Wednesday 29 October 2008


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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Wednesday 22 October 2008


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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Wednesday 15 October 2008


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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Wednesday 8 October 2008


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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Wednesday 1 October 2008


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.

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