Things You Can Stack

oil on panel, 15 x 6"

I was making omelets the other night and as I cracked each egg I set the shells in a stack in the carton on the window sill. The evening light was shining through and voila, the next painting idea. Of course, in moving the stack to my studio and setting up a light, I managed to knock it to the floor, and no, eggshells don't bounce. So, more omelets for dinner!
The challenge here was in making the dark side of the shells dark enough - I find it hard to paint something "white" with dark values - and to get the glow of the light shining through and around the shells.
The fun part was in choosing a title - everything from "All the King's Men" to "You Can't Make an Omelet" came up, but in the end Things You Can Stack seemed perfect.

The Chevy

oil on panel, 8x14"

I can't tell one end of an engine from another, and in real life a car for me is just transportation. But the old cars - oh how I love them. They speak, and the conversations are of mystery and romance, fast living and bad boys, Easter Sunday and family trips. They have style, and all that chrome.

This Chevy was parked near my house one day last week. I asked the owner if he would mind, grabbed my camera and took lots of pics. The grille, the chrome, the headlights, and those wheels - all just as much fun to paint as I thought they would be!

Rain Check

oil on RayMar panel, 11x14"

One more chilly, rainy day in California. The right side of this pier was taken up by warehouse buildings and an old coffeeshop - guess where all the fishermen were!

Sea Creatures

oil on RayMar panel, 12x16"

Exploring the tide pools on the west coast was always fun growing up and something I enjoyed sharing with my daughter as she grew up. Seeing kids doing the same thing when we were in California in January brought back wonderful memories. Here this young man is returning a crab to the sea. Nearby his sisters were playing on the rocks and the sea lions were barking and playing on the sand on the other side of the point. A perfect day.

Beauty Pageant (sold)

oil on RayMar panel, 6x18"

More fun, playing with reflections in the black mirror and with the idea of human emotions/events as played out by objects. Envy (posted March 15) was the first in this concept; here I am looking at competition, and of course, our concepts of beauty: how much is enough? When do we relegate being perfectly lovely to second place, to being the "ugly stepsisters"? Which one would You choose?