RED GRAPES ON CUTTING BOARD
oil on canvas, appr 5"x7"

I painted these grapes last night after teaching my college night class. I just now photographed it out in the sunshine. It's been cloudy and rainy the past 2 days, so the sun is really nice.

AZALEAS
oil on canvas, appr 3"x5"

These are Lillian's azaleas that I can see from my studio window.

PEPE 2
oil on canvas, appr 3"x5"

This is Pepe standing on a rug in front of a glass door with the sun coming in. He was almost a silhouette except for the sun hitting the edges of his body.

NEIGHBOR
oil on canvas, appr 4"x4"

This is my neighbor, a very kind man, who is presently in the hospital. Hopefully, he will come home next week.

STRAWBERRY IN LIGHT
oil on canvas, appr 4"x4"

Here I go again painting shadows and reflections. I placed this strawberry on a shiny white surface in front of a window in my studio. I have to paint fast when I do that because the light changes quickly. Yes, the shadow moves pretty fast.

RUSTY
oil on canvas, appr 4"x6"

This is my friend's beautiful Red Heeler. I did this painting from a picture I took of Rusty when I visited their home near Graham, Texas.

BUTTERSCOTCH CANDY
oil on canvas, appr 4"x4"

I just love to paint the effects of light! Here you see shadows and reflections of the candy and wrapper on my drawing table by a window in my studio.

GRANDMOTHER'S GLASSES
oil on canvas, appr 4"x6"

These are very old glasses that belonged to my grandmother. I keep them on my dresser and every time I see them, I think of her.

EASTER MORNING
oil on canvas, appr 4"x6"

There was a crisp wind blowing as we sat outside the church watching the sun rise on this beautiful day. It was somewhat cloudy, but there was enough break in the clouds to see pretty colors in the sky.

EASTER EGGS
oil on canvas, appr 4"x6"

We're having company for Easter dinner tomorrow, so I dyed eggs for the kids to hunt. I placed these 3 in a little crystal bowl and then decided to add the blue egg beside the bowl. Happy Easter!!!

EASTER LILLY
oil on canvas appr 5"x7"

I bought a Lilly today and placed it near a window where the light was coming from behind the plant.

TWO ROMAS
oil on canvas, appr 5"x7"

I placed these two Roma tomatoes on the window sill in my studio and the sun was shining on them. It was quite a challenge to paint them in this bright light.

ORANGE ANAHEIM
oil on canvas, appr 4"x6"

This is the other pepper I bought. It was just beginning to turn when I bought it. I wonder what it will look like in a few more days. Since this pepper has such a warm color I decided to make the whole painting warm. Besides the shadow, there is also a reflection of the orange pepper.

HOMEMADE BREAD
oil on canvas, appr 5"x7"

I enjoy making yeast breads, so yesterday I made this raisin bread. I wasn't sure how good it would be because I used a recipe for olive bread and changed the olives to raisins and added cinnamon. But, it turned out very tasty, especially with butter on it. I plan to make whole wheat bread tomorrow . Maybe I'll paint it, too.

RECLINING ANAHEIM
oil on canvas, appr 4"x6"

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! I wanted to paint something green today, so I bought this Anaheim pepper. It was nice to paint it on a shiny surface. Not only is there a shadow, but also a reflection. I also bought one that is turning red. I'll paint it in a few days probably.

CINNAMON TWIST
oil on canvas, appr 4"x6"

My parents came to visit today and I made cinnamon twists (not from scratch...) to go with coffee this afternoon. It was difficult painting such tempting food.

RED GRAPES ON A GLASS
oil on canvas, appr 4"x6"

Saturday, 3/15 I've been wanting to paint grapes again, so here they are. I didn't paint this until last night, so I waited until this morning to go outside and take the photo. I'm pleased with how this one turned out. Sometimes it seems that I've forgotten how to paint, but this one just flowed off the brush. I wish that would happen more often.

BREAKFAST
oil on canvas, appr 4"x6"

While eating breakfast this morning, I noticed what interesting shapes the milk made as it surrounded the Cheerios and strawberries. Light from the window in front of me made highlights on the strawberries and milk except for the ones that were shadowed by the top edge of the bowl.

STRAWBERRY ON A GLASS
oil on canvas, appr 3 1/2" x 5"

I bought a carton of strawberries a few days ago and there aren't many left, so I decided to paint this one before they were all gone.

ORANGE FAMILY INSPIRATION
oil on canvas, appr 5"x7"

I just love the colors in oranges! The big one had some green on it and was more a yellow-orange color. The small ones were more red-orange. The book I placed them on has the same colors on the cover that are on the oranges.

GRAPE JUICE
oil on canvas, appr 6"x4"

Tuesday, 3/11 I decided to try a different angle on this one. I put the grape juice into this pretty glass and placed it close to me so I would be looking down on it. I wanted a close up view. I think its interesting that the shadow has the little reflected red spot in it.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH
oil on canvas, 6"x8"

I plan to paint this squash one more time before I cook it. It isn't just yellow, but has lots of colors in it besides the red reflections from the plate.

MARCH SNOW AT THE FARM
oil on panel, 8"x10"

What a surprise to see all this snow coming down and actually staying on the ground for a few hours before it melted! This doesn't happen very often in Leon County, Texas. The photo I painted this from was taken by my father. They got over an inch of snow on 3/7.

THE FIRST AZALEA
oil on canvas, appr 5"x7"

I can see Lillian's azaleas from my studio windows. I noticed yesterday when it was snowing that there was this one fully open flower and many that would be open soon.

ONE DAISY
oil on canvas, appr 4"x4"

I like to use natural light when possible, but today there wasn't much of it. We had snow flurries all morning and I did enjoy watching the big flakes drift down. Since the daisy is a cool color, I thought that if I put incandescent light on it, the colors would be warmer. So, here is what it looks like in the lamplight.

NUEVO PROGRESSO
oil on artist canvas board, 5"x7"

I painted this from a picture I took. We were visiting relatives near Harlingen in the Texas Valley and we went shopping in Nuevo Progresso, Mexico on New Year's Eve. I'm always interested in the shapes and colors of the merchandise lining the sidewalks in front of the stores on the main street of this little town. It's usually very crowded by noon and difficult to walk down the sidewalks, so we try to go early to shop and then have lunch before returning to Texas.

EGGPLANT
oil on canvas, appr 5"x7"

I started to cook this eggplant for dinner last night, but I just couldn't--yet. I had to paint it one more time.

WATERING CAN WITH FLOWER
oil on artist canvas board, 5"x7"

Garage sales and flea markets can provide lots of still life materials. The little watering can I bought at a yard sale last September in Leona, Texas. The flower is dried bougainvilla that came from my neighbor's yard last summer. I'm not sure what the big metal thing is. I found it in the garage and use it to weigh down my panels when I glue canvas to Masonite. It must weigh about 20 pounds.

RAIN THROUGH THE WINDOW
oil on canvas, appr 4"x6"

A cold front is passing by today and bringing us lots of rain. I love to watch the rain. This is the view out my studio window.

PURPLE DAISIES
oil on canvas, appr 8"x4"

I bought this stem of daisies so I would have some flowers to paint. My neighbor who has thousands of flowers in the summer doesn't have any right now. She gives me plenty of subjects in warm weather, though.

ALIZARINE CRIMSON
oil on canvas, appr 4"x4"

Almost used up paint tubes have interesting shapes and they catch the light in their bends and folds. They also have interesting shadows when placed near a window.