An apple a day

Maria Baluishttp://mariabaluis.blogspot.com/ mentioned two weeks ago on her blog that she was entering her toffee apple painting onto this website
http://web.mac.com/micheloosterhout/anappleaday/homepage.html

 Michel is collecting apple paintings or drawings,his goal is to collect 365. Anyone is welcome to join,so I now have this painting on the website.Its one I posted back in March, but consider it to be one of my best.

Pleasure of Giving

Is'nt it wonderful when you give a gift and  make someones day.

Nevertheless

In spite of this onion and chillies being past their best you can make something delicious.Separate the green shoots from the old part of the onion,wash and chop both the shoots and chillies.Add a little salt and a couple of eggs and beat lightly.Add a little olive oil to a frying pan and pour the egg mixture and cook like an omelette.Slice a ciabatta roll in half and toast and then fill with the indian style omelette.....enjoy.   :  )

Where's Lunch?

My entry for this weeks Dailypaintworks challenge is a ceramic trinket holder.Did I have a hard time with this!!! The idea is to use only black and white if painting with acrylics and have a dominant value,a secondary value and just a touch of the third.My dominant value is dark,mid value is secondary (I think?!)and a small amount of light.Maybe I need to practice this a few times.Certainly to create a three dimensional image this is crucial so its well worth doing.

Lily in Glass Jar

Before my lillies fade I wanted to paint them one more time.Its much harder painting close up and since I have'nt painted glass for a while it felt like I had forgotten how to.I suppose some days things are harder to achieve than others.

Peony in Blue Vase ( Donated to Community Needs)

The  ultimate lesson all of us have to learn is unconditional love,which includes not only others but ourselves as well.

Quote by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

Figs

This the last of the figs and very tasty they were too. : )) 
Going back to my earlier post about Jack Vettriano...he was given a set of paints when he was twenty one and spent the next eighteen years copying paintings of famous artists.So I have decided to follow his example and paint one or two famous paintings every week.I will post those as well as my usual daily paintings and see how this practice will influence my work.

Figs,6x6 acrylic on acrylic paper

For this week its Tamara in Green Bugatti (1925). acrylic on watercolour paper 12"x8"
Tamara de Lempicka was a Polish art deco painter.

Purple and Turquoise 2

There's a new shop in town filled with decoration pieces and really cute little things like this bird.

Get a Life

This is my entry for this weeks www.dailypaintworks.com challenge which has been set by Linda Popple.I love the challenge and although I don't paint people very often its been great.

I decided to create a different background to the one in the photo just to emphasise that there is a beautiful world out there and people are oblivious to it all and too much time is spent on these useful but time consuming  gadgets.

Mustard and Bells

Both bluebells and mustard are growing in our garden at the moment.We cook mustard leaves in a similar way to spinach and are absolutely delicious.

Spring Blossom 2

Its good to be able to rely on photos when inspiration seems far away.

"Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter.Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom,but we hope it,we know it." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Serenity

This goose looked so chilled out when I took this picture.Its like he had not a care in the world or who was watching.I wish I could be like that more. : ))

Freesias in Purple Vase

I did'nt think these freesias would last another day so I wanted to paint them one more time.

"Love is the only flower that grows and blossoms without the aid of the seasons."

Backgarden Sunset

Lately the sunsets have been spectacular and come evening time I have my camera ready.I used a combination of brushwork and palette knife and taking on board the lessons that Carol Marine has been giving through the dailypaintworks.Mainly not to overwork things which gives a more fresher look.

Daffs in Pasta Sauce Jar

Yes,this jar had pasta sauce in it and has been recycled  : )) I thought I was done with daffodils for this year but I'm very lucky to know a kind and generous florist, who gave me a huge bunch of these spring flowers.

Its such a beautiful day,19 degrees and winter seems far away.There are blossoms everywhere ,I really need to get out there and take some pictures.
I've picked up a palette knife for the first time and played around a little,its certainly a more random way of working  ,but fun.

"A bend in the road is not the end of the road" 2

I realised that I was'nt at all happy with yesterdays painting ,so I decided to leave that one alone and did another version.I certainly feel better about this attempt.

"A bend in the road is not the end of the road"

I tried to keep this as loose as possible and to make each brushstroke count.Parts of it I did achieve that ,but its so hard not to try to put in detail.Anyway I made myself stop.This is my second entry for this weeks http://www.dailypaintworks.com/  challenge.This was set by Carol and the brief was to paint from two photos and to edit details.

Clems in Blue Bowl

The weather was glorious today and too good to spend indoors ,but work not allowing, its been a long day.Still its a blessing to be able to find time to paint again.My friend Tracy found this beautiful glass bowl and I've been looking for the right composition to use with it.I think I found it.

Freedom's Road

This weeks challenge is a landscape from a photo of a road in Germany.Landscapes are not the norm for me but I certainly enjoyed having a go.

Poseur

Back in October I took some pictures at the park where we have a lake.There is quite a variety of birds and this particular goose actually did a little pose before moving on.I've tried to keep this quite loose and enjoyed myself in the process. : )