(4x6 Kilimanjaro)I love pears, to eat ... I find them difficult to paint. The colors are perhaps to subtle for me ... Only Red Delicious apples are harder! The resource photo for this was the October Virtual Sketch Date challenges, which I missed because I was in Wisconsin.
I painted this and the one below on the precut sheets that come with Cheap Joe's Goof-Proof cards. I usually just use my own paper (Fabriano's my favorite), but thought I'd give Kilimanjaro a try.
I painted this from a blurry photo I took as I was driving the boat back to the dock this fall. There are all these little tumbledown houses along the back bay on the way to the marina. Actually, a lot have been either torn down or fixed up, but I still like the modest ones: having a little house with a dock, preferably facing west, has been my goal since high school. Someday.
My birthday present to myself: a Winsor & Newton bijou box. It came with eight colors, to which I added four more. It's a great little box, except that it doesn't snap shut, which makes it kind of impractical for travel ... I guess I'll have to get a mini-bungee cord for it.
Wow, Laura. Both of these pieces are wonderful. I have no sense of where you get the idea that you can't paint pears! That Bijou Box should snap shut. It's metal, right? With the lid open, try pushing in at the middle of the front edge of the lip, actually bending the metal lip inward a bit. Then see if it more securely closes on the bottom. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteoh wow these Pears are so luminous... you have the touch... so delicate..
ReplyDeleteI really have to get back at painting .. I am missing it badly...
You certainly can paint pears. They look so luscious.
ReplyDeleteJean
Laura, I think you did a good job on the pears. You got the colouring and the reflected light just right.
ReplyDeleteI don't see what's wrong with the pears either.
ReplyDeleteAnd ohh, I love eating them too. We happily have a tree, and this year we are going to for sure can all that we can. We just discovered that pears don't naturally ripen on the tree. You have to pick them hard and let them ripen in the house. I loved canned pears in the winter!
Hi Laura, Happy BDay to you! Both paintings are great,but your landscapes are amazing. I just love them. I have never used kilamanjaro (I think thats the name) paper. You like that better than arches? I will have to give it a try. Happy New Year
ReplyDeleteYour colors are always so luminous Laura. I particularly like the little house! (Has your e-mail address changed? I keep getting a message telling me your e-mail address is invalid!)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Suzanne. I'll try that! I got the bijou box from eBay and so don't want to bother returning it ...
ReplyDeleteI think when I see other people's pears is when I think I can't do them! ;-)
Thank you Gwen, Jean and Kay
Susan. I should paint fruit more often--I used to paint the fruit I brought to my office for lunch before eating it. Such a simple and at-hand subject!
I like canned pears too, Ruth, and fresh ones before they get too ripe and soft!
Cathy, I usually use Fabriano paper, and sometimes Arches, which I have a small stock of, but Fabriano is far and away my favorite. I like the surface and how the paint moves on it; it's also easy to lift (when I remember that that's an option).
Thanks, Sharon. I like that scene and want to do it again (and again). I have a few photos that turned out blurry, but maybe that will help me break away from copying!
They are both wonderful, Laura. Whatever makes you think you can't paint pears? These are delicious! I've used Kilimanjaro too, and find it maddening. Sometimes, it seems like the perfect paper, I can do no wrong. Other times, it doesn't want to cooperate at all. This happens even within the same block or pieces torn from the same sheet. The most frustrating thing about it for me is that it is not receptive to rich dark colors - they always dry too light and insipid. I love your results with it here, though.
ReplyDeleteThese are both so amazing. I love the way you paint. Your little dock looks like it would be a fantastic hideaway.
ReplyDeleteYou have such a wide variety of paper, paint, etc to choose from over there. Here we are kind of limited - smaller population, less choice. Kilimanjaro is just a mountain in Africa.
Oh, but Laura the pears look great! Your colors are always so fresh and glowing... I'm trying to get some of that fresh look into my paintings.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the group, the paintings are gorgeous, Laura. And I hope that Suzanne's suggestion does work for the bijou box, but if it shouldn't, that mini-bungee cord will-- you can use one of those pony tail thingys-- lasts a long time.
ReplyDeleteannie
Thank you Mineke, Liz and Teresa. I agree about the Kilimanjaro paper, Mineke, and there's really nothing more frustrating or disappointing than beginning a painting and feeling like you have to work against the paper. I always seem to have a problem with the first page on a block if I haven't used the block in awhile. I wonder if the sizing deteriorates over time?
ReplyDeleteHa! Good suggestion, Annie, and one I'd never think of: I've never had a ponytail!