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.

Bluebell Woods ACEO in Acrylics

I decided to paint a landscape for a change.  I always find it rather amazing how a painting  comes together.  It goes through the "ugly stage" were you think this is not going to work, to were it suddenly takes shape and you wonder why you ever had doubts.  This painting had a few "ugly stages" but I am happy how it turned out in the end.  I will have to look through my reference photo's to see if I can find a few more landscapes that will suite the ACEO size.

Bluebell Woods measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm Arches Smooth Watercolour paper.

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Many thanks to Richard Smurthwaite for the reference photo.

Monarch Butterfly ACEO in Acrylics

I love the complementary colours of this one.  It was the perfect one  to paint as an ACEO.  Again I did a wash for the background before painting the butterfly.  To get the light into the wings I actually found a yellow glaze worked rather well. 

Monarch Butterfly ACEO measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm Arches Smooth Watercolour paper.

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Many thanks to Pamela Utton for the reference photos.

Little Wren ACEO in Acrylics

I photographed this little wren a few years ago when visiting Canberra. They move so quickly so it is rather difficult to get a good shot.  I am very happy  how this one turned out.  I thought it would be difficult to paint it this small but I actually found it ok - just used small brushes.  Also it was easier to do a wash first for the background  and then  paint the little wren once the background had dried.

Little Wren measures 2.5 inches x 3,5 inches and is painting on 300gsm Arches Smooth Watercolour Paper.

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Bunny ACEO in Acrylics

These little animal paintings are fun to paint as part of the painting comes from my imagination.  I just have to find the right animal reference photo that I can work with to complete the scene that I have in mind.

Bunny measures 3.5 x 2.5 inches and is painted on 300gsm Arches Smooth Watercolour paper.

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Cup of Tea in oils

When I painted the Breakfast painting, I really enjoyed painting the teacup so I decided to feature the teacup in it's own painting.  I love the colour of the cup.  I will definitely be including it in another painting.

Cup of Tea measures 6 x 6 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord.