Still Life Commission

I just finished this commissioned painting for friends that will hang in their dining room.   They have lovely accents of red and green in their decor so the challenge was to create something they could live with and enjoy for years to come.  The fall hydrangeas are from their garden, with touches of green from Indiana Osage oranges (or hedge apples) and purple asters.  I chose pomegranates for the touch of red because they are in the market now and compliment the green.  Apples would have worked as well, but pommegrantes are a fun fruit to paint and just a bit out of the ordinary.

It is painted on a full sheet of  Bockingford watercolor paper with a limited palette of  American Journey paints from Cheap Joe's.

Christmastime Paintings

Christmas is in the air and it's great to reflect it in painting.  I just finished a four hour workshop with several students painting poinsettias.  Every Christmas I paint poinsettias using different techniques, but always with a live poinsettia in front of me.  The students enjoyed trying out the technique on a small painting before launching into a larger one.  This painting is still in progress.

Normally I don't paint conceptual paintings, but I was asked to create a Christmas Concert inspired by the music our church choir is singing.  It was a fun challenge to pay attention to the lyrics and see a thread running through them that could be reflected in a painting.

This fall I've enjoyed being a part of a wonderful women's contemplative Bible study at church.  This painting is another conceptual painting experience  trying to capture the essence of the study - listening with open heart to the Scriptures and each other.