It's Fall!

I feel less humidity in the air and sometimes if I'm lucky, an afternoon breeze. I can actually go out to my patio and sit there without melting. Two weeks ago while I was grocery shopping, I saw pumpkin and sweet potato pie in the bakery section... Fall has arrived to Miami indeed! (Winterland inhabitants are probably thinking: "somebody shut her up!" hehehe)
My boss brought a couple of pumpkins to work to decorate and I kidnapped them for the weekend so I could paint them. The end result which you can see here, is now available on my Etsy store.

"Three Pumpkins"
4"x4"
Pastel on Paper

Apples and Honey

Just a quick study with pastel that I did to get some color in my life after all that charcoal/graphite activity...

"Apples and Honey"
9"x12"
Available for Sale Here

Going Back to the Comfort Zone...

I'm sure fellow painters can all relate to having some moments when you feel you have forgotten how to paint. One feels down and depressed and that usually causes you to avoid painting some more. What a vicious cycle!!! It is not very different from trying to lose weight and then giving in and eating whatever delicious treat comes your way (believe me, I know...) So! I have discovered that one of the best ways to get back into full gear is painting a subject that comes natural to you, that gives you back the confidence you need to get back on the saddle (I have not discovered the strategy for the losing weight part, if you do, let me know). For me, bromeliads are that subject.

I named this one thinking that it was almost obscene to pack sooo much delicious color into one painting. My original thought was in Spanish: "Descarada!" Oh well! It was just what the doctor ordered. Especially, after having a horrible cold for the past week...

"Daring Bromeliad"
16"x20"
Pastel on Board
Available for Sale Here

Hot! Hot! Hot!

After painting this same subject on pastels, I decided to give it a try in oils and on a big scale. I really enjoy painting this type of compositions. I have noticed it is "my thing" to paint big, simple and colorful arrangements of the same element rather than a lot of different things on the same canvas.

I will try to get a better photograph of this one soon... I got home only an hour ago and there was not enough light. I was away with my hubby during the July 4th weekend visiting Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC. Beautiful towns!!! By the way, if you are ever is Savannah, you MUST go to dinner at the Olde Pink House, and please don't forget to stop by for a drink at the wine cellar/tavern on the basement...

God bless America!!!

"Double as Spicy"
Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas
24"x48"
Available for Sale Here

Spicy!

 

I took the reference picture for this piece years ago... I was drinking milkshakes with two of my friends in one of the markets they have next to Krome Avenue.
If you are heading towards Homestead on this road, you will see lots of places where they sell fresh fruit, animals and plants. They call the area the Redlands and it seemed like a good place to drift back to during this rainy Sunday afternoon...

"Little Hotties"
8"x10"
Pastel on Board
Available for Sale Here

Color!!!

I follow several artists that have blogs just like this one; some of them paint in pastel, others in oil.
Pastel-wise I am drawn to (more like in love with) the work of Margaret Dyer (take a look at her paintings here). She paints in a gestural manner and has a wonderful way of handling color. I painted these pears thinking about her creations...

This pastel illustrates how the most important thing to make an object look realistic is the value and the proportion, not necessarily the color. Although you know pears don't necessarily have these hues, they still read as pears and have dimension. I had lots of fun putting lots of "unusual" color down!

"Multicolored Pears"
8"x10"
Pastel on Board
Available for Sale Here

Study

Being an artist is difficult. Especially when having a full time job and other little projects going on in your daily life... But there are only a handful of other things that give me as much joy as sitting in front of the easel and "playing" with color.
This time, inspired by Qiang Huang (one of the artists I follow) I wanted to create a composition with really bright colors and see if I could pull it off. I got to use many of the sennelier sticks that usually sit there waiting to shine when given an opportunity to be part of the light or highlight of a composition. I also tried painting eggs which by the way are HARD!!!! But I want to keep painting them!!!

P.S. The third muse is already underway...

"Apples and Eggs"
8"x10"
Pastel on Board
Available for sale here