Oranges with Cobalt Vase

 

Oranges with Cobalt Vase, 2021, Oil on Panel, 18"x36"

The final stage for this work was to refine the oranges and make them appear to 'sit' on the cloth. The point of view and the light source created difficulty in achieving this.  I still think there is some push and pull going on that could confuse the viewer.  

Blue Bird with Paint Brush, Work in Progress

 

Oil on Panel, 8"x10"

I'm working on a few small pieces while finishing up Oranges with Cobalt Vase.  This is one that I will submit to a show in which I have been invited to participate.  The Marion Art Center participates in the town's Arts in the Parks event with a booth.  I have been asked to submit about 15 small pieces.  

My "In House Critic" and I built a blue bird box this spring and hung it on a tree facing the marsh.  To date there are no inhabitants, not even pesky sparrows.  Last year we did spot two bluebirds feeding on the suet and were hoping that meant a possible couple would come and stay. 

Oranges with Cobalt Vase, A Work in Progress

 

Oil on Panel, 18" x 36"

A little day by day progress.  Most of the recent work is on the cloth, trying to make it seem both soft and textural.  Hard to do for me.  The fold exiting from the bottom of the vase looks a bit too heavy and might leave the impressing that it falls off the edge of a table.  In fact this whole space is flat.  

Oranges with Cobalt Vase: Work in Progress

 

Oranges with Cobalt Vase

I've been working on this piece for about 3 weeks.  It is another large piece that will be offered to Rogers Gallery when time comes to switch out the Mink Cove Diptych.  This piece is 18" x 36".  And I intend to do a companion still life of the same dimensions.  Right now I'm considering using Honey Crisp apples because of their beautiful markings.  

Chickadees Speed Dating

 

Speed Dating Chickadees, 2021, Oil on Panel, 9"x12"

The chickadees have returned in full force.  I thought they would be perfect metaphors for the human practice of speed dating.  They flit around so quickly like the ADHD of bird world.  

On Seeing

 

Spring, Mink Cove Marsh, 2021, Oil on Panel Diptych, 36"x48"

I painted a single canvas of this view many years ago and decided to take a new go at the same view when my gallery (Rogers at the River Shops) requested some larger works for a specific display.  Under new ownership and associated more closely with the attached design studio, the gallery will set aside an area for my work and display it in a vignette that illustrates how the work would appear in a home.

Below is a section of a poem I came across by Fernando Pessoa.  

The essential thing is knowing how to see,

Knowing how to see without thinking,
Knowing how to see when you see,
And not thinking when you see
Nor seeing when you think.

But this (alas for those of us whose souls wear clothes!)
This requires long study,
An apprenticeship of unlearning.

Fernando Pessoa

Bandit Series: Red-winged Blackbird

 

Bandit Series: Red-winged Blackbird, Oil on Panel, 8"x8"