Oyster with Lemon (commission)

Oyster with Lemon
oil on linen on panel, 2022, 5"x6"
Commission (sold)

I completed this small commission painting earlier this year and I've also been working on a very large commission painting. I hope to be able to share about it later this month, so keep an eye out. In the meantime, I'll be back to posting auction paintings this week. If you don't already follow me, I share updates and studio views at @abbeyryan8 on instagram here and facebook here.

If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see Still Life with Oysters, Peeled Lemon, and Silver Pitcher with Self-portrait Reflection (2018, larger painting), Oyster No. 3 (2010), or a bunch of my paintings of oysters.

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Blue Jay Feather and Two Lemons (Yin & Yang)

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To see other paintings in my "yin & yang series," click here. If you enjoy today's painting, you may also like to see PB & J, redux (2016), Blue Collection (Golden Ratio) (2014), Silver Creamer with Blue Jay Feather (2011), or a bunch of my paintings of blue jay feathers or lemons.

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Still Life with Oysters, Peeled Lemon, and Silver Pitcher with Self-portrait Reflection

Still Life with Oysters, Peeled Lemon, and Silver Pitcher (with Self-Portrait Reflection)
oil on linen on panel, 2018, 16"x12"
$6200
Update: Sold

If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see Self-portrait in a Blue Vase and Eight Figs, Jug and Heirloom Tomatoes (with Self Portrait Reflection), Two Satsuma Tangerines, or a bunch of my paintings with self-portrait reflections in them or paintings with peeling fruit or my paintings of oysters.

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Thanks in advance,

still life with lemon and greek bottle (the light / the shade)

still life with lemon and greek bottle (the light / the shade)
oil on linen on panel, 2017, 3.5"x4"

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the light / the shade exhibition at Arcadia
If you enjoy this painting, you may like to read more about abbey ryan: the light / the shade, my exhibition in the Harrison Gallery at Arcadia University on view from April 16 - June 16. If you enjoy this painting, you can also see other paintings from my the light / the shade series.

You can also click here to see a bunch of my paintings of yellow things.

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Thanks in advance,

Lemons and Cherries from Testaccio Market, Rome (Italy 2017 painting #2)

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Most of my time in Rome was spent studying Baroque art and architecture, but I also did three still life paintings and a few drawings. These lemons and cherries were from a market in the Testaccio neighborhood in Rome. It is known as one of the best "classic Roman" markets. You can see some of my photos on facebook or instagram.

If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see a bunch of my paintings completed in Italy over the years.

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Best,

Lemon with Leaves, Flower, and Bud (+ Fantin-Latour)

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Fantin-Latour is a great painter whose work I often study at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. À Fleur de Peau was a recent exhibition of his work at Musée du Luxembourg in Paris; the show is no longer on view, but, if you're interested, the exhibition catalog can be found at this link.

This is another lemon generously given to me by my in-laws in Arizona. If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see Lemon with Three Leaves (Separation of Powers) or a bunch of my paintings of lemons.

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Best,

Lemon with Leaf (present moment) (+ "How to Love")

Lemon with Leaf (present moment), oil on linen on panel, 7 x 6 in.
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Today's painting is part of my "present moment" series. If you are interested, How to Love by Thich Nhat Hanh is worth reading. Maria Popova writes about it well; here is an excerpt:

"At the heart of Nhat Hanh's teachings is the idea that 'understanding is love's other name' — that to love another means to fully understand his or her suffering. ('Suffering' sounds rather dramatic, but in Buddhism it refers to any source of profound dissatisfaction — be it physical or psychoemotional or spiritual.) Understanding, after all, is what everybody needs — but even if we grasp this on a theoretical level, we habitually get too caught in the smallness of our fixations to be able to offer such expansive understanding. He illustrates this mismatch of scales with an apt metaphor:

'If you pour a handful of salt into a cup of water, the water becomes undrinkable. But if you pour the salt into a river, people can continue to draw the water to cook, wash, and drink. The river is immense, and it has the capacity to receive, embrace, and transform. When our hearts are small, our understanding and compassion are limited, and we suffer. We can’t accept or tolerate others and their shortcomings, and we demand that they change. But when our hearts expand, these same things don’t make us suffer anymore. We have a lot of understanding and compassion and can embrace others. We accept others as they are, and then they have a chance to transform.' [Keep reading]

If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see Lemon with Three Leaves (Separation of Powers) or a bunch of my paintings of lemons.

