Gems
(12" x 24", oil on canvas)

Of the many treats widely available during the holiday season, pomegranates are among my favourites. On the outside they are a beautiful combination of warm and cold reds, but the real visual treat is on the inside. The gem-like seeds tucked into the warm white flesh present a complex challenge to this artist. Thankfully, these marvels don't react too quickly to my hot lights, giving me plenty of time to work on getting it right.

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Fruit of the Vine
(18" x 24", oil on canvas)

Given my palette, I thought this an appropriate piece to present this Christmas Eve. Saturated with colour and heavy with juiciness, these translucent grapes were great fun to paint. My only regret is that by the time I finished this painting, the grapes were no longer fit to eat!

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Peaceable Harmony
(24" x 24", oil on canvas)

For this composition I carefully positioned the greenery to maximize the effect of light hitting the edges of the leaves and stem. This creates a nice contrast of fine line work against the solid mass of the jug.

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Simply Stated, #1
(14" x18" oil on canvas)

Here I explore the subtleties of balance and harmony as achieved by a very few number of elements. The idea that "less is more" is a recurring theme in my work and one that I will continue to explore.

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Soupe à l'oignon
(12" x 24", oil on canvas)

The objects I paint are generally secondary to the mood I strive to convey. An everyday moment, suspended in time, is often my real subject matter. This painting is one such moment, familiar, unpretentious and comforting.

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Onions and Garlic
(24" x 36", oil on canvas)

This larger format painting gave me a lot of things to sink my teeth into and was a nice, though exhausting, change from my usual minimal compositions. Despite the number of elements, I believe this piece still retains my love of quiet atmosphere.

100th Painting of the Week
This posting marks a bit of a milestone for me today, as it’s my 100th Painting of the Week. Painting is largely a solitary activity and while I cherish my hours in the studio, I can also get to feeling pretty isolated. Your comments, no matter how infrequent, give me a way to measure my work. I always look forward to Wednesdays to see if I've hit a nerve. So thanks to all of you for agreeing to be my viewing audience and keeping me from feeling overly disconnected.

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Crab Apples
(30" x 20", oil on canvas)

Today I have chosen to show a detail, as well as the full size piece, to illustrate how I use paint to translate what I see. This close-up passage of shadow and reflection is my interpretation of reality, and is my way of offering the viewer a little more to look at than what is actually there. I try not to be a slave to what is in front of my eyes, preferring to use reality as a departure point.

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Six in a Row
(12" x 24", oil on canvas)

Basic rules of traditional composition tell artists that every painting needs a focal point. Generally speaking, this focal point will grab the viewer's eye then lead them through the composition. However, as most of us know, rules are meant to be bent, broken, or at the very least tested. This piece does not really have an obvious focal point; each of the apples plays a near equal role in the composition. There is no tension... just a quiet side-to-side rhythm.

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Red Enamel
(20" x 30", oil on panel)

My creative process begins months before I actually start a painting, spending hours and hours searching out objects that express my devotion to the everyday experience.

Despite all the steps before I actually squeeze out paint, the rubber really hits the road when I finally put brush to canvas and all the prep work comes together. Sometimes I know almost immediately that a painting will be successful, other times the painting process will surprise me and something ho-hum takes a great turn. Such was the case with this piece. When I put together these elements I was pleased with the colour and shape harmonies, but as I worked on it, I realized it was going to be better than just good. It is this possibility for upside surprises that keeps me coming back to my easel day after day.

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Eggplant Bouquet
(18" x 18", oil on canvas)

White eggplants are the perfect study in contrasts; ultra smooth satin skin and gnarly stems complete with tiny (and painful) thorns. The skins seem to both absorb and reflect light; at times they even appear be lit from within. This is not the first time I've painted white eggplants, but it is the first painting not to end up in the garbage pile proving the old adage "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again".

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Living Well
(24" x 30", oil on canvas)

This is a larger and more complex piece than those that I have been working on lately. With the advent of the cooler weather I am able to spend more time with a piece without the fear of my fresh fruits and vegetables turning to mush. I think there are a few really nice opportunities for artistic exploration in this composition; in particular I enjoyed rendering the overlapping shadows and reflections of the fruit on the stoneware.

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Plum Perfect
(24" x 18", oil on canvas)

I work with a standard palette, or choice of colours, for most of my paintings. I may substitute one yellow for another, or add an umber, but rarely do I stray from my old standbys. This painting is an exception, where to capture the colour of the bowl I had to use a very powerful blue hue that I had tucked away at the back of a drawer. The beauty of this colour, called Windsor Blue (Green Shade), is also its downfall, because its incredible tinting power can quite easily contaminate all the other colours. I think I kept it under control here allowing it to flow from the bowl just a little into the shadow of the yellow plums and the folds of the cloth. The colour belongs to the composition without overpowering the neighbouring colours.

