Watermelon and Iced Tea, 14x11, Collage on Canvas Panel Still Life

Buy Here

This collage is made entirely of paper torn from magazines and fixed to a canvas panel with liquid medium. It makes me think of a summertime barbecue. I must thank my friend Fay Picardi for finding all those beautiful pink pictures in a fashion magazine. They were perfect for my watermelon.

Carmen

White Pitcher, 11x14 Still Life Oil on Canvas Panel

Purchase

I'm trying to be more colorful with still life painting, especially when there is a subject with a lot of one color, as in this white pitcher. I had to depend on shadows and reflections for added interest.

Carmen

Peonies, 11x14 Still Life on Canvas

Purchase

Although I haven't been painting still lifes for a long time, I'm pretty happy with this one. Today Donna, Carol and I are going to do a lot of loosey-goosey quick still life paintings using the vast amount of information Elio Camacho tried to cram into our heads in five days.

Carmen

Still Life, Radish Bouquet, 8x6 Oil on Canvas Panel

Purchase

This would be such a nice picture in a kitchen. Radishes are such colorful vegetables, they beg to be painted. 

Carmen

Still Life with Pears, 8x6 Oil on Canvas Panel

Purchase

I've been in an Elio Camacho workshop with Carol and Donna all week, and the above painting is not one I did in the workshop. I'm not quite satisfied with those, but what a great learning experience it was! I can't wait to start painting today with my newfound knowledge. I do need Elio over my shoulder saying, "Do you really need that flea?" and "You're licking the paint." Artists will know what that means.

It didn't hurt that we were on beautiful Amelia Island and eating seafood every day. I think Carol and Donna set a record for most shrimp eaten in one week. The whole experience was fabulous and I can't wait till next time.

Carmen

Brass Bowl, 8x10 Oil on Canvas Panel, Still Life

Purchase

The only thing that would make this painting harder would be to add a lemon. You can see the influence of Qiang Huang in this one. If you like a challenge, try painting pewter, glass, brass and fruit in one painting, like this one.

The other day I painted one that was a "scraper." I don't often scrape a painting away, but the one yesterday deserved it. A large part of a still life painting is the actual setup, and I should have known the pot was too bright yellow and the spotlight too far away. The irises were beautiful, but they got scraped too. Darn yellow pot. Not every painting has a happy ending.

Carmen

Honeycrisp, 2x2 Original Oil on Canvas, Still Life Apple Painting

So I guess we'll be having Waldorf Salad this weekend. I have also discovered that a sandwich made of sliced apple, cream cheese and walnuts is quite good. The 905 Cafe in Melbourne, Florida has a delicious Walnut Brie Apple Melt, which gave me the idea.

I'm going to take a break from painting for a bit and start decluttering my house based on some of the principles in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. I'm starting with my art supplies. I must learn to be ruthless, and know that I don't need that many magazines for my collages, or those old worn brushes or those plastic containers or those paintings I should have scraped...I know you artists can relate. After all, when I need some odd thing I can't find it anyway among the other odd things. Ms Kondo says to only keep things that spark joy, and that's what I'm going for.

Carmen

Koru, 2x2 Original Oil on Canvas, Still Life Apple Painting

This is a Koru apple. I never heard of this one before, but it sounds Japanese to me.

I found a new artist I like, Richard Robinson from New Zealand. He generously offers free short videos with great tips on painting, and he does luscious landscapes of the beautiful place where he lives. Check him out.

Carmen