Female Nude

"What Dreams May Come"
Oil on Linen Panel, 8" x 6"

The figure is my favorite subject. I never tire of painting the nudes or even costumed models. Once a week I sponsor a figure drawing group at my studio and together we pay for 2 1/2 hours of a model's time. This model in particular is a dream to work with. I knocked out this little study the other day. She's for sale. To view the auction or bid, click here.

Painting of Asparagus

"The Great Escape"

Oil on Linen Board, 6" x 8"

Painting asparagus proved to be more of a challenge than I thought they would be. I wanted to get detailed enough to get the little devils to look like themselves, but not too detailed. As it was, a painting that I intended to spend only a couple of hours on, turned into a five day fiasco. Now, you ask, "what possibly could have taken her so long to do?" Well, actually, the painting time wasn't all that much. But because of numerous interruptions and emergencies, I ended up having to abandon the piece time after time while the asparagus continued to wither on the stand. One of the drawbacks of painting food from life is that you have to get the little devils done in a day. These actually started to grow and twist. One of them actually grew about eight inches long; right off the corner of the painting! One of the rubber bands broke (still don't know where it went) and they started turning a bit orangey brown. Definitely not the painting I had in mind. I think the title fits. Not only did one of the asparagus escape it's confines, I finally finished and escaped the studio and all the asparagus escaped getting eaten. 

Painting of Three Pears, 6" x 8"

"Conquering Hero", Oil on Linen, 6" x 8"

Pears always make a good painting. There's something about their shape and the variety of colors that they come in. I painted these cute little fruits in a more layered technique than usual, using glazes and a bit of scumbling. I generally paint small pieces as alla prima works, or works done in a single sitting for Daily Paintworks, but my sessions kept being interrupted by one thing or another and so it evolved into a longer painting with more passes. The title came to me in a heartbeat when I put them on the cloth, turned around for a second and then turned back to arrange them and they had arranged themselves. Cute huh?