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Arrangement on Linen
(18" x 24", Oil on canvas)

I am beginning to think this vase has magical properties; every painting I have put it in turns out beautifully. Not surprisingly, they all invoke a feeling of balance and serenity.

There are a few props in my ever-growing collection that I seem to turn to time and time again. To my eye, they all have a certain poetic quality that is instrumental in defining the mood of a painting.

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Midnight
(20" x 30", oil on canvas)

I admit I have a love of dark green or grey-green backgrounds; I find the warm neutral tones to be a good fit for much of my work. However, this colour composition called for something a little more dramatic. I picked up the cool tones of the shadowed side of the almost white jug and made them the basis for this background. I really like how blue-black enhances the red of the fruit and provides great contrast to some of the hard edges of the pottery.

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Spartan Three
(18" x18", oil on canvas)

I picked up this wonderful bowl at a pottery show this summer. I was drawn to its elegant shape and proportion and put together this simple composition to showcase these well-balanced attributes. The three small Spartan apples provide a nice contrast to the muted colours and matt finish of the bowl.

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Long Stemmed Beauties
(24" x 18", oil on canvas)

I have chosen to present this ever-popular subject in an almost formal fashion. Setting the white bowl on a generous amount of rich red elevates this simple fruit out of the everyday and into a cosmopolitan treat. Rainier cherries often have extra long green stems and here I have used them to advantage to add movement to this otherwise quiet composition.

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Mini Plums
(12" x 24", oil on canvas)

I try not to paint on weekends anymore, experience having taught me that after a two-day break I am refreshed and my work is improved. So, when my husband arrived home with these small plums on a Friday, he knew I would have a tough time sticking to my self-imposed regime. I had all weekend to sketch and plan my composition and by the time Monday morning rolled around I knew exactly what I was going to do. Some folks eagerly await Fridays; I seem to prefer Mondays.

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Tableau
(18" x 24", oil on canvas)

I love the tone of this simple composition. Here I have a quiet arrangement of ordinary objects, deliberately presented as players in a mystery. Lost edges and the drama of a splash rich red, hint at a story that goes deeper than three objects on a table.

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Red Drape I and II
(18" x 14", oil on canvas)

One of my dealers has a buyer interested in two matching pieces. She had picked one she liked from the gallery's inventory and asked if I could do another similar painting to complete a set. Rather than trying to match a piece I longer had in my studio, I decided to do two new pieces. The client particularly liked the red cloth in the original painting, so I decided to make it more of an important element in my composition than simply a base on which the subject sits. While these are quite simple on their own, I feel they make a strong statement as a pair.

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Little Blue
(12" x 24", oil on canvas)

Despite the dismal summer we've had so far in the east, I can still find large luscious strawberries at the market. Pairing the berries with a small jug further emphasizes their size.

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Garden Fresh
(24" x 30", oil on canvas)

Crispy red radishes with wispy white tails combined with new green onions and a generously bellied pitcher make up this "fresh from the garden" scene. I particularly enjoyed painting the variety of shapes in this composition. The linear quality of both the onions and the radish tails contrast nicely against the large mass of the jug, while the dark tonal background further enhances the freshness of the complementary colours.

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Short Story
(12" x 24", oil on canvas)

My mother used to tell me that a change was as good as a rest. Here, a radical change of format gave me a fresh look at some older props in my collection. The longish shape provides a restful cushion around my central composition creating a nice intimacy. This 1:2 proportion is one that I used extensively many years ago. I really enjoyed returning to this format and hope to do some more in the near future.

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Polish
(22" x 28", oil on canvas)

After last week's rough textures I was looking for something a little more refined to work on. While I often prefer to paint subject matter with "history", it is equally nice to change gears and work with structured shapes and polished finishes.

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Oil Can
(24" x 18", oil on canvas)

Nicks, dents, scratches, chips and rust; the surface of this old oil can is testament to its perhaps inglorious life. It is also a perfect challenge for me as I try and transform these seemingly undesirable attributes into an interesting abstraction of texture, colour and pattern. As the saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder

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A Cupful of Cherries
(18" x 18". oil on canvas)

This time of year fruits and vegetables are so fresh and appealing that they benefit from very little preparation in the kitchen. The same can be said for painting some of these seasonal beauties. The spare lines and vintage personality of these enamelware pieces form a perfectly simple backdrop for theses juicy red cherries.

