"Anita"

This is a portrait of my youngest sister, Anita, who passed away last October. Painted with love for my mother, Alice Garrison, for her 80th birthday.

"Tango Shoes"

12" x 16" Oil on stretched canvas.

My daughter has discovered Argentine Tango, and she is quite good at it. These are her tango shoes.

"Baby Anna"

11"x 14" Oil on stretched canvas.

One of the most heartwarming occurrences in nature is that of a baby returning your smile. Well, as I worked on this smiling face, I found myself smiling back at her. I have received that sweet smile countless times from this precious child. My daughter, Anna Claire, now age 19.

"Roses & Silver"

14" x 11" oil on stretched canvas.
On October 11th, my husband and I sang at the wedding of our friends, Kiwanis and Tim. These flowers were part of an elegant centerpiece from our table at the reception. Congratulations, Kiwi and Tim!

" Drawings"

I have not painted in a week or so. I am singing in a wedding on Saturday, and I'm avoiding the medium fumes, which have a toxic effect on my voice. So, I thought I would post these drawings.

The child is my daughter, Anna, at the age of two. She was watching "Beauty and the Beast". That's the only way I could be sure she would be still long enough to capture her in a drawing. I guess it took about 90 minutes or so. When the movie was over, she picked up a pen and came right at me to "help". If you look closely, you will see the pen mark coming right out of her forehead. Hence, the darkened background. Anna is now seventeen. She has long, thick curly hair. I hope to capture my beautiful girl in an oil painting before she leaves for college next fall.

The other drawing is of me and my beloved cocker spaniel, Sadie. I did this drawing in 1986 from a photograph.

"Tomatoes On White"

Oil on 12" x 9" stretched canvas.
Again, these tomatoes were so beautiful and aromatic that it was extremely tempting to forego the painting and have a BLT. I started this painting on Tuesday, and tonight I finally finished it and ate the one on the far left. Delicious!

"Apples"

Oil on 9" x 7" canvas panel.

"Yellow Bell and Tomato"

Oil on 10" x 8 " stretched canvas.

"Tomatoes"

10" x 8" oil on stretched canvas.

These tomatoes had that unbelievable fresh aroma that you get when you pluck them right off the vine. I had to resist cutting them for my salad on Tuesday. What is really funny is that the artists I follow on dailypaintworks.com had a Tomato Tuesday. Most of the twelve artists painted tomatoes that day.

Don't you love it when you find fruit or vegetables that are so beautiful, with stems and vines, or leaves? Don't you hate it when the grocery bagger plops them in a bag and the stems break off! :)

"Paint and Pottery"

Oil on 9" x 7" canvas panel.

My sister, Lorie, has begun to follow her own bliss in the past several years. She made the blue bowl in this painting. After I signed the previous painting today ("Copper and Zinnias"), I felt compelled to paint the featured fruit (before it was too late), and I thought the blue bowl would be a refreshing relief from the warm colors in my previous paintings. I am pleased with the outcome. Thank you, Lorie.

"Copper and Zinnias"

Oil on 12" x 9"" stretched canvas.

I guess all still life painters become collectors. I was delighted to find this little copper watering can at Blue Moon Antiques in Pensacola. It is a smaller, slightly different version of the watering can featured in the first painting of my blog. I just love painting copper!

Wistful Pears

Oil on 9" x 12" stretched canvas

I think the pears look as if they are waiting for their turn on the lofty pedestal, and the grapes aren't budging!

"April 10th"

Oil on 8"x 10" stretched canvas.

As you can see, I haven't posted the finished "Pewter Tankard". I got sidetracked by life events and tried to paint when my heart was not in it and my mind was elsewhere, and it did not turn out as I would have liked. So I started a new painting.

Today is April 10th. Three years ago today, my father died after several years of extremely poor health. He suffered greatly for quite some time. I was with my mother during that last week of my father's life, taking her back and forth from her home to the nursing home, then back and forth between the hospital and a hotel room. The experience seemed eerily surreal as I cared for my mother, knowing my father was going to die very soon, and I don't know where the strength came from to put one foot in front of the other in those final days.

My parents lived very close to the Suwannee River, which was flooding that week. In addition to finalizing funeral arrangements, contacting family members, and all that is entailed in the death of a loved one, my mother packed up a few belongings and left her home to escape the flood waters. One day after my father's funeral, my mother left her home and all her friends to stay with me and my family until the water receded and it was safe to go back home. No time for closure.

Before leaving my father's grave-side, my mother took a single red Gerbera daisy from a beautiful spray that had adorned his casket. She placed that red daisy in a small bottle in her room next to cherished photos of my father. During the six-or-so weeks of my mother's stay, we worked on a flower bed in my back yard. We planted several red Gerbera daisies which have since popped up to greet me each spring.

Today when I realized what day it was, I knew what the subject of my next painting would be, and I knew I would finish it today. I was very sad when I began to paint, but I think my father would be pleased that I am painting. And my mother can keep these red daisies forever.

"Pewter Tankard"

Acrylic Underpainting.

"Easter Daisy"

Oil on stretched canvas. 6" x 8"

On Easter, the railing at Christ Church is completely adorned with beautiful spring flowers. After the last of three Easter morning services, the congregation is allowed to come forward and "pick" flowers to take home. This daisy is part of a lovely informal spring bouquet put together by my daughter, Anna. Dyed egg also prepared by Anna.

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"Red Grapes on Pewter Tray"

Oil on stretched canvas. 8" x 10"

Red grapes are a staple in my house . . . an expensive one these days! The pewter tray was a gift from my students and my good friend, Jackie, who was also my excellent teacher's aide for five years.

I was told that several people have tried unsuccessfully to post comments. I have corrected the problem, so post away!

"Copper Teapot"

Oil on stretched canvas. 12" x 16"

April 17, 2008
Something was bugging me about this painting. It looked flat. So I applied a glaze to the cloth in the background. What do you think?

"Copper Teapot"

Black and white acrylic underpainting. 12" x 16"

I have been "studying" with Helen Van Wyk's DVDs and books. I came across Helen on PBS in the late 80's and was immediately drawn to her style of teaching and method of painting. Now that I have the time to apply the principles of painting that she teaches so well, it is very rewarding to prove them to work. I would have loved to have her take a peek and tell me everything I need to correct! This is a little larger than my last two paintings, so I'm taking much more time. I hope to post the finished oil painting soon.

"Shiny Copper Cup"

Oil on stretched canvas. 8" x 10"

This cup is part of a set. I may do the teapot next. Can you identify the blossom?

"Copper and Pittosporum"

Oil on stretched canvas. 8" x 10"

The previous 16" x 20" painting took many hours to complete - obviously not done in a day.  This copper pot is still a little weathered, but has more shine than the watering can. The pittosporum had a couple of sprigs of almost white leaves, which I thought would add interest and balance. The fallen white leaf was a happy accident. It fell exactly where I might have placed it. I'll figure out how to avoid the glare when taking photographs.