Grapes & Pear Still Life

This still life is the third painting the four of us did during our painting weekend at Welcome Home Retreat.  

Cheri had us draw it with the trapezoid method, then block in the dark medium and light tones.  Since we'd had practice with both of those twice before, we all felt pretty confident.  But, she had another goal to go along with it.   She wanted us to paint without overthinking, without overworking, and to keep it painterly.  We actually timed ourselves.  From first paint stroke to signature at the bottom, I did it in 2 hours and 15 minutes. Not bad.  I have to say it was really freeing and fun.  Yes, I overworked my pear some, but I was pretty good about laying the paint down and leaving it alone on the rest. And, it was fun to put turquoise in the background, on the foreground and on the pear.  It was fun to put orange in each grape, on the pear, and in the black background.

I wonder if...  
I hope that...
I WILL use this method of painting again.  
I don't see it becoming second nature for me... 
Maybe...
I AM CONFIDENT it will become easier and feel more natural each time I loosen up and just do it.

So special to have my sister to hang out with us.  She didn't paint; she worked on a scrapbook. Whatever your craft, it's all about relaxing... creating... and inspiring each other at Welcome Home Retreat.  


We took a walk to visit the longhorn neighbors between paintings.   
I heard a rumor that we'll be painting one of those longhorns at the next painting weekend in mid June.  Contact me if you want to join us! 

Click "Grapes and Pear Still Life" to purchase this little painting.
Original Oil Painting on 10"x 10" wrapped canvas.

Pears Reflected

Do you ever think about the power of words?

I love words.
We all use words, but some of us want to "paint" with them... create images of the mind.
I have the best job in the world... reading, writing, listening, talking, and thinking with ten year old kids all day!   We've been immersed in poetry this week, and I am astounded by their use of words. We've started each day with a "Show Not Tell" exercise to get in the right side of the brain.  I'll put a simple "telling" sentence on the board... The girl was sad. Then they have to change it to a "showing" sentence...  Helen wiped her eyes with another tissue before her grandmother's funeral began.  She sat at the kindergarten table with her shoulders slumped and her lip quivering. (Yes, those are samples of sentences my kids came up with!)

I love words.
We all use words, but some of us want to choose the best ones... there are so many available.  I'll share a secret... realizing that it will securely validate any suspicion that I am a nerd. Here's the secret. Every morning at 5:45 I receive an e-mail with a new vocabulary word. I read them all, forget most of them, remember a lot of them, and love a few... like these.
Clerisy - intellectuals who form an artistic or social elite. (Ah! My Tuesday night painting group!)
Megillah - long involved story or account. (What could be better!)
Desultory - marked by lack of definite plan, regularity,or purpose. (Blah... hate it!)
Captious - marked by an often ill-natured inclination to stress faults and raise objections.  (Ah, so there's a word for her... :)  Maybe now I can tolerate her better. :)


I love words.
I've followed a blog by Suzanne for a long time.  I love her painting, and I love the real-ness of her words as she's shared her journey over time.  And, now she and another artist have begun a painting challenge site called the Naked Artists.  There are lots of painting challenge sites, so why do I love, Love, LOVE this one?  It's not based on an image artists use to create submit a piece in their own style.  It's based on WORDS!  Each month artists will be invited to submit a piece of art inspired by a chosen word.  
Their first word was "solitude."  Sigh... I had an image in mind to paint, but I didn't get it done before the month was up... That silly job (mentioned above) tends to take up a lot of my time, so I missed out on getting to be a part of that one.
This month, the word is "reflection."
I wish Suzanne and Sandra the best of success with their painting and their new adventure. 

Original Oil Painting on 8"x 8" Wrapped Canvas
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Pair of Pears

How does the last harvest of the year make you feel?

The freezer is full.  There are no more empty jars on the shelves.  School has started, and the busy fall schedule returns.  It's a little sad to put the garden to bed for the winter, but it's kind of a relief too.  

Our last harvest this year came from the little pear tree.  What a great surprise!  Every branch was loaded, and thanks to Dad's lye soap spray, they were all bug free. 

I'm not sure how to save pears - I don't like pear preserves; I don't think you can freeze them, make pies out of them, or can them - But, they're delicious! Sooooo... I've had fresh pears... no... really... lots of fresh pears... every... single... day... 

Remind me in January of the fresh pears that had a perfect combination of sweet/tart and crunchy/soft.  

Remind me next week to appreciate that I have a few left and that I need to enjoy them.

My sweet Momma loves to come sit on the porch to watch when we go out to harvest.  She always gets the first bite of whatever we pick.

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