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Two Nectarines
(18" x 24", oil on canvas)

Visitors to my studio are often amazed to see how a rather ordinary looking set up, such as this one, is transformed into something ethereal once I turn on my spotlights. Light changes everything; it can reveal hidden details, de-emphasize the mundane, or add magical cast shadows. Many years of working with a top-notch photographer taught me the power of good lighting (and no Mark, you don't get a commission, simply my undying gratitude).

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Chiaroscuro
(18" x 24", oil on canvas)

The term chiaroscuro means broadly to render a three dimensional object by the light that hits it. The word comes from the Italian chiaro meaning light, and obscuro meaning dark. This technique creates an often-dramatic tone, as the objects portrayed seem to emerge from the shadows.

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Harvest Squares: Radishes and Mixed Beans
(12" x 12" each, oil on canvas)

These days there are so many things I want to paint I hardly know where to start; it seems every fruit and vegetable has star potential. Here are two small canvases from a companion series to my "Fruit Squares". Dedicated to vegetables, I'm calling this series "Harvest Squares".

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Fruit Squares: Cape Gooseberries
(12" x 12" oil on panel)

Cape gooseberries, or ground cherries, have a truly great "painter's" combination of brightly coloured berries and delicately textured husks. I can easily lose myself in the intricacies of this fruit. It can come as a surprise when I finally step away from my easel and see how the seemingly abstract shapes really do communicate the nature of my subject.

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Bev's Vase
(18" x 24", oil on canvas)

I fell in love with this vase at a recent pottery show. I loved its size, shape and proportions as well as its finish. There is a world of difference between a hand-made piece and one that is mass-produced, and this fact became even more apparent as I struggled to capture its unique personality on canvas. Although I have taken some artistic license with the vase's finishing, I've tried to remain true to its original form.

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Fruit Squares: Maraschinos and Clementines
(12" x 12" each, oil on canvas)

Here are two more additions to my "Fruit Squares" series. The fun began with the decision on the jar shape for each fruit. The maraschinos demanded a tall jar to show the stems to advantage, while the clementines needed a rounded shape to hug the curves of the segments. While I cannot pretend this is important art, they are pleasing little canvases. Sometimes art should simply brighten your day.

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SOLD

Fruit Squares: Fruit Cocktail
(16" x 16", oil on canvas)

While my other "Fruit Squares" paintings are generally 12", I felt the riot of colours here demanded a slightly larger canvas. I really had fun with this one, recalling my days as a child when "Fruit Cocktail" was often on the dessert menu (particularly the day before grocery day when the pantry pickings were slim). Then it was from a can, an uninspiring mix of soggy peaches, tasteless grapes and plastic maraschinos. Lucky for me, times have changed and fresh fruit is now readily available year-round.

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The Cutting Board, Dinner
(24" x 18", oil on canvas)

This is the last of my trio of cutting boards. Small artichokes had just appeared at the local market and seemed a perfect addition to this dinnertime story. I particularly like the mix of organic and man-made shapes that make up this composition.

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The Cutting Board, Lunch
(24" x 18", oil on canvas)

The second in my cutting board series, "Lunch" is a companion piece to last week's "Breakfast". The apple started off as unpeeled, but as the work progressed I found I needed some smaller shapes to balance the large ones. I didn't want to clutter the composition, so partially peeling the apple seemed the perfect solution

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The Cutting Board, Breakfast
(24" x 18", oil on canvas)

This is an example of how some of my compositions are like puzzles, each piece fitting together to make the whole. The cutting board was an absolute joy to paint, and I think it sits perfectly in the space. I am encouraged to try a series of three using the board element as an anchor around which I will build similar compositions.

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Fruit Squares: Peach Halves
(12" x12", oil in canvas)

As I paint I often lose awareness of my actual subject matter. Preferring to concentrate purely on color and form, I strive to rely on my powers of observation to make my subject believable. There is a little bit of magic in having one object, in this case the peaches, define another, the jar.

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Fruit Squares: Marmalade and Jam
(12" x 12" each, oil on canvas)

Painting is my passion, but it is also my job. This reality is why I try my best to honour requests made by my dealers. These past few weeks I received several requests for more 12" paintings. I have been working large of late, and making the transition back to smaller pieces was not easy. After a couple of failed attempts, I found my 12" groove and did what I think are a few solid smalls.

