"Sunshine on a Winter's Day", 8" x 10", Oil on Canvas PanelClick here to bid.

Click here to see how this painting was done!

It snowed last night! Not a lot but even a couple of inches can keep me stuck as my care doesn't have snow tires. Dumb, you say? Well, maybe, but it hardly snows here at all so it doesn't seem worth it to put out those dollars for one or two days per year. Anyway, I retreated to my studio and brought a little sunshine into it. Honestly, it's amazing how many different kinds of flowers are available in the supermarket these days! My husband got these at Costco, of all places.

I've just started a new blog, called "Susan's Musings and Painting Tips". As one of my first posts, I've put a step-by-step, photo by photo, of each stage of this painting. Thought it might be fun to share my technique a bit. Look for more of these kinds of posts in the future.

Floral Oil Painting of Hyacinth in Cut Glass Vase, 11" x 14" on Canvas Panel

"Hyacinth"Click here to bid.




I love painting these guys. No matter how you display them, they're always lovely. I plunked a bunch into a cut glass vase for this painting. There's tons of thick paint on these. It's so thick, as a matter of fact, the paint actually helps to create shadows on the canvas. Take a look at the detail.

Original Floral of Pink Peonies, Grapes and Silver Vase, 9" x 12" on Canvas Panel

"Peonies and Grapes"
SOLD

Just had time for this piece today. I was in the mood for Peonies and thought combining them with the silver vase would be interesting. I used to paint a lot of highly reflective objects and transaparent glass in pastels. I was using a very realistic technique. But over the past year or so, my technique - especially in oils, has changed. I rather like the way this came out but think I've a ways to go yet before I obtain the look I am striving for. What do you think?

Original Oil Painting of Asian Statue and Fruit, 12" x 12" on Canvas Panel

"Offerings II"
SOLD

I have a friend who owns lovely Asian things. She lent me this statue. I really enjoyed painting this piece and it shows. I put lovely thick paint on the statue in order to "sculpt" it. Take a look at the detail piece below. I especially like the way the objects reflect on the glass topped table. Enjoy.

Floral Oil Painting of a Persian Vase and Magnolias, 11" x 14" on Canvas Panel

"Magnolias and Persian Vase"
SOLD

A friend lent me this Persian vase. It really deserves more time than an Ala Prima Painting can give it, but here it is anyway. Still a pretty thing. The Magnolias seemed to fit right in. I put a floral tapestry under it and hung some behind also. I like the way the painting holds together. Hope you do too.

Floral Oil Painting of White Roses and Tangerines, 9" x 12" on Canvas Panel

"Roses and Clemintines"SOLD

Tangerines are one of the nicer things about Winter. I love their rich color and the way they glow in the light. I decided to place them with some roses to bring a hint of promise to the studio today. I haven't painted ala prima in a while so this was a bit of a challenge and warm up for me. The vase is a loaner from a friend. Enjoy.

Oil Figure of a Nude, 9" x 12" on Canvas Panel

"Black Lace"
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I have been painting a lot of figures lately. In part, this is because I participate in a figure drawing group every week. But mostly it's an outgrowth of my interest in portraits. This model is one of my favorites and most of you will recognize her. She has such a lovely back, that I had her turned away from me for this pose. I love the way the light plays on her. This is just a small study for a larger piece I plan to do. Thanks for looking.

Pastel Landscape of Old Barn in Early Morning, Image size: 16.5" x 12"; 27" x 23.5" Framed $350

"Morning on Old Olympic Hwy"
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Early every morning (almost), I drag myself from my warm bed and go walking with a friend. Sometimes I remember to bring my camera. This one particular morning this fall, the fog was just lifting off of a field behind an old barn. The sun was low and was spreading out over the field lighting up the fog. The light effects were spectacular! Oh crap. I forgot my camera. Soooo..this piece is from memory. I think I pretty much got it the way I remember though. I stood staring at that scene trying to commit it to memory as much as possible. I gave two sizes here. The bigger size is of the painting framed. The price includes the frame. If you're interested, just click on the e-mail link above. Shipping is extra. I'm happy to e-mail a picture of the piece framed as well. Thanks for looking. Have a GREAT New Year!

Still Life Oil of Ginger Jar and fruit, 34" x 38"

"The Ginger Jar"
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Although I've taken a break from daily painting in the last two weeks, I've still been busy at the easel. Here's a piece I just finished for an upcoming competition. As you can see, it's polished but lacks a lot of the spontaneity of daily pieces. I'm working on retaining the freshness of brush stroke in my larger pieces but have a ways to go. It's very easy to get too involved in detail on these larger pieces. I am happy, however, with the light here and with the color and values. My edge control was good and I like the composition.

"Home sweet home"

"My Studio"

OK. So it's not a painting. Dailypainters.com asked all its participating artists to post photos or paintings of their studios today. As I've been working on a large project for Oil Painters of America's annual juried competition, I was too engaged this morning to get into a painting of my studio. This afternoon was figure drawing, so a photo it was. Besides, I'd rather paint in it than use it as a subject. My studio is rather long and narrow - about 30 feet by 17 feet. I didn't bother turning around here, there's not much to see behind me except for some flat files and a large cabinet. I actually manage to squeeze five students in here on Wednesday mornings. It's tight, but we're a cozy bunch anyway. Hope you liked the brief tour. Thanks for stopping by.

