Still Life Studies

It has been awhile since my last post.  I have been keeping busy doing still life studies.  That is mainly because it is either to cold to go outside or the mountain cedar pollen season here in Central Texas is rearing its ugly head.  I think still life is a great way to study color harmony, light, and just observation skills.  Of course some are more successful than others.  I love color and still life painting is a great way to get away with using luscious color.  The other aspect of doing these little paintings (8x8) is getting to try out different formats.  I have used the square format quite a bit in landscape painting and I'm also liking it in still life painting.  The hardest part about still life painting for me is deciding what to include in the painting to create an interesting arrangement of shapes that fill the canvas and are pleasing to the eye.  Another aspect about these setups was the subtle reflections in the surface.  Well maybe not so subtle in the apple set up.  I'm not sure it really qualifies as pleasing to the eye either, but I love red so it allows me the opportunity to play with it.

Asian Tranquility

Asian Box and Lily

Apple Trio

Asian Harmony

Unfurled Iris is another study in color harmony.  I found this lone iris in my garden and decided to bring it in and paint it day- by- day and to watch it unfurl. 

The Last Bud to Open is the end of the red lilies.  I decided to paint them in a warm light to compare to the cool light of my other lily paintings.  I think I like the cool light better.

Red Lily is another study in color harmony.  I bought some for my Easter decoration and was going to try to paint the bouquet. Since I'd never painted a lily I decided I had better do one first before attempting the bouquet.  Click here to purchase at auction.

Backlit Bottles and Lemon is another color harmony study.  I am fascinated with the abstractions created by the curve of glass next to another glass object.

May be purchased at auction at Daily Paintworks.

Carnations in Bottle is a variation on the reflections and shadows with the light coming through the bottle.

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Water and Rock was painted from a photo taken at Turtle Creek.  I love the abstract shapes created by flowing water and the contrast between wet rock and exposed rock.  Water is similar to the glass studies done earlier in that you are not really painting the water, but the shapes and colors you are seeing as light passes through it.

The Study of Reflections was completed using a limited palette and a lot of squinting.  It is the first painting in a series of studies of reflections and shadows.

Tea and Fruit is the last one in the series I did after the Carol Marine class.  It was quite an education in composition, shapes, values, color, and ellipses!

Pink and Orange is another painting inspired by Carol Marine.  

Pomegranite and Grapes is another still life inspired by Carol Marine.  I think the inside of a pomegranite is beautiful.  It looks like rubies and pearls.

Red and Green is another still life inspired by Carol Marine. 

In January 2013 I was fortunate to take a painting class with Carol Marine.  Consequently, I have been working on still life paintings recently when the weather is too windy to paint outdoors.  This is the first of a series.