Juice Bar
(18" x 36", oil on canvas)

"Juice Bar" is the sum total of the lessons I learned doing the small series of glasses, presented February 10, 17 and 24.

Again, the task with a large painting comprised of mostly perishable fruit, was to get down as much information as possible in the first two days of work. Over the years, I have developed my own way of "taking notes" with paint that allows me to bring a work to completion long after my set has changed from fresh to foul.

If you’d like to have your personal copy of the Painting of the Week sent directly to your desktop every Wednesday morning please write me at daniele@DanieleLemieux.com.

Pure & Simple
(18" x 24", oil on canvas)

I built this composition around the clementine, and I did so quickly knowing that the attached leaf would not last long under my hot lights. After fussing around for a day I settled on this somewhat simple grouping and got down to painting. A few hours into the painting process I started to think that this was turning into quite a little gem. The brightness of the jug, the heat of the reds and oranges, the unexpected impact of the blue handle were all adding up to equal quite a powerful piece.

If you’d like to have your personal copy of the Painting of the Week sent directly to your desktop every Wednesday morning please write me at daniele@DanieleLemieux.com.

The Glass Series; Fruit Tonic and Cranberry
(14" x 10" each, oil on canvas)

Using fruit to define the glass was a fun challenge for Fruit Tonic, while the reflection of the tabletop in the dark juice provided added interest to the Cranberry piece.

This is the last pairing in the glass series as I am anxious to move onto some larger pieces. I've enjoyed this format and I may well come back to it... in fact I've a mind to try putting all six pieces together into one large piece.

If you’d like to have your personal copy of the Painting of the Week sent directly to your desktop every Wednesday morning please write me at daniele@DanieleLemieux.com.

The Glass Series: Pink Grapefruit and Mango
(14" x 10" each, oil on canvas)

Glass selection is key when choosing a size and shape for this series. While I have many glasses, not all are suitable for this shape canvas and the tone of the series. The colours of this pair were an absolute joy to work with.

If you’d like to have your personal copy of the Painting of the Week sent directly to your desktop every Wednesday morning please write me at daniele@DanieleLemieux.com.

The Glass Series: Orange and Red Wine
(14" x 10" each, oil on canvas)

Anyone familiar with my work knows how much I love to work in a series. One painting leads seamlessly to the next, and I find myself really enjoying the comfortable rhythm that develops as the series shapes my days. Admittedly, I also have fun with the arrangement options that numerous same-size pieces give me when it comes time to hang the work.

If you’d like to have your personal copy of the Painting of the Week sent directly to your desktop every Wednesday morning please write me at daniele@DanieleLemieux.com.

Fruit Landscape
(12" x 24", oil on canvas)

My original intention was a 12" square piece, but, try as I might, I could not make this bowl of cherries work within a square format. After wrestling for a day, it finally occurred to me that the proportions of the bowl would never look comfortable in a square. The shape of the bowl called for breathing room on the width, so I finally stopped trying to force a round peg into a square hole and changed the shape of my canvas.

If you’d like to have your personal copy of the Painting of the Week sent directly to your desktop every Wednesday morning please write me at daniele@DanieleLemieux.com.

Pear Centerpiece
(24" x 24", oil on canvas)

After completing what I feel to be a few strong pieces, I decided to set myself a challenge with something a little different. This highly graphic composition is deliberately centered in the square canvas. My goal here was to explore the concept of a true "centerpiece" while trying to avoid an overly static painting. Think of this as my version of a Tousignant "gong" painting!

Read the Diary
To see my "diary" of this painting, where I have posted photos I took every few days illustrating how I tackled this subject, please visit my website using the following link: Diary

If you’d like to have your personal copy of the Painting of the Week sent directly to your desktop every Wednesday morning please write me at daniele@DanieleLemieux.com.