I'm taking a brief break - actually started a few days ago, to finish my project and won't likely post again until after Christmas. Have a wonderful holiday! Susan

Floral Oil Painting of Magnolias and Fruit, 24" x 36"

"Evening Shadows"
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I had a sick day today so I decided to post one of my more finished pieces. This definitely is not a "daily painting" having taken several sittings to complete. The work is done on panel and represents some of my better work. I've had some difficulty in getting a good picture of it but this seems to be a fairly good representation. The whole painting is a bit brighter but if I brighten it on photoshop, the flowers just get too bright. Haven't figured out how to compensate there. There's more subtlety in the flowers than is shown here. Hope you enjoy it. Click above if you want to inquire about purchase.

Floral Oil Painting of Tiger Lily and Copper Kettle, 9" x 12" on board

"Tiger Lily Tea"
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There's nothing like hot tea on a cold day. I threw the Tiger Lily and fruit in for color. I've been having to paint a lot under warm light because I've been getting started later in the studio. Daylight fades about 3:30 here so it doesn't leave me much time for painting if I get started after 2:00 PM. I rather miss the cool light and will try to make a concerted effort to get into the studio earlier. My eyes have been acting up a bit. The cool light will certainly be more comfortable to paint in.

Oil Painting of Yellow Tiger Lilies, 11" x 14" on board

"Tiger Lilies"
SOLD.

It's been so rainy and gloomy here in Washington, that I thought I'd bring some sunshine into my studio. So Tiger Lilies were the pick of the day. These were fun flowers to paint. I used warm incandescent light for this set up as I started late in the day and there wasn't enough natural light in my studio. I love the way the light plays on the lilies and shines through. See the detail below.

Original Oil Painting of Poppies and Glass Vase, 28" x 38"

"Poppies Aglow"
SOLD

Poppies are such warm delicate flowers for such a hardy breed. I love the way they take on a glow in the light. This one has some nice thick paint in the blooms and leaves. See the detail below. It's also pretty contemporary for me. Has a nice kind of abstract feel to it. I was in an expansive mood today so I pulled out a really huge canvas and got to work. Boy am I pooped.

Oil figure of a woman sitting on a bed in the morning light, 11" x 14 on hard board

"In the morning light"
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Angela steals the show and the light in the morning. I was striving here to capture her mood and enhance it with the light. I'm happy with the skin tones which are warm and the over all feel of the composition.

Oil Floral of Lilies and Cut Tangerine, 9" x 12" on panel

"Lilies and Cut Tangerine"
SOLD

This painting is done on 1/4" thick 9" x 12" hard panel and finished with a light varnish. The Lilies are painted thickly in the lights with generous paint. I especially like the composition here which has good strong negative shapes. I'm quite satisfied with the way that the flowers fade into the shadows.

White always presents a challenge for artists. This is true especially of flowers which have many nuances in them. In chiaroscuro painting, the emphasis is on tonal quality and not so much on color. However, the trick is to discover the color in terms of temperature change and emphasize it just enough to bring life to the shadows and make the whites stand out against each other without falling into mud.

Oil Floral of Roses in a Copper Vase, 12" x 16"

"The Copper Vase"
SOLD

It's been awhile since I painted in cool light. I generally use a warm incadescent light that I can dim or brighten according to the needs of the painting. But cool natural north light is always preferable. My studio sometimes makes this difficult. But today I moved things around a bit and this painting of roses in cool light emerged. I love roses, as do most people, but always find them a challenge to paint. Think I did OK here. I especially like the way the warm copper vase sets off the warm tones in the roses.

"The Copper Vase" is painted on 16" x 20" unstretched canvas. It has a lovely 2" unpainted border around it giving it a number of framing options. See the image below. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me.

Oil Figure of a reclining woman, 11" x 15"

"Angela Sleeping II"
SOLD


This afternoon, the sun was actually shining for awhile into my studio and I couldn't bring myself to shut down the lights, huddle in the dark and paint a still life. So I dug into my model collection and decided to do a sister piece to the last "Angela Sleeping."

I've been having a lot of fun with these pieces. I especially like the white border around the painting. It intrigues me with some design possibilities. While I certainly won't be doing all my pieces like this, I intend to explore it here and there with other ideas.

"Angela Sleeping II", like it's sister piece, is painted on 16" x 20" unstretched canvas. It has a two and a half inch border around it which sets it off in a lovely way. See below. It has a variety of options for framing. It can be stretched onto stretcher bars, backed on board, or matted decoratively under glass.

Oil Floral of Hayacinth and Cut Apples, 14" x 18"

"Hyacinth and Cut Apples"
SOLD

This pitcher and bowl have been hanging around my dining room for many years and I only now decided to paint them. I was aiming for a soft glowing look here and trying to pick up the color I saw reflected in the shadows. I'm quite happy with the outcome.

Postscript: About one hour before I posted this, my devil of cat, Nalie, jumped onto the still life set-up and knocked the entire thing to the floor. Sigh. Glad I painted it. At least I managed to salvage the pitcher.

Oil Floral of Pink Orchids, 12" x 20"

"Orchid Glow"
SOLD

Orchids, despite popular belief, are quite hardy. It goes without saying that they are beautiful as well. I like painting in unusual sizes. These orchids seemed to fill the space nicely. This sort of composition always intrigues me. I like designs where the object or subjects flows off the table. I may try this again from an even more severe perspective. I somehow picture a piece like this in a niche or on a narrow wall.