseball…

“Wound Up”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

Back at the daylily patch, this was one of the few doing cork screws. Most of the others were curling back in their glory…

“Day Lily Dancer”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

The day lilies are out in full force right now. Some flower beds are impossibly alive with many different varieties and riots of color. The best part for the painter is that a lot of the flowering is right in your face at eye level. No leaning over or sitting down to capture the best view…

“La Rose Française”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

I love roses, but it is always good to remember that they come with thorns. As much as I may want to hold them, smell them and even cut them to make them mine, I must be mindful of the prick they may give. I find that even snagged by a thorn, they are always worth the effort….

“You Know You Want It”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Temptation comes in many forms. These from Chilmark are the best…

“Butter Up”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

Today was another rain out day among other things. So I thought a still life appropriate. Except that the still life I wanted to do in day light, had to wait for night lights. A friend visiting the island was rushed to hospital emergency room and I had pick her up when she was finally discharged at 2:30 am. She is ok, thanks for asking!…

“Tree Peony” , this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I visited the Polly Hill Arboritum to find this flower. It was one of the last tree peonies that had not shed any petals yet. Usually, I get here later and miss all of this type of peony. It rained in the middle of my painting session, but I hid under my umbrella and it passed quickly by…

“Life in a Rose” , this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

This is the painting which was supposed to be before the “Magnolia Moment”. After all that white in the Magnolia, this feels intense! It is an old fashion type of rose with multiple petals, some going in contradiction to the others…

“Magnolia Moment” , this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I started out this rainy day to snip and paint another flower from my brother’s garden. But this freshly opened and damp magnolia stole the thunder from all other blooms around the house. Luckily it did not start to close until I was most of the way through the painting….

“Lavender Dahlia” , this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This is a study for a commission I am working on. I like to push the colors in one direction or another. I like this direction, but maybe it’s not right for the commissioned piece. Luckily, the person doing the commissioning will never look at these note here…

“Chocolate Strawberries” , this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

My friend, Tiberia from Barking Rocks Winery, had a 5 foot by 5 foot by 2 foot crate of strawberries he had hand picked in his wine room! As I was leaving after helping syphon out some muscat wine, I thought maybe I should paint some strawberries before he crushes them all. By the time I finished this piece the chocolate had melted under the heat from my lights. It tasted great with the strawberries though!…

“First Iris”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, my iris I transplanted from an elder friend’s house last spring have started to bloom. I had no idea what color they were when I dug them up and am happy to find them white. The 50 mph winds beat up the first bloom pretty badly. So this is really the 2nd. Maybe that is the reason I found no flower beds planted here…

“Wild Verbena” , this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

I finally got the lawn tractor going and was mowing down the remnants of last year’s weed crop. At the edge of the lawn up against some cactus I found this wild verbena all in flower. It was too pretty not to pick and bring in the house and it eventually found its way to my still life table…

“Birds of a Feather”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Every time the rancher comes by to feed the cattle 5 or so rolls of hay, the red winged black birds and grackles and meadow larks swarm around. For a few days they gobble up the grains and then fly up to the telephone wires and hang out. Today they were all over the place and I took advantage of them for this painting…

“Wishful Thinking”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This rose is done in the same fashion as the rose I did a few weeks ago. I had a commission request to create a similar rose. So I have done a little experimenting and painted two paintings at the same time of this rose from the same point of view. One rose was done on my usual orange/paperbag color, pretinted canvas panel, the other just on white. It took forever to do them and the second still doesn’t have the sky done yet. I will post the second one on my website next to this one when I complete it in a day or so…

“Oh Happy Spring”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I love spring and I love birds nests. The doves are starting another nest on top of the outside electric panel at my brother’s. It is 5 feet from the back porch. You may sit and watch them all day as they switch positions and switch sitting. Of course it is even more fun when the babies hatch and then fledge. This nest is an older model of my sister-in-law’s. I filled it with damaged shells from a nest she found one winter which had been abandoned. I placed it out in the garden to paint by the bird feeder. Two house wrens had to come by to investigate. I didn’t move and they came within 3 feet of me!…

“Rubber Bands”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 US

When doing a still life, I never know exactly what I am going to paint until I get into the studio. In this painting I had no intention to put the tulips in anywhere. Backgrounds, especially dark ones, are usually the last surface to be painted. Yet I wanted, needed some red in the composition and there were the tulips in the kitchen…

“Hello Goodbye”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I got too excited painting the flowers to put the vase in the painting too…

“Bright Pear”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 US

Bought these fruits today and the Tangerines were just so vivid I wanted to accentuate their vibrancy…

“From the Rose Bush”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 US

This is the first rose off the rose bush in my brother’s garden. Don’t know what kind it is. It came with the house and is the earliest bloomer. The tea roses haven’t even leafed out all the way yet and the daffodils are still opening…

“Apples Wine & Swiss”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 US

I bought a bunch of different cheese the other day. This swiss was fun to paint, and to think about eating after! The apples were a bit of a challenge with some spots of yellow going into the shadow areas. Of course I didn’t drink any wine yet, or you wouldn’t be looking at this painting!!!…

“Oriental Rug”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 US

A small daffodil sitting on the table with the oriental rug off in the background…

“Blush”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I bought these Lilies a few days ago. They have been knocking me out with their delicious scent at night in my studio. Finally had to paint them so I can enjoy them back in the house. I assume they are some type of Stargazer hybrid as some buds only reach straight up and others open forward or down. They are not white as is usual, but a nice subdued creamy white…

“N. S. E. West”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Found a nice vase of my Mom’s to place the Daffies in. Couldn’t resist painting them all in the container…

“Inner Sweetness”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I’ve been juggling fruit around in my studio, figuratively, for a few days. This day the lemons caught my attention. I decided to do a low key approach. I think it work out well…

“d’Affinois Brie & Friends”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

If I had known how good this brie was, I would have painted it faster and first! Or maybe sitting out for 8 hrs. under my hot painting lights ripened it more than usual and gave it extra flavor. Or maybe I was starving when I finished up!!!…

“In The Bowl”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Some fruit I had to wait before eating…

To purchase, please click Go to my eBay auction, Bidding starts at $100.00 US.

