Takes Two to Mango

These two paintings continue my efforts on focusing on a small vibrant area of the canvas with color and letting the rest fall into the background. I am drawn to this limited color palatte but am feeling I should try and branch out a bit! Change is difficult!

Takes Two to Mango  8 x 8 Oil on Panel

Green and Yellow  8 x 8 Oil on Panel

Single Rose

This was a cropped image from one of the still lifes set up at my workshop in Texas.   I zoomed in on the photo and choose a small part to paint in 6" x 6".   This single rose makes me imagine how one feels after a wonderful evening out ... coming home with a single rose ... and sitting and remembering the night.   Sometimes the memories are better than reality!

6 x 6" oil on panel



Roses

 I attended a workshop given by Qiang Huang in New Braunfels, Texas about a week ago.   We had a wonderful group of painters, a fabulous host in Mary McIntosh and of course a great instructor with Qiang.   These are the three paintings I did while studying his methods of using dark grey backgrounds with a bright focal point in the foreground.  I will continue working in this style until I feel I have captured my intention!   Hope you enjoy.

Jar with Fruit

Pear

I am preparing for a workshop at the end of the month with Qiang Huang.   I am very excited to see how he approaches painting.   

I watched his video:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLZQf3P2rkg  then set up a similar still life and tried to follow his steps.   I am fairly happy with the results but plan to do several more for practice!

La Paloma Woodie

Every third Thursday in the summer in Encinitas it is "Car Night" where folks stroll up and down looking at vintage cars. I was lucky to spot this green woodie parked in front of the La Paloma theatre.

  6 x 6" Oil on Panel

Watermelon

At the new Whole Foods Market on Hwy 101 in Encinitas there was this very colorful bin of watermelons. With a little help from my painting friends …. a touch of light blue as the highlight on the melons made this painting.

6 x 6″ Oil on panel

Boogie Boarders

A couple of fellows carrying bright boards caught my eye on Moonlight beach. The problem is that there was not much sun out so my photo reference had few light variations. While I tried to brighten some areas to create highlights it is difficult to paint what you don't see!