Yellow Pear Wrapped in Green Tissue Paper (+ a painting I love)

5 x 6 in., oil on linen on panel
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The Co-op where I shop sells pears still wrapped in tissue paper. Usually the tissue paper is white, but recently -- to my great pleasure -- they had green.

I've only painted wrapped fruit a couple of times before, but I have always admired William J. McCloskey's wrapped fruit paintings from the late 1800s. My current favorite is this one - Oranges Wrapped in Tissue Paper from 1890. It is mesmerizing. I haven't seen it in person, but I found someone's snapshot on Flickr of it hanging in the de Young Museum. It's not the subject of the snapshot, but it still looks gorgeous, so take a look if you're interested.

I wanted to THANK YOU for your wonderful responses to my Cuba post and to my new video collaboration with my cousin, Colin. I am working my way through all of your fantastic emails, and I will write you ALL back as soon as I can.

Workshop Update: My Yardley workshop for September is full, but they are accepting a wait list. From what I know, wait listed participants do get in, so I encourage you to sign up if you're thinking about it. More info here and testimonials here.

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Here's what this painting would look like framed:

Wrapped Tangerine (+ 1889 McCloskey painting)

Since my truffles painting auction ends very soon, I thought I'd share that the official folks at Harry & David excitedly posted/tweeted about my truffles painting on their social media platforms. I thought one of their posts on Twitter was cute: "Meet the Truffles. This is their family portrait..."

   

Anyway, I always think of American painter William J. McCloskey (1859–1941) when I paint wrapped fruit. I was happy to see a McCloskey painting, Wrapped Oranges (1889), on view in the Philadelphia Museum of Art's recent still life exhibition that I mentioned in a previous post (and will write about again soon). If you're interested, some more McCloskey wrapped fruit paintings are here, here, and a quite stunning, yet sort of understated one here. Enjoy.

Ending soon - auction ends at ~10:30 AM EST today:

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Happy Monday,

Concord Grapes with Valdeón Blue (Made in Spain) (+ My Upcoming Travels to Spain)

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(5-day auction ends at 12noon EDT on Monday, Oct. 21st)

Today's painting is inspired by my upcoming travels to Barcelona and Madrid. This blue cheese caught my eye as a painting subject because it is beautifully wrapped in leaves. Other than finding its appearance appealing, I didn't know anything about it, so I decided to read up on it. Here's what I learned about Valdeón Blue (made in Spain by Mitica) from the importer Forever Cheese's site:

"Valdeón Blue cheese is made deep in the Picos de Europa, just outside of the province of León. Produced with cow and goat’s milk, Valdeón is sought after because it is milder than DOP Cabrales and is still characteristically wrapped in leaves which make for an appealing presentation. It has an excellent balance of sweet and tangy, with a nice earthiness at the finish."

I haven't tasted it yet, but Valdeón Blue was excellent to paint. ;-)

While I am traveling in Spain to paint, I will also be looking at workshop venues to teach a possible "A Painting a Day" workshop in summer 2014. So, I am wondering: would you like to paint with me in Spain? If so, please email me to let me know you're interested. (I'm also considering a summer workshop in Italy, too. To find out first about my new workshop offerings, sign up for information here.)

Ending soon:

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(Ends today at 3:10 PM EDT)

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Enjoy,

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Here's how this painting would look framed:

Yellow Pear Wrapped in Green Tissue Paper No. 2

6 x 4 in., oil on linen on panel
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Something I've been enjoying lately is this blog by Regina Tingle. She's a writer from Texas who wrote much of it from her home in Italy, and now she writes from her new home in New Zealand (!). I'm excited about where it all comes from and where it's all going -- and will write more on that later -- but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy it. (<--- I recommend going back and starting at the beginning.)

Anyway, if you're interested, when I posted my first Yellow Pear Wrapped in Green Tissue Paper painting back in June, I also wrote about a painting that mesmerizes me. Click here to read the post.

If you enjoy today's painting, leave a comment here, and share it with your friends using the links below or click to tweet.