“Rose On Blue”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I couldn’t let this rose die without doing a second painting of it…

To purchase, please click Go to my eBay auction, Bidding starts at $100.00 US.

“A Thorny Question”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

The cattle rancher pulled out about 5 hay rolls for the live stock today. I couldn’t resist doing this painting after my afternoon walk through the pasture and seeing the lighting and positioning of this roll and cow…

“One Down”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Today I got to set these pears up outside in full sun to get the shadows…

“Crate of Clemmies”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Meanwhile, back home in the studio some still lifes are brewing…

“No Chocolates”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I over ate the chocolates last time I painted them. This time it was a pleasure not to have any chocolates to eat as I finished this piece…

“Last One”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Sometimes the day just is not long enough to stand outside to paint…

To purchase, please click Go to my eBay auction, Bidding starts at $100.00 US.

“Chilmark’s Chocolate”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Around this time each year, Chilmark Chocolates shares their odd lots with the community. They do this by giving the post office chocolates to put out on the counter for all who come in to leave or pick up mail. Needless to say, it is my only favorite season to go and get my mail! After nibbling some there, I realized the full pieces would be a great still life and I could write it off as a business expense. Giddyup, I went straight over to the store and got 2 boxes to contemplate. Today’s painting, hopefully, is one of a series I will do while this miserable weather keeps me in chocolate, er, indoors… Thank you, Chilmark Chocolates!

“Pomegranate In Two”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

A day indoors contemplating bad weather and the color red…

“A Fig for All”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Today’s work is a still life. It was just too cold and windy to go outside today to do a land or seascape…

“Wild Rose”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

A cold front was coming in, so I went out and found this rose to paint before the cold got to it. This was practically the last one in bloom on the rose bush outside my studio…

“Red Yellow Green Wine”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This bad weather has driven me to do a still life indoors. The last time I did one was in August of figs. I had fun doing this one and didn’t even finish the wine !

“Garden Beauty”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 US

One of the last dahlias from my friend’s flower garden. It was too windy to paint it outdoors…

“Four Figs”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

It’s fig season and I have wanted to do a fig still life for a while. I was able to create a nice natural lighting situation and had fun with the soft, western window light coming in on my subjects…

“Rolly Polly’s”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Rainy day still life by the light of the window…

“Lemon Tomatoes”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD

“Lily Life”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Three Macintosh?”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, $500.00 US

“Good With Chips”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Two To One”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Its A Party”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Wildflower Bouquet”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, $500.00 US

“Petunia Power”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Coconut Cream”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, $500.00 US

“Artichoke”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, $500.00 US

“Taste Good, Too”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, $500.00 US

“Vessels”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, $500.00 US

“Pansy and Blue Vase”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, $500.00 US

“A Peter Martini”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, $500.00 US

“Pointless Key Lime”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, $500.00 US

This was a delicious slice of pie which I brought back from the Koffee Kup Family Restaurant in Hico, Texas. I had big plans to eat it this afternoon, but… well, the light caught it just so and I realized I had no choice but to paint it first. Forgetting that Kitz, the cat, was in the studio with me, I almost lost my after painting treat while checking email. Luckily Kitz found the pie container before the pie on my painting stand.

“Blue and Minneolas”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, $500.00 US

“One Short”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, This painting has SOLD.

“Porcelain Rose”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Lets Play Ball”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

“Promises”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Daffodil Portrait”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Full Blown Bloom”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“A Rose Is A…”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, $500.00 US

“Spring Break Out”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Icicles”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“A Small Pleasure”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Peony Spotlight”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Lemon & Baby Aubergine”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, $500.00 US

“A Far Cry”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, $500.00 US

“Understated”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“A Pink Beauty”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Pear Cousins”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Mandarin”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, $500.00 US

“A Pealing”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, $500.00 US

“The Red Stripe”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, Sold

“Peas In A Pod”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel,$500.00 US

“Persimmon From The Tree”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, $500.00 US

“Open Papaya”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, $500.00 US

“Papaya and Friends”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Rum and Lime”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Garlic and Clove”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Seven Peppers”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Pepper Parade”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Pomegranate or Two”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Wine and Pomegranates”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Baseball Lemon Oranges”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“The Queen Rose”, this is a Large painting, 39.75″x 39.75″ oil on canvas, SOLD

This is one of my large flower series paintings. I usually do 1 or 2 per year… “The Queen Rose” was painted in a straight, direct painting style as opposed to my pointillist style.

“Huge Pink Peony”, this is a Large painting, 39.75″x 47.75″ oil on canvas, SOLD

“Heavenly Blue”, this is a Large painting, 39.75″x 39.75″ oil on canvas, SOLD

This is one of my large flower series paintings. I usually do 1 or 2 per year… “Heavenly Blue” was painted in a pointillist style. You may be able to see the slight texture to the painting and the orange and red underpainting between the dots or points of paint.

“Mottled Wild Pears”, this is a Small one, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel, SOLD