Bananas and Strawberry - A Daily Painting

"Bananas and Strawberry"
8" x 10" Oil on Canvas Panel
$65 USD (Unframed)
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Okay, I wasn't very original with the title of this one, I agree. But when you consider all of the cliches that went through my head (that I rejected!!!), then you may appreciate the lack of a cutesy title...(Going Bananas, Just Bananas, Bananas and Friend...).

At any rate, I hope that you enjoy this 8" x 10" oil painting, inspired by the almost flawless banana bunch that I discovered at a local grocery. And yes, the strawberry looks a little large, but believe it or not, it is true to life. It must be a good month for mammoth-sized strawberries.

I wanted to let everyone know that I was recently juried into an online art gallery, known as Contemporary Fine Arts International. I am displaying landscapes and still life paintings on my CFAI web pages, and I hope to do some networking with a lot of other artists who share the same interests. I believe that the experience will enhance my own art, and hopefully I can inspire others in some way.

"He's Not One of Us" by Sandy Bradford

I bought these apples because of the color striations running throughout. I decided that they would make interesting subjects. I added the green lime for contrast. Viola!!! The name came to me during the setup, when I decided to separate the apples from the lime. I imagined the apples discussing between themselves that the lime was "not one of them".

This oil painting was completed on an 8" x 10" canvas panel. I decided to blend more than unusual, which limited most of the visible brushwork.

Thanks for looking at my paintings. Please visit often!

Reflections of a Sliced Lemon

"Reflections of a Sliced Lemon"

6" x 6" Oil Painting on Stretched Canvas

$75 USD, plus Shipping

Blue and yellow are an exciting color combination. I think they also work well with orange.

These thoughts went through my mind as I assembled this still life, calling once again upon the help of my brightly colored lemon, along with an orange napkin.

I enjoyed creating this small oil painting, and the smell of the sliced lemon was such a pleasant bonus during the process!

Thank you once again for viewing my artwork. Comments and suggestions are both welcome.

This painting is unframed, however, framing is available. Please contact me with inquiries.

I'm Not Speaking to You Anymore

These small oil paintings are getting to be such fun! I really look forward to working on them each day.



"I'm Not Speaking to You Anymore"

6" x 6" Oil Painting
Stretched Canvas, 1 1/2 Inch Stretcher Bars
$75 USD, plus Shipping

I thought I would give the lime and lemon one more spot in the "limelight" by painting them atop a green linen napkin. I was moving them around, debating on an interesting setup when I turned them away from one other, and thought that they looked as though they had deliberately turned their backs. This then led to the title "I'm Not Speaking to You Anymore".

This still life is available for purchase either framed or unframed.

White Puppy

I found a photo of a puppy running fast, with his treasure - a rubber ball - clamped tightly in his teeth. It was so cute that I knew I wanted to paint it some day.

I approached this painting with a larger paintbrush than I usually use, and tried not to move the paint around too much, so that I would retain a "fresh look", much like the puppy itself.

It is a bright oil painting, more whimsical than realistic or impressionist. I enjoyed the process. It was a nice change from my usual style and subject matter.

What Do We Tell the Children?

I decided that I would approach this still life with looser brush strokes than I have used of late. As I was setting up the fruit, it occurred to me that they looked a little like a "family"...the Mama Lemon, the Papa Apple and the 2 Grape children. (Oh my, what would Freud think???)

Anyway, I imagined the 2 "adults" speaking quietly to one another, so as not to alert the "children" of some deep, dark secret.

This oil painting is 7" x 9" and is available for purchase.

"What Do We Tell the Children?"

7" x 9" Oil on Canvas Panel

$50 USD

Red, Green and Lime

More still life painting was the order of the day this weekend. I finished this 7" x 9" oil painting on Saturday. I am entitling it "Red, Green and Lime" in honor of my delicious fruit subjects, who have served me so well over the last several paintings.

Also, I worked on my art photography to try and improve the quality of the digital photos that I am posting, to reflect truer color, without glare. The overcast sky on Sunday was helpful, and I decided to re-photograph several paintings.

My next painting will be a looser, more "painterly" painting. Stay tuned.

Grapes, Pear, and Lemon - A Daily Painting

Today seemed like the perfect day to try a larger, "fruitier" painting!