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Walnut Oil and Apple
(18" x 24", oil on canvas)

The "oomph" of this painting comes mainly from the use of high contrast. The stark white bottle against the blue-black background is somewhat softened by the organic shape and muted tone of the leaves. The red wax seal picks up the red of the apple, almost like an accent color in a decorating scheme.

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Apple Plate on Real Red
(20" x 30", oil on canvas)

What can I say about this piece except that I was craving colour. For added drama I've used a higher viewpoint, letting the glorious red cloth bleed off the canvas in all directions. After a few weeks of using a quiet palette, I found working with this amount of saturated colour to be both exhilarating and exhausting.

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White Onions
(24" x 30", oil on canvas)

I have relearned over the past few weeks the joys of working with a limited palette. Without my usual hit of colour, I am forced to concentrate on form and tone, which ultimately leads me to create these understated paintings that I have come to love.

The bonus of working tonally is that even the smallest suggestion of pure colour carries great weight and can add just the right amount of polish to a piece (think subtle scent instead of heady perfume).

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Side Light
(20" x 30", oil on canvas)

Still in keeping with my desire to work tonally, this piece has a little more colour than the past few paintings I've presented. I have chosen to keep the reds subdued so they would not overwhelm this piece, preferring to let the soft light interpret the quiet moment.

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SOLD

Tonal Harmony
(22" x 28", oil on canvas)

Of late I’ve become more interested in atmosphere. My work usually needs a shot of colour for me to be satisfied, so working mainly with tone is an exciting challenge.

This painting builds on last week's piece. I’ve used the same palette, but I’ve tried to inject a sense of mystery and timelessness through choice of subject matter, dissolving edges and the very deliberate placement of each object.

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Deux oignons espagnols
(24" x 24", oil on canvas)

It should come as no surprise that two of my favourite cooking ingredients are also among my favourite painting subjects. Kitchen staples, onions and garlic, offer this painter wonderful colours and textures to work with. Skin, peeled from one of the onions, gave me an additional shape to round out the composition.

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Clementine, Unwrapped
(18" x 24", oil on canvas)

Like a flower opening, the rind of this fruit is easily peeled back to reveal a flawlessly formed clementine. A burst of colour, texture and taste delivered in a perfect little nature-wrapped package. I find this humbling.

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Sugar and Cream
(12 " x 12" each, oil on panel)

I have tried, off and on for years now, to do a piece with this marvelous silver set. While they have beautiful lines they are perhaps too intricate, particularly when pictured as a pair, for the tone of my current work. By separating them into a matching set of paintings, I think I have finally found a way to showcase this graceful duo.

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SOLD

Special Purchase II
(24" x 24", oil on canvas)

Oftentimes, one painting leads to the next. I really enjoyed last's weeks paper bag and wanted to revisit the idea. Here I've paired a larger bag with the smaller intricate textures of a pomegranate. I like the combination of the large graphic shape of the bag juxtaposed with the fruit. I purposefully kept the background very dark to add to the drama of the composition.

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Special Purchase
(18" x 24", oil on canvas)

To find fruit, shipped halfway around the world, with stem and leaves intact is a rarity. My husband Brian came home with these, balanced carefully on top of our weekly groceries, knowing I would most likely immediately disappear into my studio. Pairing these mandarins with a small specialty grocery bag seemed an appropriate combination, supporting the theme of a "Special Purchase".

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Still Life with Gourds and Cranberries
(24" x 36", oil on canvas)

I really struggled putting this piece together, adding objects only to take them away, moving things only to have them return to their original position. Often, I find my first impulse is the best. I love to lose myself in the painting process, rendering a fragile stem, the reflection on a little berry, the lip of a jug—but the danger can be to lose sight of the piece as a whole. The more I concentrate on composition at the beginning, the more likely I am to have a successful painting.

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Kitchen Story
(24" x 36" oil on canvas)

I like to think that much of my work captures a moment in time, brief yet satisfying. However there are times when I want to do something a little allegorical, more of a complete story. This piece is based on a recent afternoon leisurely spent baking in the kitchen; what better way to while away the last remaining days of January? Here, I found inspiration for a new painting and there was pie for dessert!

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Hot Peppers
(16" x 16" oil on canvas)

I could not pass up these peppers at the market this week. The wonderfully splashy reds, deep greens and almost comical shapes of the peppers just about cry out to be captured in paint. What a wonderful, happy antidote to January's cold and grey days!

If you’d like to be included on my Painting of the Week email list please write me at daniele@dnbdesign.com. You’ll receive the painting of the week as well as news about shows.