"Red Begonia with  Lemon"  8 x 8, oil

SOLD
(This piece is in a private collection in Tampa, Florida)

“Aspirin is so good for roses, brandy for sweet peas, and a
squeeze of lemon-juice for the fleshy flowers, like begonias.” 

Gerald Durrell, My Family and Other Animals

I  have been looking for a while at David Leffel's paintings, and have also read his book " Oil Painting Secrets from a Master".

I wanted to apply some of his teachings in "Red Begonia with Lemon". Now, I'm not sure how much of his teachings I was able to apply in this painting, but I am sure that I was able to capture something of the lighting and atmosphere that Leffel emphasizes in his book. 

Glass Bowl with Tangerine, 6 x 6, oil

SOLD
(This piece is in a private collection in Pearland, Texas)

"There is no blue without yellow and without orange."

Vincent Van Gogh

My inspiration for "Glass Bowl with Tangerine" came from a modern-looking bowl I found, and I thought it deserved to be in a painting with a modern color scheme as well. 

The background became a beautiful purple-blue, complementing the vibrant orange of the tangerine in the foreground. Overall I am satisfied with both the brilliant colors and a contemporary look.

Red Flowers With Citrus, 5"x 7", oil

Used throughout a room, orange can become surprisingly neutral 

and yet it can be bright and mood-enhancing. (Jonathan Adler),

"Red Flowers with Citrus" was painted on a linen panel. Whenever I paint on linen, my paintings get a traditional look to them. The low lighting is reminiscent of a chiaroscuro painting. Also, the little  mandarins have an appealing warm glow. There is a mysterious atmosphere that surrounds this warm painting. I almost feel that there should be a candle somewhere in the background.

Crystal Light with Fruit, 8"x 8", oil

SOLD
(This piece is in a private collection in Grass Valley, California.)

“Imagine a Carthage sown with salt, and all the sowers gone, and the seeds
lain however long in the earth, till there rose finally in vegetable profusion
leaves and trees of rime and brine. What flowering would there be in such
a garden? Light would force each salt calyx to open in prisms, and to fruit
heavily with bright globes of water–-peaches and grapes are little more than
that, and where the world was salt there would be greater need of slaking. 

Marilynne Robinson, "Housekeeping"

 Before painting "Crystal Light with Fruit" I wanted to use a light that was coming from the back.of my still life .That kind of lighting made a dramatic change in the way the objects were hit by the light or reflected it. I thought that the original pattern it created on the horizontal  plane was interesting and challenging and worth the effort to paint.

Apple in Kaleidoscope Light, 5"x 7", oil

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t 

say any other way – things I had no words for.” 

Georgia O’Keeffe

When I set up this still life I wanted to create a simple composition--an apple on a cobalt plate with a teaspoon next to it. The light was extremely bright that day, resulting in a background that became a kaleidoscope of lights reflecting the varied colors of the objects. I was tempted to make an abstract painting, but resisted the temptation and put as much effort into creating the brightest and most colorful image I could paint.

In the Afternoon Light, 6" x 8", oil

Sold

(This piece is in a private collection in Burien, Washington)

“How swiftly the strained honey

of afternoon light

flows into darkness

and the closed bud shrugs off

its special mystery

in order to break into blossom:

as if what exists, exists

so that it can be lostI 

and become precious”

― Lisel Mueller

With "In the Afternoon Light" I wanted to capture the glorious light that comes through the North window and onto my still life's objects. The glass takes on a life of its own and looks like it is filled with pieces of precious stones. (I have always been fascinated by those drops of light that glow like diamonds.) The colors of the fruit receive a warm glow when the light spreads to them, enriching everything it touches and giving the painting an inner life.

Morning Light, 6"x 6", oil

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(This piece is in a private collection in Pearland, Texas)

"Colors change; in the morning light, red shines out bright and clear and the blues merge into their surroundings, melting into the greens; but by evening the reds loose their piquancy, embracing a quieter tone and shifting toward the blues in the rainbow.  Yellow flowers remain bright, and white ones become luminous, shining like ghostly figures against a darkening green background."

― Rosemary Verey, The Scented Garden, 1981

This painting was done mostly during the early hours of the morning. I liked the reflections of the light through the glass onto the table. The light doesn't reach far enough to bathe the apple as well and because of that it looks dark but rich in color. The painting was done in the alla prima technique.