Singapore Heritage Shophouse No. 23 - DP No. 45

"Singapore Heritage Shophouse No. 23"
6x6 Oil on Panel
Click Here to Purchase

I've done a painting of part of this house before (No. 10), but it was cropped differently, and actually the top part of the house.  On this one I just loved the shadow that the sign created, and I really like the totally different colors together.

Pear Up #7

"Pear Up" 6x6 Original Oil Painting on Canvas click here to Purchase

You don't want to be the last one picked! Make sure you find a buddy - it reminds me of grade school field trips.

Lost my blog post again. Brilliant. I also lost my computer. Hard drive died, and I hadn't backed anything up in a year. So, I've learned my lesson - back your stuff up!

In other news, I spent a lot of today working through quick study exercises. I think it really helped me let go - I timed each of these little studies (they were only 4x4), used a big brush, and focused on staying loose. He are the results. Kind of crazy how differently each one looks!




- Posted from my iPad

Follow the Leader

These cherries just reminded me so much of the game we used to play as a child.  Then, when you are a teenager, you're warned against following the leader.  "Would you jump off a bridge too?"  I prefer to bask in the innocence of playtime for today.

Here Fishy Fishy!

All ready for you to take home and cook to your liking!

As I was walking around the grocery store yesterday, I realized how many things here are served with their eyes still looking at you.  In the US you don't usually see a whole fish, head and all, available for sale at the grocery store.  You might find the head still on at a fish market, but not the grocery store.  There it is usually nice neat rows of fillets.  This was a small look at the fish section of the grocery store across the street.  I have absolutely no idea what kind of fish these were, nor how to prepare them, but the colors these fish had, even on ice, were really just beautiful.

All Lined Up

Continuing on with the orange theme...

I started slicing these guys up, but the two ends turned out to be such interesting shapes.  Without even realizing it, the slices fell into a neat line on the plate and created these beautiful shadows.  I just loved the way the oranges looked against the blue sheet.  I am such a sucker for blue/orange color combination.  

Secrets, Secrets

"Secrets, Secrets" 5x7 Oil on Panel

I loved painting these three orange slices.  As I placed them on the the cutting board, they kind of spun around a little bit and it looked like the two on the left were in a conspiracy together against the orange slice on the right.  This small piece of art focused on broad brush strokes and bold color.  I really enjoyed using the yellow orange and the voilet together.  Lots of fun.

Jostling Line

"Jostling Line" 5x7 Oil on Panel

Last week I very much felt like I was bumping up against a glass ceiling.  Not so much in the feminism way, but in that I felt like I was overreaching the bounds of my ability.  I can see through the barrier into what I want to be doing, but I need another leap before I can get there.  My skills just aren't quite where I want them in order to tackle the next level.  Eh, so it goes.  I figure that I can either mope around, or push through and work through it until I find the next "ah ha!" moment where my understand enables me to tackle what I want.

My biggest frustration?  People.  I've been working on several pieces that just seem to fall apart.  Take for example, this one:

There are a lot of things that I really like about it.  I really like the composition.  I really like the body language.  I did okay making sure that the colors didn't go muddy, and I like the way that I resolved the background.  But the skin tones are awful.  Totally awful.

As a result, I'm going back to the basics.  I went to a figure drawing class yesterday, and this week I am concentrating on drawing from life.  Things like fruit help me stop for a moment and just practice mixing color.  I'm able to stop worrying about producing something grand and just practice.  Plus, I usually really enjoy the way they turn out.  So, for the rest of the week you'll see some basic still life setups and exercises I'm pulling from other places.  But don't worry, it will be fun!

Hellow Down There

I bought some Gerberas from the store yesterday.  They are just such happy flowers.  I set this guy up behind the oranges, but he seemed to want to join in on the fun.  Of the other four flowers I bought, I had four sitting in the kitchen most of the day.  But I guess since there isn't any air-con in there, by the end of the day, they were totally sad and forlorn.  As a last resort I added some water and put them on my dining room table, which sits right under an air-con unit.  Within a couple of hours, they had perked right back up again.  Amazing.

On a side note, we're leaving for Sibu this weekend with our friends from Tulane.  I'll be back and posting on Wednesday!