Fresh Start

Winter light. Not too bright. White on white on white. That's how the year begins.

For Santa

The shiny red cap and the light bouncing off the milk in this one make me very happy. I hope this will make Santa happy too. Merry Christmas, everyone and to all a good night!

Frosty Musical Figurine

This one is a sentimental favorite from my 1950's/1960's (and beyond!) childhood. What can I say? It's been a long childhood. I find that I long for the Christmases of that era in recent years. Bing Crosby on the hifi, ice tinkling in a glass, glamorous flocking and icicles on the tree...is it inevitable nostalgia? the influence of Mad Men? This guy still plays!

Ribbon Candy

We all have our family holiday traditions. My mom, Mavis, made fudge, Aunt Leta put together a really nice relish tray. They all made Divinity. My Aunt Yvonne, the youngest of the three sisters, always had ribbon candy beside a village scene set up in white angel hair on a mantle. My cousin Jill, the youngest of Yvonne's three daughters, sent me a piece this Christmas. I tried to capture the magical glow I felt when I spotted that candy dish perched way up high and knew there was a piece in there for me. Thanks Jill.
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California Dreaming

Winter's short days and low light have me following beams of sunlight coming through the house like a cat. Find the brightness and heat where you can.

Pomegranate, Late Afternoon

Another pomegranate pointing its little crown into the fading sun. So brave.

Sicilian Balcony

I'm back! Wonderful journey in so many ways. I've got lots of memories and photographs to paint from. This is one of many balconies that gave me a glimpse into the lives inside. Apparently I'm one of those rare people who look up. In New York the locals express er, frustration with tourists blocking sidewalks to look up and around. But I highly recommend it. Some of the best bits of architecture, for one thing, are at the top. All you have to do is step aside.

Portrait of a Pomegranate

The pomegranate holds much mythology and symbolism, history (and seeds) that I thought it deserved its own portrait. It sat very still, keeping everything inside. It is an icon - fruit royalty with its little golden crown.

Cross the Divide

Bins and bins of fresh apples at the outdoor produce market here in New Rochelle. That red one in the corner wants to join the party.

Pear Yin Yang

It all comes down to balance and flow.

30 in 30 Days

This is not only satisfying to see in one frame but it truly added to my level of discipline, time management and confidence in choosing subject, colors, composition then getting on with it and leaving those brushstrokes to speak for themselves!

Pears Coming and Going

Day 30 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge. This has kept me busy and I feel like I don't know whether I'm coming or going at times. I am glad that this painting, because of its colors and composition, can make anyone feel quite serene.

Encouragement

At the time that I received this fortune in my cookie, I didn't know what it meant but it did seem prophetic so I took a photograph of it. This was a few years back but now I know what it was for. I believe I am.

Mai Fun

Wouldn't it be great if we could get art supplies delivered to our door late at night?

Tomato Tomahto

More red, round things...tomatoes! But what I really like about this, besides the intense shiny redness, is the cast shadow. These guys are playing Shadow Puppets and making a perfect pair of cherries! Homestretch of 30 in 30.

Jack of Another Kind

Why are these two items together? Third in the ball 'n' jacks series. A little touch of levity for the otherwise sad image of an empty bottle. I like the way the red ball evokes a clown's nose. And the bottle was too pretty to just recycle straightaway.

Ball and Jacks

Let's play this again, in another variation, this time in yellow.

Like a Red Rubber Ball

The composition was decided by the necessity to use a jack to keep that ball from rolling right out of the picture. But when I saw it finished, with the bright colors, sparkling jacks and the red ball high and centered, the song popped into my head and is still there. The sun is shining like a red rubber ball...

Garlic Bulb

Today's theme turns out to be Italian. The Pope arrived at the White House showing the style and good taste to arrive in a Fiat. Fortunately, it wasn't in a 2 door like mine or he'd still be stuck getting out of that backseat. I went over to my neighbor's house to discuss what to see in my first trip to her homeland next month and in particular, what to do while in Rome. And all this was after painting this solitary bulb of garlic just sitting in a pool of morning light on my countertop. Bene.

Onion Bulbs

At my produce stand, these have been called Texas Onions or Spring Onions. I think it was spring onions even though this is the first official day of Fall. Whatever. I love the light and the glow as I veer toward impressionism. Also, they were great on the grill tonight.

Aging Hydrangea

Plucked from my backyard bushes and sitting on my mantle, it kept catching my eye while I was reading or pretending to watch tv. I wanted to capture that underlit glow. The blue hydrangeas are beautiful but as they fade and dry there's a certain understatement and complexity that develops as they age. Like us.

Sharing a Mattress (Prickly Pears)

I shop at a local outdoor market and it has fruits from all over, some I have not tried before. When I shop, it is for sustenance but with an eye for potential painting subjects. The exterior of the cactus fruit intrigued me and I was thrilled by the intensity of color inside. Not so much by the very fine hairlike thorns that pierce my hands and I cannot even see. Suffering for art? Check. SOLD

Dapper Dog

This is Black Jax. He's easy to look at but hard to photograph. 1. Because he's a little camera shy and 2. He hides in plain view on our black couch much of the time. We often ask, "Where's Jax?" and then he grins and we can see him. He allowed us to put this bow on him last Easter. He doesn't mind accessorizing on special occasions.

Take This Ring

No, really! Take it. It's a companion piece to the Shake and Roll painting from the other day. They'd go great together. Fun and colorful and there's chrome!

