Avocado in Half

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- Click here to buy

It was interesting to play with the composition before actual painting. I didn't want the avocado to change the color too much in the process. So I rubbed a slice of lime gently across the cross cut to preserve the color. I put the avocado on a brown wooden cutting board to enhance the green.

This piece (framed) is included in the 6" Square Exhibition and Sale at Randy Higbee Gallery for the holiday season. Click here to view my all work in this show.

Prelude to Breakfast

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches

These eggs are from our pet chickens. We eat fresh eggs for breakfast almost everyday. These eggs come in different colors, size and texture, but they all have bright orange-yellow yolk most of the year except winter because our chickens are free ranged and eat grass rich in carotene. These eggs so much better than the store-bought eggs. I was intrigued by the reflected light on the bowl and the eggs. It's subtle, but can you see it?

Salt for Tomato

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- 

My center of interest in this piece is the highlight in the glass part of the salt shaker, particularly the bottom. I was also intrigued by the reflected lights on each objects, including the glass floor on top of a gray cardboard. So I manipulated the shadow areas with a tall box in front of the spot light, in order to enhance these highlights. I also paid more attention to the lost edges and soft edges, so that it wouldn't look like "ALL CAPS" painting with too contrasty colors and sharp edges. I spent so much time staging this still life, even longer than painting time itself. But I'm happy with the outcome.

Orange Slices

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- 

I originally had a half orange on the plate beside these slices. But I didn't like the overwhelming amount of orange facing into the light. So I removed it, and repainted the plate. I also moved the left wall closer toward the light to increase the shade over the upper portion of canvas. I even used brush strokes to create lost edges because I wanted to obscure the shapes so close to the edge of canvas.

Belle Peppers

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches --

I was intrigued by the translucency of these peppers. So I titled this with "Belle," meaning beautiful peppers. I put a piece of glass on top of blue craft paper to create the reflection, in order to repeat the yellow and orange beneath the peppers. I exaggerated lost edge at the top of yellow pepper which originally calling too much attention with sharp contrast near the edge of canvas. 

Asparagus in Wine Glass

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- Click to Bid

I've been into still life painting of food lately. We got asparagus for dinner, but I wanted to paint it before eating. I was initially drawn to the pinkish tops. So I wanted to design the color them around this pink. I picked a muted magenta paper folder from our office supply, and put it under the wine glass with asparagus. I filled the glass with water to add more highlights in the picture. As a result the upper portion of wine glass became my point of interest.

2015 Calendars

My 2015 calendars are now available online! These feature the reproductions of twelve of my recent oil paintings. The theme of this calendar is "Countryside."
Online special price: $20 plus shipping (sales tax may apply)
Click here to buy.

Three Little Eggs

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- SOLD

We have several pet chickens, and we get fresh eggs from them. These are the eggs from our three little chicks. We got these chicks from a local feed store this spring, and they are about five months old. They recently started laying eggs. These are close to actual colors. Since these chicks are still young and smaller than the other hens, their eggs are smaller than the ones by their big sisters. The blue-green egg is from Kara the Ameraucana chicken, and her egg is still a half of average size.

Apple and Grapes

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- SOLD

This is another apple from our apple tree, and these grapes are from our garden. I like the white yeast coating the grapes, giving them a velvet-like look. It disappears after handling or washing. So the store-bought fruits usually don't have this effect. I love the semi-translucency of some reddish grapes. Initially, there wasn't a red grape on the right. But I decided to add it for color, and to create a classic triangle composition. 

Green Apple & Silver Pitcher

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches --

This is an apple from our apple tree in the backyard. It was so windy the other day that a large part of this tree broke off, splitting from the trunk. A bunch of apples are still on the branches. There were probably too many apples and the tree could not support the weight. So I decided to paint this apple to celebrate the tree. I used a silver pitcher to create reflections of the apple, and to make the composition more interesting.

Chicken Family

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- Click here to buy

While the Traveling Chicken crew enjoy a stay in the central Washington, Ms. Bianca met a Japanese Rooster, Haku (means "white" in Japanese). Haku is a plastic figure I have in my studio. They fell in love at first sight. Bianca requested an extension of her visit. Now they have a couple of baby chicks. Unfortunately, it is time for the Traveling Chicken crew to leave for Indiana, the next destination. She's going to take the baby chicks with her. She asked Haku to come with her, but he said that he needed more time to straighten things out with Ms. Duck, his current partner. Ms. Duck is another miniature figure in my studio for painting reference. Haku and Duck have been together for several years.