ENDING SOON
The auction for Still Life with Cranberries, Clementine, and Silver Creamer ends TODAY at 10:45 PM EST. View auction

Enjoy,

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Still Life with Tangerine and Wrapped Tangerine, Barcelona, Spain (Yin & Yang) (+ Barcelona photos)

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This is my second painting from Barcelona. As I was preparing this painting to post here, I realized that the last time I painted paper-wrapped fruit was about a year ago. I really enjoy it so I will plan to do it more often!

If you'd like to see this painting on my easel, I added snapshots over on Facebook; tonight I also added photos of my adventures wandering around Barcelona.

I have two more Barcelona paintings (both landscapes). I will continue posting tomorrow.

New Workshop Announcement
My Sedona Arts Center workshop from May 19-23, 2014 is now open for registration. Click here for information. (Note: this may be my only workshop in spring 2014).

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Enjoy,

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Sample detail view (sign up here for more detail views of my work):


Here's how this painting would look framed:

Bosc Pear (Wrapped)

6 x 5 in., oil on linen on panel
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Wrapped Tangerine and Tangerine (Yin & Yang)

This painting continues my "yin and yang" series that I began back in 2010.

Enjoy,

Red Pear & Wrapped Red Pear (Yin & Yang) - 24 Hour Auction

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Note: this 24-hour auction will end at 10 AM EST on Tuesday, November 20th

My NEW FREE POSTER will be available soon -- definitely by Thanksgiving.

If you're a part of my list... you'll be first to get a link to download it for free.

If you're not... you can sign in below for direct access or click here.

AUCTIONS ENDING TODAY
Still Life with Figs, Teacup, and Concord Grapes - View auction here
Fig - View auction here (Hurricane Sandy fundraiser)

Best,


PS In case you missed out in Sept and Oct, here are my first two free posters. Hope you enjoy.

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Golden Series: Strawberries, Blueberries, and Two Figs (+ Artist Charlie Ritchie)

4 x 6 in., oil on linen on panel
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This is my second painting from my new Golden Series (you can read about the series here). If you enjoy today's painting, please leave a comment here or share it with your friends using the links below (or tweet it).

Earlier this spring, I attended an inspiring lecture given by artist Charles Ritchie (he's also Associate Curator of Modern Prints and Drawings at National Gallery of Art in Washington DC). In his lecture “34 Years of Keeping a Journal: Notes on a Daily Practice,” Charlie discussed the journals that he's been creating continuously since 1977. These drawings/sketchbooks are inspired by the artist's home, and track his dreams and creative process.

When asked what motivates his daily journaling practice, I admire that Charlie says,

"It’s a great way to get sort of closer to yourself and take time for yourself especially in this kind of modern world where we are so bombarded with such clutter that you know it’s really important that we stop and breathe and look inside and see where we are, who we are, and what we are. 

You can see it as meditation or even exercise. It’s a kind of way of exercising one’s mind and inventive capacities and building on them and sharpening them in a way and being more and more in tuned with the world." ~Charles Ritchie, 2012 (source)

As I re-visited his website recently, I particularly enjoyed "Conversation with the Artist in his Studio" and I highly recommend it. Three-quarters of the way down the page, Charlie comments on "looking at the overlooked" (source) and how his works "resonate with familiarity for the viewer." As a long-time Morandi fan, his response piqued my interest: "Morandi repeatedly painted a group of objects with very slight changes. He was dealing with various internal states, and he projected not only his own experience but the universe upon those objects."

Finally, here's one of my favorite Ritchie passages: 

"My art makes me ask questions, and I hope it makes others ask questions. There's much more here than we let ourselves to see, more that what we assume is here. I am commenting on my world and myself."  ~Charles Ritchie, 1992 (source)

P.S. Thanks to Charlie -- a new goal of mine is to give a lecture in the year 2041 entitled, "34 Years of Daily Painting: Notes on a Daily Practice."

ENDING SOON
The auction for Yellow Pear Wrapped in Green Tissue Paper No. 2 ends tomorrow at 8 PM EST. View auction

Enjoy,

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