Grapes and a plum - study

Just a quick little still life which turned out okay, but I think I might try underpainting the white areas with acrylic next time. Haven't done that before but I am hoping that it will give me a brighter white end result. I was pleased with the plum which has a fantastic range of colours from purple to yellow, in it. Struggled to find the right greens for the grapes though, so the greens can go and join the reds on my list of 'colours that are difficult to get right'!!

New studio!!

I have been waiting for a long time to get a space that I can work in and it's finished at last!!
I guess this means I had better get started on some masterpieces......

Still Life - Water Jug

I have begun searching the local antique shops for more shiny things to paint! I fell in love with this little silver plated hot water jug that would have graced the tea table of the 1906 lady of the house. It's pleasing in so many ways: its history, its design and its shininess!!

Unfortunately I hadn't learnt the art of not getting in the reflection and needed to faithfully reproduce what I had captured. The pink highlights on the neck of the jug were fantastic but would have been meaningless if I had tried to remove myself from the reflection. Not a painting a day as these take too long, but still a good discipline to paint every day.

Studio nearly finished and I can't wait.

Still Life - Water Jug

Still Life - Water Jug

Still Life - Water Jug

Still Life - Water Jug

Still Life - Water Jug

Still Life - Water Jug

Coffee Pot

I am still trying to do a painting a day, I went back to a larger size, 10" x 12", and my usual realistic style. There's something about the design of this coffee pot that is very appealing: the lines and waistline perhaps. I think we had one when I was a child, or I came across them in Austria on family holidays, so there's a memory link there too. Either way, it was lovely to paint and the drama of the dark background was chosen to set off the colours in the metal. The egg gives a contrast - rounded against angular, warm against cold, nature versus manmade. A colour contrast too. The fact that my husband thought it was a peach speaks of his poor eyesight rather than my poor rendering of the egg I hope!! Work in progress photos shown as usual.

Coffee Pot

Coffee Pot

Coffee Pot

Coffee Pot

Spoon - less quick study

Here is the next version - a little larger 11" x 5". Not sure that I've gained anything really! Maybe I need to go enormous for it to make a real difference.

Spoon - quick study

I have been looking at other artists' daily paintings and wondering how on earth they get a whole painting done in just one day!! Of course style of painting makes a huge difference to speed and so I needed to loosen up a bit. This is also a very small painting 9" x 4", which meant that it only took about one and a half hours. It was an interesting exercise which I will try again but next I want to paint this larger and in my usual style for a comparison.