Wednesday, March 30, 2011

"Spring's First Arrival" 24x24 Acrylic on canvas


Spring is finally here! And to celebrate its arrival, I painted this Landscape and added this beautiful bird perched on a cherry blossom branch. The bird is a Western Tanager, an American songbird. It has a wide migrating range and reaches as far north as British Columbia, Canada. As I was planning this painting, I wanted to add something else into the painting to make it more interesting and found photos of this bird in a reference book at the library, which helped me see what the bird actually looked like. I was attracted to its bright colors and decided to incorporate this bird and the cherry blossom branch which is also a symbol of renewal in to this painting. I hope that I have achieved in this painting, a feeling of depth and calm serenity to my viewers. Enjoy the nice weather while its here. 

Saturday, March 19, 2011

"Apples on Blue Blanket" 24x24 Acrylic on canvas

I was inspired to paint this still life of MacIntosh Apples on a blue blanket after seeing Paul Cezanne's painting, "Still Life with Apples and Oranges". He was one of the impressionist painters of his era and often painted still life paintings of fruit in his studio. The dark royal blue blanket and the use of it came to me as just an idea to pair up the complementary colors with the apples, and since most still life paintings I have seen with fruit or flowers, are often used with a table cloth or a tea towel. I wanted to do something different here.  As I was painting this, an odd thought entered my mind.  I thought about how food prices in our supermarkets have gone up lately, it may seem strange to be thinking about this during my painting session but I think the apples influenced that thought. Oh well! I enjoyed painting this one, especially the blue part. Hope you like it as well.

(March 21st, 2011)
P.S. A few friends of mine gave me another interpretation of this painting, which I find very interesting. It seems some of you may see the blue blanket as water,rather than a blanket and the apples bobbing along on top of the water. That's Great! I can go with that interpretation as well. I find it interesting that some people have seen it in that way. I'm glad this painting can also encourage the thought process.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

"Beach Pebble Abstract" 8x10 Acrylic on canvas board

While doing a little research on beach pebbles and small rocks, I found that they come in a myriad of colors, shapes and sizes, depending on where they are found. I was attracted by the wonderful photos I saw on the Internet of beaches from different parts of the world and all the colorful stones and seashells found on them. I was inspired to try and recreate my own version of these small pebbles,close up in this small colorful painting. I really enjoyed doing this painting. Maybe I should do seashells next!

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

"Late Afternoon on the Water" 12 x 16 Acrylic on canvas board

You've heard of writer's block. Well, how about painter's block! I was just having a bit of fun doing this painting, not trying to create some kind of masterpiece, but lately, I just can't decide on what to paint next. So I have been spending some time browsing through my photographs for inspiration and as it sometimes goes, nothing looked interesting to me. It makes me think that its time for me to get out and take some new photos with my camera. I will have to plan a trip out somewhere soon. In the meantime, how nice it would be to be out on the water in a boat like this one. Dream!