# 253: Threes

6" x 6" oil on canvas

I got some color and composition inspiration from one of Carol Marines paintings for this. I have a tendency to get tight and so it was a challenge to stop before I tired to "fix" everything. however...now that I see it on the screen I can see  a lot that needs fixing. It is always a balancing act.

* 252: Cornered

6" x 6" oil on canvas

Oops. I forgot to post yesterday

# 251: Tomato Tango

6" x 6" oil on canvas

Painting bowls and ellipses is not an easy task and sometimes, it is only after see it on the screen that I see my mistakes with clarity. I am not sure about the composition, but something pleases me about it and I ma pretty happy with the color as well.

#250: Tangerine Striptease

6" x 6" oil on canvas

I really enjoyed working with the color palette of green, orange and purple and I am happy that some of the blue under painting survived. It started to get a little overworked at the end. I have hope that the more I paint, the more I will know when to stop and when I am not painting but merely pushing paint around. Painting is a process and needs consistent practice to develop a fresh and spontaneous painting style (my goal). Now that I have been spending mer time in front of the easel, I am feeling more confidant and I believe that it is showing.

# 249:Rodeo Pear

6" x 6" oil on canvas

# 248: Ready for Sauce

6" x 6" oil on canvas

# 247: Somethings Blue

8" x 5"

I haven't decided how I feel about this piece yet. Ask me next week. For now the aggravation that I went through to get it to this point is still too fresh and I can only see the things that I just couldn't quite get down in paint. The painting I ended up is far away from the one I had planned in my head. That could be part problem. I had so many ideas about what the painting should be, that it wasn't until I was entirely over it and near the point of wiping it all out, that i really started to experiment. The objective was to work on blue again....this adding more neutrals as contrast. I seem to have difficulties managing grays. Those gray areas allow for a lot of interpretation.

# 246: Blue Bird

6" x 6" oil on canvas

# 245: Pig With a Purpose

9" x 6" oil on canvas

Well this was a bit of a mess. The simplicity of the surface should have been easy, but when painting porcelain, there are a lot of choices that need to be made that can get one a bit bogged down,,,which I did. it is especially difficult to decide on warm vs cool, and I tend to avoid, for some reason a neutral gray. The frontal view was also a challenge..no tricks of shape distortion and perspective to sell the form. I did enjoy the subject will try again.

# 244: Something to Crow About

6" x 6" oil on canvas

I enjoyed painting this little duo. I seem to be stuck on an avian theme lately , but never fear, tomorrow it is back to miss pig. I am happy with the way the little blue bird turned out...the Rooster? well, not as much to crow about there.

# 243: Covert Cutie

6" x 6" oil on canvas

The Cutie has been caught spying on the eggs while they have been hatching iniquitous plots. Let's just call this a play on focal point and color. Something about the balance of the piece is bugging me, but maybe the sense of imbalance just adds to the tension.

# 242: Four Eggs

6" x 6" oil on canvas

# 241: Cutie Consultation

6" x 6" oil on canvas

I started of trying to avoid cutting the painting in half with an edge, but then I forgot and so there it is. I think that there is enough activity with the oranges that it is not really a problem. It might even provide some necessary stability.i have been feeling more on the ball with the painting activity these last couple of days. Working out a little color template before I start seems to help me keep the hues and values singing.

# 240: Half a Dozen

6" x 6" oil on canvas

Painting from life again. i started with a small color this time, based on the palette of a painting that I admire and i am trying to push the color and to kick up the contrast a bit.

# 239: Blue Collection

6" x 6" oil on canvas

Blue is really difficult to keep bright and saturated. I am going to Minnesota for Thanksgiving so I will not be posting for the next couple of days

# 238: Squash Huddle

6" x 6" oil on canvas

# 237: Blue Marble

6" x 6" oil on canvas

I had fun with the palette and lighting, but have to confess that the little blue marble took way to long to paint!

# 236: Three Gourds

7" x 7" oil on canvas

I was inspired by the Caravaggio exhibit at LACMA and worked to push the contrast

# 235: Crab Apple Jam

8" x 8" oil on canvas

I have never seen crab apples at the market before, but they were there the other day, looking a bit irrelevant next to their more hefty cousins. When I was a little our neighbors had a crab apple tree and we used to munch them...though they are quite sour.

I haven't been painting as much as a should be lately..I was sick last week and then being unemployed sucks! The lack of structure of going to work is very difficult for me...I imagined myself doing so much painting during my tome off and it just hasn't worked out the way I imagined.

I promise to be better and to spend time perusing and commenting on other blogs as well

# 223: Oh Happy Day!

6" x 6" oil on canvas