I combined my lemon, pear, and a few of those delicious green seedless grapes, while still trying to stay with a limited palette. With primarily yellows and browns, I completed this oil painting relatively quickly. Perhaps it went so smoothly because of the sketch and underpainting that I did in burnt umber prior to laying my colors down.

I think these colors work okay together in this 8" x 10" oil painting, but I am still not happy with my art photography. However, if "practice makes perfect", then I am on the right road, because I will continue to try different methods until I find a way that accurately depicts the colors and textures with little to no glare off of the canvas.

Thanks for looking.

Green Grapes Re-Worked

"Green Grapes"
6" x 6"
Stretched Canvas
$50 USD
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Today I re-worked the "Green Grapes" oil painting to enhance the focus on the true subject matter. I believe that enriching the colors and tones throughout the painting, and creating the light and dark contrast of the grapes against the dark background significantly enhance the drama of this painting.

I would also like to mention that this is one of the smallest paintings that I have ever worked to completion. At 6" x 6", this painting allows for a fun alla prima "daily" painting.

I will try another challenge tomorrow.

The Green Grape Challenge

I used similar tones throughout this painting, as I experimented with this small oil painting, and the light effects.

I set up the grapes in my light box, and started by sketching the grapes on a small stretched 6" x 6" canvas, using brown oil paint. Initially, I wanted to set the grapes on a white plate in the picture, but decided against it, as I wanted to concentrate a singular focus on the grapes.

The final result was a little surprising to me. Although I utilized different colors for the foreground, subject, and background, you can easily see how there is little "drama" in this painting, because of the similarity of the tones. I will re-work this painting for dramatic effect, to enhance the focus on the grapes, which are obviously the intended subject.

I think that this painting actually looks a lot like a watercolor rather than oil painting. I will address this also, in the re-work.

Red Grapes - A Daily Painting

Grapes pose a challenge to paint even though they are quite small. Light hits them in an interesting way, making them appear translucent.

These red seedless grapes (delicious, by the way)were actually several different colors, including lavender and purple, as well as a deep red.

I decided to paint them in a "painterly" fashion, showing some brushstrokes, and taking an impressionistic approach.I have to say that they were actually more of a challenge than I expected.

I have some more grapes in the fridge...green ones, I think...so I may try to conquer those (with a paint brush) for a new grape challenge.

Thanks for looking in!

Colorful Vista

Yesterday's small daily painting was not completed, so I decided to wait to post the final result. It began just fine, as an 8" x 8" oil painting of purplish red grapes in a small bowl. However, I was unable to complete all of the highlights without smearing or muddying the paint. So I wanted to let it dry a bit before completion, and I will save that post for later.

Today I thought I would share this large landscape canvas, which I have never posted before. I started this 3' x 6'(approximate) canvas on frame about 4 months ago. I wanted to mull it over a while because I am undecided whether or not it is finished. My intentions were to go back in and add highlights to the pathway, along with tall grasses, and small rocks. But I have had second thoughts about adding such fine details when the tree leaves are quite impressionistic rather than detailed. Any suggestions?

I plan to do some painting this weekend. Maybe I will finally finish this landscape, and stop brooding over it. Meanwhile, back to my still life!

Pear Pair

"Golden Pair"
8" x 8"
Oil on Canvas Panel
$100 USD
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This pear pair seemed almost monochromatic when I placed them in my lightbox and turned on my lamp. There were a few highlighted areas, though, and I decided to paint the reflections, too.

The goal here was to create interest with what has become a very common art subject, using some larger brushes, while keeping the realism intact.

These still lifes are becoming excellent learning opportunities for me, as I refine my talents in this medium. Also, they are valuable in playing around with tones and values. And with this smaller scale, I can complete a painting each day, and start fresh the next day with a completely fresh idea...which may be a totally different grocery item!!! (or not...)

Please join me again tomorrow with another daily oil painting.

Primary Cups: Detail View

I decided to go ahead and play with the cups again. I set up the red, blue, and yellow, and chose to use the reflecting base.

This is a small oil painting, 5" x 7", but what I am showing here in this post is a detail of the painting. (I didn't actually cut off all of the cup handles!)

I'm still debating whether or not I like this one. I think that the previous painting, with the yellow and blue cups, was actually more successful. I want to work on loosening up a bit, and showing more brushwork. I plan to do less blending with my next still life.