# 229: Tea Time

6" x 6" oil on canvas

# 228: Four Oranges

6" x 6" oil on canvas

# 227: Red Refreshments

6" x 6" oil on canvas

Working through some of the color harmonies. This one, in the split complementary range.

# 225: Shy Mandarin

6" x 6" oil on canvas

Oh how I struggled with this! My still lives have been very simple lately because I am focusing on color harmonies. Another triad, but this time of the secondary colors. It is an unusual palette for me. Even though I couldn't seem land this painting, I do enjoy the triad effect.

# 224: Katrina

12" x 9" on canvas panel

Another 3 hour session extended to a 4th hour of over-working and "fixing" without the model. Still there were some good moments. Katrina is a great model and is capable of holding a lovely S-curve for 25 minute stretches

# 223: Pomegranate and Blue

6" x 6" oil on canvas

I was out of commission for a few days with a nasty sinus infection and then proceeded to have a couple of bad painting days  (the evidence of, I choose not to share at this time) and then had a camera breakdown. Those are my excuses of not posting for almost a week.

I have been attempting to paint pomegranates and I am mystified as to why they have been causing so much anguish. They end up looking like bright red alien eggs. Anyways this one turned out OK....still a little alien, but OK.  Perhaps the triadic color harmony helped.

# 222: Blue Bottle

6" x 6" oil on canvas

I realized the other day that I hardly ever paint anything that is blue and so I decided to take on the blue glass subject again. It is difficult to keep blue fresh and bright especially in the ultramarine and cobalt range. I did enjoy the palette however and so I will give it another attempt tomorrow.

# 221: Funky Red Shoes

6" x 6" oil on canvas

These Earth shoes are hand-me-downs from a good friend of mine. They did not fit her tight, but on my feet they fit perfectly and I love wearing them.

 

My friend will be gone for three months. She is an academic and was granted a fellowship in Vienna (She is pretty smart). Anyways, I am already missing her and her family, though they only left yesterday. And so I decided to celebrate our friendship by painting her shoes.

# 220: An Earful

6" x 6" oil on canvas

A friend had given me these plaster models a couple of months ago and I though that it would be a fun and useful study since, I have trouble painting ears and noses.

Pair of Nudes

16" x 24" pastel on paper

I didn't get a chance to photograph my painting today and so posted some figure drawings instead. I practice from the live model once a week, but now that I am on sabbatical, I will be doing  a lot more drawing.

# 219: Wile E Scull

6" x 6" oil on canvas

Bones are beautiful structures and they are not that difficult to paint either because the surface is matte and opaque.

# 218: Mellow Yellow

6" x 6" oil on canvas

# 217: Half Carton

6" x 6" oil on canvas

I have not been very consistent about painting lately but that changes today. I am on sabbatical...i.e... I am unemployed as of today but I am treating it like a sabbatical in between job searches. I intend to make the best use of my time by drawing and painting every day, spending more time on this blog and promoting my self as a painter. Everyday will be a new adventure.

I enjoyed the subject of the egg carton but I could have done a better job with the contrast...also the half egg in front was a stumper and it looks a little flat. There tends to be that one thing in every painting that eludes all attempts to be set down on canvas.

# 216: Reclining Nude

12" x 12" oil on cnavas     

I reworked the background, since i didn't have time to do a new painting today. I think taht it being more abstract works better in terms of supporting the figure

12" x 12" oil on canvas

I think the painting of the figure went pretty well for the most part today. It is the background that stumped me

# 215: Little Black Dress

12" x 9" oil on canvas

I painted this on Saturday but I didn't feel good about it and so I did not post it. Since nothing else has gone up this last week I decide to put it up despite it's problems.

# 215: Imposter

6" x 6" oil on canvas

# 214: Bulbs Two

6" x 6" oil on canvas

My second attempt at bulbs for the Daily Paintworks challenge.

# 213: Two Bulbs

6" x 6" oil on canvas

This was painted for a daily Paint works challenge. Light bulbs are challenging, because of their translucency. I also found the purple background color difficult to work out. I think that it end up with nice visual flow...except for the left corner of the glass. Why are such things so elusive while you are painting but so clear when you see it on the computer screen?

# 212: Eggs in Blue

6" x 6" oil on canvas

# 211: Redhead

12" x 9" oil on canvas

Given the 3 hour time restraint, I am pretty happy with this. I wish that I could have resolved the left arm (and other things) . Overall, its got a voluptuousness about it and I really started to get a feel for the flesh and the form.