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Best,

Lemon with Three Leaves (Separation of Powers)

Lemon with Three Leaves (Separation of Powers), oil on linen on panel, 5x6", 2017
Sold

This painting is the first in my "separation of powers" series. If you're interested in the origin of separation of powers in government, Mitchell Langbert, associate professor of business at Brooklyn College, with a Ph.D. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, an MBA from UCLA and an AB from Sarah Lawrence College, writes about "Origins of the Three Branches of Government in the US Constitution" (2010). He begins by discussing the Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, Montesquieu's Spirit of Laws, and then moves on to the fourth century BC writings of Aristotle:

"Aristotle was one of the most important advocates of freedom in the history of ideas. Unlike some of his Athenian contemporaries, he was not an abolitionist. However, he responds thoroughly to the communist ideas of his professor, Plato. He makes clear that it is fundamental to a state to have plurality and openness of exchange, and that excessive unity is deleterious. He begins Book IV, Chapter 13 of his Politics as follows:

'Having thus gained an appropriate basis of discussion we will proceed to speak of the points which follow next in order... All constitutions have three elements, concerning which the good lawgiver has to regard what is expedient for each constitution.  When they are well-ordered, the constitution is well-ordered, and as they differ from one another, constitutions differ. There is (1) one element which deliberates about public affairs; secondly (2) that concerned with the magistracies--the questions being, what they should be over what they should exercise authority, and what should be the mode of electing to them; and thirdly (3) that which has judicial power.'

Aristotle there refers to the three branches of government that correspond to the US Constitution, the deliberative or legislative; the magistracy or executive; and the judicial." [Keep reading]

If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see my Still life of Three Lemons with Leaves (2016), Partially Peeled Lemon (present moment) (2015), Italian Lemon with Leaves (Italy 2012 painting #5), or a bunch of my paintings of lemons.

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Best,

Japanese Wabi Sabi Bowl with Arizona Lemon (+ World War I — The Quick. The Dead. The Artists.)

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Read about today's painting below. If you're interested, this is an art review by Holland Cotter in last month's New York Times:

"PHILADELPHIA — The idea lingers that art can be separated from politics. But it can’t. All art — high, low; illustrative, abstract — is embedded in specific political histories, and direct links, however obscured, are always there. Such links are the unswerving focus of “World War I and American Art” at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, a panoramic show that has the narrative flow of a documentary, and the suspenseful, off-kilter emotional texture of live drama.

World War I lasted roughly four years, from 1914 to 1918, with the United States joining the fray in 1917. The brevity of that engagement has led Americans to play down the war, but we shouldn’t. Although politicians at the time spun the conflict — which the public increasingly understood to be a murderous mistake — as the war that would end all wars, it did the opposite. It set the model for World War II, Vietnam, Iraq. And it departed from previous models of war only in ramping up their barbarities with modern technology." [Keep reading]

This is a wabi sabi wood-fired ash glazed bowl from Japan and a lemon generously sent to Philadelphia by my in-laws in Arizona. As part of my ongoing Paintings of Handmade Pottery series, wabi sabi is not easily described in words, but when I teach my workshops and private painting mentoring online, I often share my thoughts on handmade objects, and the spirit and gesture embedded in them. If you're interested, Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers by Leonard Koren is the seminal 1994 classic volume on the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see another wabi sabi bowl of mine from Patagonia, Arizona, and here's a 2013 post of mine about wabi sabi.

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Best,

Two Lemons (+ Why Do Autumn Leaves Change Their Color?)

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If you're interested, this is a neat fall foliage map. It also explains "Why Do Autumn Leaves Change Their Color?"

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Best,

Oyster with Lemon (+ the David's ankles)

If you're interested, in this recent New York Times Magazine article, "David’s Ankles: How Imperfections Could Bring Down the World’s Most Perfect Statue," journalist Sam Anderson talks about his obsession with the flaws, reproductions and potential collapse of Michelangelo’s masterpiece. [Keep reading.]

By the way, this oyster was a gift, and I forgot to mention that the peaches I posted yesterday were also a gift. I like to note here when my still life painting is inspired by someone else's generosity.

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Best,

Acorn and Lemon with Leaf (+ Representational Painting in the 21st Century)

I'm a member of Oil Painters of America, and if you're interested, here is an article via OPA entitled, "The Twelve O’Clock – A Case for Representational Painting in the 21st Century" by John Lasater. An excerpt:

"Against all odds in this digital age, there appears to be an increase of representational painters 'of like nature, chosen by the Gods,' as the artist Whistler put it. Gripped by the desire to paint, we have awakened into a fascinating new world and have come to find that sense of calling holy!"

I don't know him, but the article says that John Lasater paints full time, both from his studio in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, and on the road painting "en plein air."

[Source: http://blog.oilpaintersofamerica.com/2016/04/twelve-oclock-case-representational-painting-21st-century/]

To purchase my work, view my Current Auctions and All Available Paintings.

