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.

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.

Peppers in Black No.6 -- Salt & Pepper

Oil on canvas on panel, 6 x 6 in -- SOLD

Last one in this Pepper in Black series. This is another unique miniature pepper. It has gradation of red, yellow, and green around the side. The title sounds a bit like a cliche, but I bet not many people have seen this combination of "salt & pepper." By the way, those habanero peppers I painted earlier were both very, very "hot." I tasted a tiny piece of them before cooking, and found that out.

Peppers in Black No.5 -- Habaneros

Oil on canvas on panel, 6 x 6 in -- Click here to buy

These peppers are both habaneros, but only one of them is very, very hot. The other one is a rare sweet habanero, not spicy but with a lot of flavor. I forgot which one was which. I'll find it out when I cook them later.

Peppers in Black No.4 -- Three Amigos

Oil on canvas on panel, 6 x 6 in  -- SOLD

These are very tiny sweet peppers from Central Washington. I had no idea that there were so many kinds of peppers in our region. I got all these special peppers at a farmers' market a while ago. These lasted very well in the fridge.

Many Mini Tomatoes

Oil on canvas on panel, 6" x 6" -- SOLD

I harvested these mini-tomatoes more than a month ago, just before the first major frost hit central Washington. We had minor frost much earlier, but I kept those green tomatoes in the garden, covered with heavy duty plastic sheet. I've been storing the green ones in the mud-room. Now many of them are starting to ripen, changing colors. It's so amazing. I wonder how long they will last. This painting is a study of tomatoes. I spent ten minutes for each box, and switched the model with another tomato for variation. This is based on the DPW Ten-Minutes Challenge. It's a great exercise for my painting skills.

Pepper in Black No.3

Oil on canvas on panel, 6" x 6" --  SOLD

This is the third pepper in my Pepper in Black series.

Pepper in Black No.2

Buy it at my gallery

This is my second painting in my pepper series. The color intensities of peppers are much stronger than of the landscapes or animals I'm more used to. I could almost use the primary colors straight out of the paint tubes, and leave them alone. But I kept mixing and blending the colors to make enough variations.

Pepper in Black No.1

Buy it at my gallery

I got various vegetables, such as peppers, from the farmers' market just before the end of the season. I've started painting a series of them. It seems like a great project for the cold and snowy winter. I've noticed that including a corner of the shadow box in a composition adds an interesting effect with a variety of lines and shades, creating another focal point.

Pumpkins in the Garden

SOLD

While I was visiting Peter in Pullman, I painted this by a community garden at Sunny Side Park.