For this painting, I originally planned to take a photo of the still life setup, and paint from the photo, so that I could ship the TC package sooner. I also thought it would be easier to see the tiny subjects if I see the closeup photo on my tablet next to the easel. But I figured that it would be harder to paint because the color and value are so distorted in a photo. I love the subtle glow of warm yellow reflected from the baby chicks.

Haku and Bianka with the chicks enjoyed posing in the shadow box in my studio all day yesterday. The TC crew are now off to Indiana.

Rooster Got Skis

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- SOLD

This is the second painting of the Traveling Chicken series. In the previous episode, Valentine's Day for Mr Gallo was a disaster. Gallo developed feeling for Ms Chick, but he realized that Ms Chick did not feel the same way for him. Ms Chick knows what she wants, and Gallo is not part of her vision. So, instead of staying depressed, Gallo decided to take alpine ski lessons while visiting the Northwestern United States. Then he recently got a new pair of wide skis for powder! He enjoyed cruising down the steep and deep powder slopes all day long today. I wanted to convey his excitement. To recreate this scene in my still shadow box, I cut out skis from cardboard, and drew them under his feet on canvas. To suggest ski tracks and bumps on the snow, I used two glass bowls: one upside-down to place the figure, and the other one right-side up next behind the figure. I liked the transparent and subdued background to offset the vivid shapes of rooster and skis.

Walking Around Eggshells

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- SOLD

The Traveling Chicken and the flock are here in the central Washington, the home of my happy lap chickens.

My husband and I love alpine skiing. We went to 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort, north of Spokane, last week. I enjoyed skiing on the fresh powder and bumps on my brand new custom designed powder skis. I was inspired by the those bumps on the slope, and came up with the idea to use eggshells to suggest the bumps. Our chickens lay colorful eggs hence colorful bumps. I wanted to make these ceramic chickens look like skiers. But I decided not to put them on the fake skis for this piece.

I initially set up this still life stage for Ms Chicken and Senor Gallo walking side by side. But I didn't think it would make a compelling composition. It looked too busy among eggshells. So I removed Gallo, and focused on just Ms Chick this time. I felt sorry for Gallo for not being included in the scene. But Ms Chick know what she wants. She is not walking on eggshells, she's actually walking around them. Independent chicken. She knows that Gallo will be fine.

Apple and Silver Bowl

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- Click Here to Buy

I tried this composition on the black background a few days ago, but I didn't like how it turned out. So I wiped it off with a palette knife and paper towel. I decided to challenge it again but on the off-white background. I'm happy with how it turned out. I didn't use my regular shadow box for this. Instead I just set up the still life on the table top, and used a desk lamp to light the subject.

Apple and Pepper Grinder

Oil on canvas on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- Click Here to Buy

This apple is pretty small, and makes a nice composition with my metallic pepper grinder. I painted the apple slightly over-sized first, and carved the shape with the background color. The red part of the apple near the right cornier was initially too red (intense), calling too much attention. So I mixed more desaturated red to go over without changing the value. Squinting at the canvas well for this.

For a limited time only, this comes with a contemporary black wooden frame. The frame has 7/8" face, with a crisp clean line and it is 1.5" deep. It is ready to hang or stand alone on a counter top.

Two Apples and Silver Bowl

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- Click Here to Buy

For this piece, I painted with more bold brush strokes, over orange underpainting. I realized that I like painting metallic objects; I love the reflections on the bowl. I might start painting more metallic objects, such as utensils.

Red Apple with Reflection

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- Click Here to Buy

I wanted to paint this red apple because of its leaves and stem. I wanted to focus on the color, so I used a black background and a clear plastic plate for creating the reflection. I love the way the black floor mirrors the apple.

Yellow Apple in Purple

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- Click Here to Buy

I did this painting as a practice for painting with minimal brush strokes. I used three different colors of purple paper for the background. The apple I picked did look geometric with multiple faces. So I sort of painted it as is. This is one good example of how you can make the composition more interesting with a few pieces of colored paper.

Two Gala Apples

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- Click Here to Buy

Gala apples are my favorite apples for eating, but also for painting. I originally painted this without the horizontal line in the back. It felt as if  it were missing something in the back of the scene. So I added a horizontal line that suggests a wall behind the apples, to break up the plane and add more three-dimensionality.

For a limited time only, this comes with a contemporary black wooden frame. The frame has 7/8" face, with a crisp clean line and it is 1.5" deep. It is ready to hang or stand alone on a counter top. 

Green Apple

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- Click Here to Buy

This is a quick study of a green apple. In this painting, I emphasized a "carving" technique to work from the inside toward the outside of a subject. After drawing a basic outline, I painted the green apple, going over the outline on purpose. Then I carved the apple shape by painting the outside  background color, including the cast shadow. I added details around the stem at the end.