An Apple A Day

"An Apple a Day"
6.25" x 7"
(watercolor on paper)

This was a little demonstration painting I did for some of my students.  We've been spending some time just getting back to basics.  I've decided to auction this one off with a starting bid of $30 -- oooh what a bargain, eh!?  Ha!  Click on the button above to bid or just to get a closer view.

Thank you for viewing my work.

Petersham Cultural Council Show

These four paintings are on display and for sale at the Petersham Cultural Council's annual art show in Petersham, MA.  The show's opening is this Friday, October 26th from 7-9pm at the Town Hall.  The show runs through the weekend.

In other news . . . The Edward Hopper House Art Center's "Small Matters of Great Importance 2012" exhibit begins Saturday, October 27th and runs until December 23rd.  After a little bump in the road (a UPS substitute driver -- just my luck!)  my work arrived and is on display.  For those just new to my blog, the following three paintings are included in this show and I am very grateful and excited.

Thank you for visiting . . . have a great day!

Ugh . . . The Negative Post . . .

"Cherry Tomatoes"
5" x 7"
starting bid:  $50
Sold

Click here to bid

This is probably the worst surface I've ever painted on . . . and as I struggled through I kept thinking "why am I torturing myself?  just stop!"  But I kept going because apparently I like pain and so here it is. (and now that it's posted, I think I need to punch up the dark value in a couple areas within the tomato grouping) Anyway, the surface was Crescent cold-pressed watercolor board.  It was the most unforgiving surface I've ever used. Perhaps you've used it and it worked for you . . . but for me, ugh!  As I've mentioned on this blog before, I like to pull color out as I go and the watercolor board didn't allow this at all. In fact even scrubbing was a nightmare. Then the color started to bleed in places.  Ugh!  Nightmare. Needless to say, I'm going back to my wonderful Fabriano soft-pressed. Why oh why did I even stray in the first place?   

And while I'm on this negativity kick . . . I just had TWO paintings rejected from the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts show. So now I have to schlep back down to Mystic CT to pick them up. Talk about a walk of shame! I've had to pick up one piece before, but not BOTH. (I'm a little bitter.)  :) Incidentally, I've posted the two rejected paintings (which I've posted before as I finished them) below.  I walked them in rather than applied online because I thought they were more dynamic in person -- especially the clementine -- it really loses a lot digitally.  Apparently though, the judges didn't feel the same. Aaaahhhh . . . you just never know. 

So that's my negative news.  I'm going to go eat breakfast . . . take a shower and get to work on some more paintings.  Sigh.  :)

"Delicious Light"
11" x 14"

"Oh My Darlin"
8" x 8"

Blue Bowl with Apples

"Blue Bowl with Apples"
6.5" x 7.5"

(what this painting could look like framed)

Click here to bid

I'm going to have to re-shoot this one . . . as it has some glare on it, but until I do, this gives you an idea of what this painting looks like.  Have a good weekend.

 . . . Gaahhh . . . Update . . . I re-shot this one, but I didn't end up changing this image, nor adding the new image to a new post.  I think that when you click on these above images to make them larger, the contrast may be too severe.  But at the regular "post" level, they look more true to life (if that makes sense).  Anyway -- I did change the photos in Daily Paintworks -- (when I upload there, they seem to desaturate the image overall) and the glare was distracting.  So hopefully those images better reflect what this painting really looks like.  All in all, I do my best to create the most accurate depiction of my original painting on my monitor and use as little editing as possible.  This time, I had to use the burn tool in Photoshop to create a more accurate value contrast between the cloth, background and cupboard.  I must say however, I usually try to leave the image at a state where the original still looks best.  That can be difficult when you want it to look good but not too good and sometimes when they're enlarged, they look different than the smaller image on the computer screen.

Ok . . . that's all . . . enough . . . I'm going to go watch some t.v. before bed.  :)

Dark and Different

"Bowl with Apples"
6.25" x 7.5"

I'm still working on this one . . . trying to get the shadows and highlights right and make the cloth and bowl look more believable.  It helps me to take a photo of it and view it on the computer.  I see things I don't see in "real life."  Then I'm able to look at the original and know what more I need to do.  But since I took the photo, I thought I'd post it so you could see what I'm up to.  

This afternoon I'm delivering my "Bittersweet Door" to the New England Watercolor Society Show.  Oh . . . and before I forget . . . I'm giving a watercolor demonstration at the Concord Art Association on April 25th. So if you're in this area I hope you come by. You can click here for more information.  Ok . . . that's all . . . have a good day.

One Down . . .

"Delicious Light"
11" x 14"

Just added the finishing touches on this little baby.  I'll be posting it over at Daily Paintworks, however it won't be up for sale just yet.  I'm intending on submitting it to a Spring juried show.  My fingers are crossed it gets in.  Happy painting.

Letting It Rest

"Untitled"
11" x 14"

I think I'm just about done with this one.  I'm going to let it rest for a little while and see what needs to be tweaked.  I know there are a couple areas that need a little more time.  But for the most part I think it's done.  Personally I like the way the sun bleaches out the bottom right, so hopefully it's not too disturbing to folks, however I promise I will do something with that pink "arrow" pointing to the bottom of the page.  YEOW!

I had intended to do my "quick" 1-hour painting today, but unfortunately one of the dogs got into a little bit of a mess today that required my immediate and prolonged attention . . . I will spare you the gross details.  Aaaahhh . . . gotta love `em!  :)

Tweaked and Matted

(what this painting could look like framed)
Sold

I made a few minor adjustments to this painting and put it up for auction over at the Daily Paintworks site.  It comes matted in a white mat, with a foamcore backing and wrapped in a plastic sleeve.  The actual exposed painting is slightly smaller than 9" x 11" and the mat is about 2 1/2 inches around measuring 14" x 16".   Have a good week -- I'll be in touch.