12:9 Even More Delicious

Even More Delicious

4" x 4"

Oil on Gessoboard
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My continuing saga to perfect this technique and save the world, of course.

12:8 Red Delicious

Red Delicious

4" x 4" 

Oil on Gessoboard
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I decided last week that I am working too much from photos and I need a break, work from life and remember my college classes where we all painted the same set up or model. 

There is a health food store right next to the studio where I take a studio class on Wednesday night. I found the cutest teeny red apple there. While I am trying to work on some tweaks to my techniques, I also want to keep the set up simple and what is more simple and yet still visually appetizing than an apple?

So, I set this up on some white paper, adjusted the natural vs. room lighting and had at it. The is the first of two apples that I worked on that night.

Have a great day!

12:5 - Saturday Night Apples

Saturday Night Apple

4" x 4"

Oil on Gessoboard

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I love painting with broad, big strokes and with a nice and loose look. Two of my favorite artists who are experts at this style are Carol Marine and Karin Jurik. These women both make their living with their art, which is my dream. Not only do they work on paintings on a daily basis, they also travel the country teaching workshops...also a dream of mine.

Carol and her husband David, have created and run a website that I belong and post to called dailypaintworks.com. The site is a large community of painters who post and sell their paintings but also help and support each other. I am eternally grateful for the generosity of Carol and David. Recently, Carol shared her story on the new site area Artbytes, which is a combination of technique and real-world experiences. She unselfishly shares with the rest of the painting community. The biggest tip she can give painters that are working toward developing their talents is "do something with your art every day". (I am paraphrasing, but this is the point.) The painting above is the first of what I hope is the beginning of my daily painting.

My son leaves for college in a little over a year. Maybe he won't be the only one in the family taking some big steps.

#1 - You like apples?

8" x 6" - Acrylic on canvas board
Purchase

Ta daaa!!! My first painting of the year. And it can be YOURS for only $1! What a bargain.

What I like about it - Well for one, I was painting. That's always fun. And it was nice to hold a brush again after so long. I love the vibrant green of Granny Smith apples, so it was a challenge to mix the colors (somewhat) properly.

What I don't like about it - it looks somewhat cartoonish to me, but I was overworking it so I took it to what was it's most successful point without starting over and stopped. I also think I could have done a better job with composition. I would like to maybe try it again with the apple much larger, there's too much background showing.