Tres Peras

Happy Wednesday readers! Posting a small quick oil study of three pears on a wrinkled paper bag with some high key impasto colors. Speaking of small oil studies, wanted to remind everyone if you haven't already to be sure to check out the dazzling collection of 6x6 paintings in the Randy Higbee Gallery Spring 6x6 Show.

You can find over 100 paintings that are still available including my own little watermelon painting in Randy Higbee's Facebook Photo Gallery. You can also see the many great paintings that have SOLD (which is wonderfully encouraging). Plus, be sure to check out the award winners. If you enjoy intimate representational art, particularly landscape paintings, I promise you'll like this collection. I really feel the art bar has been raised on these little paintings. I can't wait to work on the next show.

Speaking of shows, if you are in the Denver area and enjoy contemporary art be sure to stop by William Havu Gallery in the Golden Triangle District. My new abstract teacher, Homare Ikeda, has a fantastic one man show called Time is Floating.

Editorial correction: A blog follower and fellow bird aficionado (let's call him "Dad") reminded me the correct term is  "Canada Goose" not "Canadian Goose" as I recently posted. (And yet it's Canadian Bacon not Canada Bacon?) Anyway, here's a link that goes into more detail about the "Branta Canadensis" and it's proper nomenclature should you want to further explore the controversy. In the meantime, back to the easel--Happy painting and see you in the studio!

Three Pair

Happy Tuesday everyone! In preparation for some upcoming fall shows, I'm working on some small oil paintings this week such as this 8x10 colorful study of pears. I really wanted do paint something with a bold light and shadow separation. In my kitchen I have a large wooden bowl on my counter under one of my windows and the light patterns are always interesting. Here, you can see some of the window pane shadow falling on the pears. I was particularly drawn to the unexpected silver of turquoise reflected light behind the pear on the right. 

The title of this piece is a nod to one of my greatest passions outside the art world: Poker. This time every year, I watch every hand of the WSOP Main Event coverage each Tuesday night on ESPN. I'm not sure if it's my Scandinavian heritage or growing up in the snowbound Midwest (euchre anyone??), but I've always loved playing cards. If I had unlimited funds my days would probably become an amalgam of poker and paint (which for those of you who know poker lingo is also a good thing). In the meantime though better get back to reality and the studio.

I hope to have some info soon on shows, demos, and other events so stayed tuned. Thanks for stopping by--I'm off to the tables.      

Deja Vu Pear

Yesterday, I thought it would be interesting to paint a "colored" object (in this case a yellow green Bartlett pear) inside a semi-opaque white object (here a bag) where I could study the addtiional effects of reflected light on the white object and vice versa.

Like many artists, as a young art student I would often paint fruit as a still life so when I paint a pear like this I tend to have a strange, but comforting sense of deja vu as I paint. There's also something interesting about painting something edible.

For more information about my painting classes (oil, acrylic, or watercolor) please email me at ScarletOwl@hotmail.com. Have a great week!

"Deja Vu Pear" 8 x 10 oil on canvas panel, please write for purchase information.