Cantaloupe slice in oils

It is interesting how many names this fruit is known by.  In Australian we call it Rockmelon, in South Africa it is called spanspek and in other parts of the world  it is also known as sweet melon, mushmelon and Persian melon.  I decided to name the painting cantaloupe.

We are still having a rather wet and cold winter here which is very unusual for Brisbane.  Today we had sunshine which was nice after the rain we had over the weekend.  Fingers crossed we will continue to have sunny weather.

Cantaloupe Slice measures 7 x 5 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord panel.

Many thanks to Lillian Bell for the reference photo.

Jug and Mandarin in oils

I visited the Salvo's store last week for a few still life props.  I felt a bit bad as they had a special on - you could fill a bag for $5. I ended up buying about 11 different items and this jug is one of the items. It was fun to paint.

It is a pretty miserable day here today.  Started off sunny but it has now turned cold and rainy. 

Jug and Mandarin measures 6 x 6 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

Strawberries ACEO in acrylics

I felt like a change so painted some strawberries.  Experimented a bit with rough watercolour paper.  I didn't like the texture of the paper for the bird aceo's but rather like it for the strawberries as it gives them more texture.  I will have to think of what other fruit I could paint on the rough watercolour paper.

Strawberries ACEO measures 3.5 x 2.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm Arches rough watercolour paper.

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Manadrin in oils

Mandarin's are back in season so I thought it would be a good subject to paint.  I was not sure if I should paint it peeled or whole but in the end I decided to leave it whole.  Might do another painting with one peeled.

Mandarin measures 5 x 5 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

Bunch of grapes in oil

So for my next fruit painting I decided to paint a  bunch of red grapes.  It is actually quite fun painting grapes -  I find it easier just to paint one grape at a time.

Bunch of Grapes measures 5 x 5 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

Strawberries in oil

Here is my next fruit painting.  I am very happy how this one turned out.  I always find it a bit tricky when painting a red object as you can't just add white to lighten it - makes it too pink.  I tend to use a combination of yellow and white to lighten red objects and it works really well.  As I type this I can hear thunder so the weather forecast was correct - it is a bit strange to be having a storm in autumn but the weather has been a bit weird all year so why not a storm in autumn. I must go and check the windows as I can hear the rain coming.

Strawberries measures 5 x 5 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

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Many thanks to Tracee Murphy for the strawberry reference photo.

Lemon in oils

I love painting fruit as I love the play of light against dark.   I experimented a bit with the table top colour and in the process found  the perfect colour combination which I think works really well. I really enjoyed painting this one so I am planning on using the remaining  three 5 x 5 inch panels to paint some more fruit paintings.

Lemon measures 5 x 5 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

Cherry ACEO in Acrylics

I enjoy painting this Cherry ACEO.   The only problem I had painting  it was that I had to use acrylic paints and it was very hot yesterday so the paints  were drying out rather quickly.  I eventually put the air conditioner on which help a bit. Fortunately it has cooled down again today.

Cherry ACEO is painted on 300gsm Arches Smooth Watercolour paper and measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches (6.4 x 8.9 cm).

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Gala Apple 2 in oils

Decided to do another painting of the gala apple as I love the fact that it still has it's leaf attached.  Was interesting painting a green leaf against a green background - amazing how many variations of greens that can be mixed. 

Gala Apple 2 measures 6 x 6 inches and is painting on Ampersand Gessobord.

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Watermelon Slice in Oils

I am really happy with this one. I decided to paint the watermelon at an angle and I love the 3d effective that I created.

Watermelon Slice measures 6 x 6 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessbord.

Gala Apple 1 in oils

I was in the fruit shop the other day and as I was standing in the queue to pay I noticed a display of gala apples.  I don't normally buy gala apples (I prefer Pink Lady's) but this particular apple caught my eye as it still had a leaf attached to it. So of cause I had to buy it so that I could paint it.  

Gala Apple 1 measures 6 x 6 inches and is painted on Ampersand gessobord.

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Snack Time in oils

I am really happy how this one turned out.  It took me a while to find the right position for the pear slice but it worked out well in the end.

You want believe it but is has been pouring with rain here again.  Not a good start to autumn.  I got drenched this morning walking back to the car after shopping  - I did have an umbrella but it did  not help much with the wind blowing.  Hopefully the weather will settle down and we will get  good weather for autumn, 

Snack Time measures 6 x 6 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

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Sensation Pear in oils

I enjoyed painting this one.  The pear was rather yummy too.   I have only seen these pears in Woolworths -  neither Coles or the fruit shop seem to have them.  They are so bright and colourful and that is what caught my eye when buying other vegetables in Woolworths.

Sensation Pear measures 6 x 6 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

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Fruit Platter in oils

I had fun painting this one.  Painting the grapes was interesting - was easier just to paint one grape at a time.  The peach is the Golden Queen variety that I mentioned in an earlier post . I can only buy them from the local fruit shop - not to sure how much longer they will be in season  but they are delicious

Fruit Platter is painted on Ampersand gessobord and measures 7 x 5 inches.

Reflections in oils

Sometimes a title for a painting just comes naturally and other times it takes me forever to think of a title.   This time around the painting  sort of named itself as I love the way the nectarines are reflected in the silver jug as well as the table and so the title Reflections seems rather appropriate.

Reflections is painted on 6 x 6 inches Ampersand Gessobord.