Radish Shadows - painting a day

"Radish Shadows" 5x7" oil on canvas SOLD

I saw these little radishes at the market yesterday and snapped them up to paint. I started out thinking I was going to paint the entire bunch, but the radishes had their own ideas.

Shallots - painting a day

"Shallots" oil on canvas, 5x7"

These shallots have been sitting in the studio for a while now, and I could never find an arrangement that worked for me, until I tossed them in a bowl to get them out of the way and they arranged themselves. Sometimes not trying too hard is the most difficult part.

A printmaker and fellow blogger who I admire is Annie Bisset. She creates woodblock prints using traditional Japanese techniques, and her imagery is thoughtful and evocative. I'm particularly impressed by her recent print "Locusts in Babylon". She's participating in the Printed Matter show at Giant Robot San Francisco. If you're in the area, check out the opening this Friday, Dec 16.

Lime Pyramid - painting a day

"Lime Pyramid" 5x7" SOLD

Yellow Peppers - painting a day

"Yellow Peppers" 5x7" [$75 + shipping]

Crab season opened a week ago, which in my household means it's time to make crab cakes. We do them in big batches and then freeze them, which means a lot of crab cracking. These yellow peppers ultimately ended up in the crab cakes, but I managed to steal them away from the kitchen for a couple hours and record their loveliness in the cobalt blue bowl.

Key Limes - painting a day

"Key Limes" 5x7" oil on canvas SOLD

The weather was wet this weekend, so I stuck to the studio and did some more little studies. I loved the way the colors of the fruit are subtly reflected in this bowl.

Bananas in Repose - painting a day

"Bananas in Repose" oil on canvas panel SOLD

I took a walk through the produce section looking for new fruit to paint, and the bananas looked like they might offer an interesting challenge. They seem like the symbol of yellowness. Of course, it turns out that our memory of objects affects how we see them. Researchers presented people with black and white images of bananas and asked them to adjust the color to make the image completely colorless. Turns out most people made the images slightly blue to compensate for the yellow nature of bananas. You can read a summary of the research and see the images of bananas they used here.

Harsh Shadow - painting a day

"Harsh Shadow" 5x7" SOLD

These are a couple of persimmons off my tree, lit harshly because I didn't get a chance to paint until after the sun set leaving me with no natural light. I planted a persimmon tree in the backyard 4 years ago, mostly for the decorative value of the tree itself. In the fall the leaves turn deep red and orange, and then the leaves drop leaving the tree adorned with fruit. This naked state is the most interesting I think.

Eggs in a Bowl - painting a day

"Eggs in a Bowl" 5x7" SOLD
I wanted something to fill up the blue bowl, and after trying several different fruits and vegetables, I settled on eggs. The funny thing is, I wasn't the only one thinking about eggs. I found out that some of the other painters in a group I belong to planned to paint eggs this weekend. You can see all the egg paintings at the Daily Painters gallery.

And if you're new to the google group - welcome! If you'd like to see more of the daily paintings, visit my blog. I post a new painting nearly every day. If you've tried to leave comments in the past and were discouraged, I've changed the settings so that anyone can comment - I'd love to hear from you.