Best,

Still life of Three Lemons with Leaves

Still life of Three Lemons with Leaves
oil on linen on panel, 8x10", 2016
Private Collection

Ending soon: 
Auction ends today at 8 PM EST for Hand-picked Lemon with Leaf

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To purchase my work, view my Current Auctions and All Available Paintings.

Best,

Hand-picked Lemon with Leaf

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To purchase my work, view my Current Auctions and All Available Paintings.

Best,

Silver Cup, Cherries, and Lemon with Leaves (larger painting)

Still life with Silver Cup, Cherries, and Lemon with Leaves
Oil on linen on panel, 8x10 inches, 2016
Private Collection

I thought I'd share a fascinating article in Scientific American about "Why is a minute divided into 60 seconds, an hour into 60 minutes, yet there are only 24 hours in a day?" Here's an excerpt:

"Thanks to the ancient civilizations that defined and preserved the divisions of time, modern society still conceives of a day of 24 hours, an hour of 60 minutes and a minute of 60 seconds. Advances in the science of timekeeping, however, have changed how these units are defined. Seconds were once derived by dividing astronomical events into smaller parts, with the International System of Units (SI) at one time defining the second as a fraction of the mean solar day and later relating it to the tropical year. This changed in 1967, when the second was redefined as the duration of 9,192,631,770 energy transitions of the cesium atom. This re-characterization ushered in the era of atomic timekeeping and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Interestingly, in order to keep atomic time in agreement with astronomical time, leap seconds occasionally must be added to UTC. Thus, not all minutes contain 60 seconds. A few rare minutes, occurring at a rate of about eight per decade, actually contain 61." [source]

To purchase my work, view my Current Auctions and All Available Paintings.

Best,

Meyer Lemons (the light, the shade)

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Today's painting is part of my ongoing series "the light, the shade" that I began in December 2012. Recently I mentioned the new biography on Bob Lax (here: Pure Act: The Uncommon Life of Robert Lax by Michael N. McGregor), and I highly recommend it if you're interested. I'm still reading it, but it is excellent so far.

I wrote about how my favorite poet, Bob Lax, was the inspiration for my "the light, the shade" series here.

Ending soon - auction ends at 6:30 PM EST today

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(reflection detail view on auction page)

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Best,

Lemon with Leaf (+ seven red tailed hawks)

I'm fortunate and grateful that my family in Arizona mails us beautiful lemons all winter -- and recently, I received a request from one of my best collectors to paint lemons (good timing). I also got a note from another collector in which she conveyed her thrill whenever I paint something with a lighter background. Voilà.

Yesterday, I was out walking with my littlest niece, and she fell asleep in the stroller. A moment later, something made me look up at the sky and, I know it sounds impossible, but seven red tailed hawks were silently flying directly above us. Breathtaking.

Either last year or the year before, one of my workshop participants actually gave me a red tailed hawk feather to paint. I haven't yet, but my encounter with the seven hawks may inspire it.

To purchase my work, view my Current Auctions and All Available Paintings.

Best,

Still Life with Asparagus and Lemon

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My one-week Innernet course begins January 6th and you can still register here and have time to download the course packet I created. Even if you cannot "unplug" or don't need a digital detox, you'll still benefit from tuning into the two live teleseminar calls that I will be doing as part of the course, when I will speak about mindful practice as it relates to life, as well as my own practices and teaching about mindful studio practice. #unplugged #bethecloud #digitaldetox #itsnotaboutwhatyouremovingawayfromitswhatyouremovingtowards

Register or learn more about the Innernet here. It's going to be fun; join me to see what the Innernet is all about.

To purchase my work, view my Current Painting Auctions and All Available Paintings.

Best,

Still life with Lemon Half, Eucalyptus, and Teacup (+ Maine artist reception tonight)

Still life with Lemon Half, Eucalyptus, and Teacup
8 x 10 inches, oil on linen on panel, framed, 2015
Available
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Following the theme of painting objects that were given to me, I always enjoy painting this teacup that belonged to my grandmother and was a gift to me from my mom.

This painting (along with 15 others) is on view this month as part of my solo exhibition at Gleason Fine Art. The artist reception is tonight; if you are in the area, stop by to say hello. Hope you enjoy the new work.

To purchase my work, view my Current Painting Auctions and All Available Paintings.

All my best,

Italian Lemon with Leaf, Rome (Italy 2015 painting #8)

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FYI: my course "The Innernet" begins tomorrow. Along with a great big group of course participants, I'm excited to be going offline for four days starting on Friday. #InnernetMovement #unplugged #diveintoYourInnernet #bethecloud #digitaldetox

Ending today at 10PM EST:

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If you'd like to purchase my work, you can view my Current Painting Auctions and All Available Paintings.

Best,