M is For Us All

I'm in love with light and white so I really worked to get this right. I hope the labor doesn't show and looks effortless. That's a beauty tip, right? Trivia: the title comes from the fact that, in my little family, our first names all start with M. Even my parents names. There are a lot of things around the house with M on them.

Shake and Roll

Happy colors AND chrome. Rolls of washi tape too. This was fun and I may do another composition of these items tomorrow in different colors, should the mood strike.

Happiness Beckons

In our household, the daughters and I refer to these as "the happy colors". They are employed for birthday celebrations, Easter, the Spring Equinox, wherever we can get away with it. And it occurred to me as I was painting, that the pink ribbon is reaching out to us, the viewers with a coy beckoning gesture. A party? Sure, we'll be there with bows on!

Clean Dispenser

I love white and all the colors held within it. Painting them is an enjoyable challenge. This minimalistic dispenser contains liquid lavender soap. Lavender is for relaxation, according to aromatherapy. It usually sits on the side of my white tub in my white bathroom. A cube of clean and relaxation waiting to be released.

Iced Tea with Lemon

Pull up a chair and have a drink. It's been hot hot hot outside. I love the enticing way the light is shining through the lemon slice as well as the chunks of ice. Nice.

Upper East Side Balcony

This is about 70th and Lex, on the upper east side of Manhattan. I still feel like a tourist when I wander, looking up and marveling at the architecture and trying on other people's lives in my imagination. This one is part of the Balcony Challenge on www.dailypaintworks.com, where works hang in my virtual gallery and can be purchased in real life.

Cut The Cake

Same cake, another angle. "Chrissy...bring me the big knife!" From my favorite movie about love, New York, and all things Italian. Can you name it? Here's another quote: "Why you make me wait??"

Anniversary Cake

This cake was recently shared with us to celebrate our daughter and son-in-law's first wedding anniversary. The bakery makes the new couple a fresh new 3-layer cake! So much better than the freezer burned layer we saved years ago. Still, both make for sweet memories. And the paint went on like spreading frosting! Day 7.

Nectarine In Dappled Light

This is another in the stone fruit series. It's a little different in that it's painted upon a textured gesso ground. Double the brushstrokes, double the fun! And it's a white nectarine, like that matters. That little bit of glare? It's painted in! Not a faulty photo. I like that the dappled light appears as encroaching polka dots. Day 5 of 30.

My Best Shot

Tequila and limes. Limes and tequila. A good couple when you add a little salt. It's all about complement and contrast. Don't you just want to bite that lime?

You Complete Me

Really getting into painting the produce; colors as juicy as the fruit itself. 1.Set up still life  2.Paint still life  3.Consume still life. Repeat.
This is Day 3 for #30paintingsin30days challenge. SOLD

Jailbreak

The sardines have swum!

Summer's End

Last of the crop of ripe stone fruit caught in a beam of light, casting a long afternoon shadow. The lighting's dramatic, the brushstrokes are loose and the peach is fuzzy. I'm a little wistful about summer winding down but happy with the painting.

Half a Peach

The flavor was just as intense as the colors! I can vouch for that.

Morning Melon

The light is cresting over the top of this ripe cantaloupe and reflecting off juicy rivers in the valley below. Feeling poetic, I guess.

Snubnosed Lemon with Smile

I'm partial to the imperfect - the elongated egg, the lumpy lemon, the crooked smile. And I had fun finding every different yellow and pushing them around in this little lemon study.

Periwinkle Pug

Petunia Pug in a pensive mood. I love the colors here and the way her eye is questioning and expressive, as pugs eyes often are. Oh, the drama and the chiaroscuro.

Ogunquit Dusk 2

Painted from a photograph taken at just a slightly different moment than the previous photo was painted from. Painted faster and with more spontaneity than the first. Which do you prefer?

Ogunquit Dusk

 Painted from a photo taken on the fly right before I found some of the best ice cream I've ever had. And that's saying a lot. Especially in Maine where, for some reason, ice cream is taken to a higher level.

Hey Nineteen

I rarely wear scent anymore but when I do, I wear Chanel 19. I was first presented with a spray atomizer by my girlfriends at a slumber party in high school. Maybe they chose it because my birth date is the 19th or because they too love the scent. I've restrained the palette and brushwork to evoke the sophistication I felt when I first put it on. Thank you, ladies!

Blowing Bubbles

There's a little bubble quivering on the wand just waiting for someone to come along and set it free. Summertime fun.

Greatest Fan

I really appreciate all my fans, especially in the summertime. This chrome beauty really moves the air around and I do love to paint shiny things. They really get me moving the brushes around. Stay cool.

S Is For Summer Radishes

I really enjoyed capturing the grace in this sinuous radish and letting its natural curves dictate the swoops of my brush. Like a dance, it was done before I knew it.

Boho Cherry Love

There's something so sweet about a pair of cherries that never have let go of one another. That -and of course the color- was the inspiration to set them on this napkin of Indian fabric. Anyone who has eaten at my house will surely recognize it. It was the first set of placemats and napkins I bought to set up house in the 70's. I painted them in a watercolor still life back then.

Full Bodied Rosie

Bodacious and ready for her close up. Somebody put her in a Dove commercial.

Outlawed Shaker of Salt

This is the shaker that shook the salt into the big brown grocery bags full of buttered popcorn my family would take to the drive-in. Good early memories. I can't believe I would play on the playground in pajamas though.