This is a wooden frog that makes a sound when you run the stick up and down the bumps on its back. The stick is then stored in the "cheeks". Cool, eh? I believe this one was a gift from Costa Rica but I've seen them for sale at various fair trade shops, such as Ten Thousand Villages. This was a tough little critter to paint. I think it looks more like a mutant iguana/fish ; )
Another view of the violin. I think this is a subject I'll go back to many times. There is a lot to tackle. Now I'm looking for some other instruments to get my hands on and paint...
I did this subject a month ago and wanted to re-visit it. Something quite intoxicating about the form of a violin - curvy shapes and swirls contrasting with hard, straight edges. Complex and fun. The wood colour is an interesting challenge too. I find the colours of what I'm actually seeing are much richer than what I think they would be if I let my mind slip into auto-pilot.
I know...it's a mouthful. But I thought I'd give the proper plant name. The leaves are so striking. This is an annual (where I live) that I planted in spring and it's just beginning to fade. Love the purple. 
I was feeling the need to paint shoes again ; ) Lots of deep shades, interesting angles...a fun challenge.
So I have to tell you - I am a person who likes my dessert ; ) Especially chocolate and home-baking (the aroma alone makes me happy : ) But usually after I paint dessert, I have absolutely no desire to eat it. Weird, but it completely ceases to be tempting. On a painting note, I really like painting glacé cherries and chocolate together. Something about those two rich colours, side by side, is very satisfying!
I stopped at the grocery store on my way in to paint and look what I found! Yum : )
Today I was plein air painting. It was a seriously gorgeous day. Very warm and VERY windy. And today I had a canvas that acted like a sail. My mentor Catherine (who's had more than a little experience in these matters ; ) was a master at securing my easel with ropes, bungee cords and rocks. It allowed me to paint much longer than I otherwise would have, but in the end I succumbed to the elements. All part of the experience : ) And I had to include a shot of these two with whom I spent a good chunk of my day. They are Scottish Highland cows. I think the cuteness factor in this post just skyrocketed ; )
Yesterday I wasn't feeling well and today I was working all day in preparation for the show tomorrow (or today for those that are reading this Saturday morning : ). I didn't get a painting done but I did a whack of other stuff and will post a picture tomorrow. 
This is number five of my zinnia paintings. I was really liking the way the acrylic piece turned out yesterday and wanted to see if it was a fluke
My trusty zinnias again. So for this one I painted in acrylics. And I think it has quite a different feel! Do any of you regularly switch-up mediums? As I said, I've been painting oils for a year now, but acrylics for many years before that. I definitely have a certain comfort-level with them, but I've really been enjoying oils too. Hmmm....
Okay, here is the third zinnia painting. For this one I tried to forget the act of replicating the zinnias as they appeared, but rather the emotional response I was getting from the flowers. I don't mean for that to sound dippy (!), but I wanted to abstract them a bit and just convey the joy of them. So I began painting quickly and intuitively. I'll do a couple more paintings and then I want feedback from all of you as to which pieces you're drawn to (and why?). Thanks in advance : )
I'm exploring the zinnias. A bit of a glare on this one - sorry! I'm going to stick with this subject for a few days and see what happens. I've always thought it would be interesting to paint the exact same subject for weeks on end: really getting the feel of it, breaking it down, building it back up, trying different techniques etc... You would have to do it with something that doesn't wilt or decay. Maybe it will be an upcoming project.
After seeing Barbara's flowers, I was inspired to go to the market and and pick up a bunch! These were the brightest I could find - a bunch of hot, colourful zinnias. I love them! I want to explore different methods of painting them so I hope they last a few more days.
Someone mentioned the other day that my landscapes had quite a different feel to them than my still life work. I know! You know, I've painted plein air for years, in acrylic, and just last year began still life, and only began using oils last October after my workshop with Carol Marine. And it just seems this is the way it comes out. Even now, most all of my plein air painting is done in acrylic. Perhaps I will try doing more daily oil paintings plein air, and see what develops. But for now, I just have these different ways I paint depending on the medium I use. This piece was done a couple of years ago at a beautiful property in Ancaster, Ontario.
I had a lot of running around today, including picking up my new shipment of RayMar art panels. My Mom came along with me so we got a visit in amongst the errands : ) Anyway - I didn't have time to get a painting done but thought I would post this piece I did a while back. What caught my eye when I settled in to paint this was the beautiful evening light hitting the trees and shrubs and making everything glow.
I'm getting ready for a sale at a local school in a few weeks. My husband is making some racks to display my daily paintings and so I was grouping them in order to determine size, layout etc... What a difference it makes when you lay similar pieces side by side. I love seeing them this way - it starts to look like a unified body of work : ) When the racks are completed I'll post a photo.
Uh-huh - these are mine! lol But not a recent acquisition ; ) Do you hear "Delta Dawn" playing in the background? ; ) Actually in the 70s I was too young for platforms though I sure could belt out that tune! These are from the late 90s when platforms made a (wee) resurgence. 
I had to paint this beautiful fruit again. Here I did it on white, which is the background I usually use. When I find out what variety it is, I'll be sure to post it. Hope everyone is having a pleasant weekend!
If anyone knows what type of pear this might be, I'd love to hear from you. I thought it was a "comice" but when I did a search, green pears where showing up. It is such a lovely variety! Beautifully shaped and lushly coloured. Completely fun to paint. I did it on a dark backdrop, different from what I usually do, for some drama! *snap*.
More studying of glass. The bottle in the foreground is from The Good Earth - a LOVELY local place to eat. It's an outdoor restaurant for now, so will be closing before too long. The other is a bottle of Solaz. There is SO much to learn (yes, about wine, but I'm talking about painting :) 
So I'm playing with colour and shape. Trying to understand glass at another level. It is challenging. When you begin examining the glass you see hundreds of colours and tonal shifts in the reflections. I do squint, and block in the larger masses and then try to add the variances within the masses. A year ago glass terrified me but now I want to paint it over and over to get to a certain comfort level. And painting babies scares me too...lol. My blogging friend Crystal Cook wrote about it very well : ) So what subject matter freaks you out? Are you ready to tackle it?
One of the things September means to me is "Back to school". I did this painting for the monthly painting challenge on the Artists Helping Artists blog. I still remember the excitement of back-to-school shopping: all those new binders, pencils, pens and paper. I never really liked white-out but thought page protectors and the 3-ring binder hole reinforcement stickers (like flat, paper Lifesavers) were pretty cool. 
