Night Enamel and Morning
(12” x 12” each, oil on canvas)

Here’s another pair of works that explore the effects of light versus dark backgrounds. Though I think I will always love the drama of the dark, the light is a refreshing change.

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.

 

Foursome
(8’ x16”, oil on canvas)

The past few days of rain have found my friends seeking shelter where I can get a longer than usual look at them and snap a few good reference photos. Despite the existing grey skies, I have chosen to paint this group of four against a line of puffy summer clouds.

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.

Birds of a Feather
(8” x 24”, oil on canvas)

After doing a few bird “pairs”, I could not resist doing a larger grouping.

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 Jewels
(8” x 16”, oil on canvas)

As the Merlin hawks take over our back yard, scaring away the chickadees, I return to still life with one of my favourite subjects. I never tire of painting these beauties, particularly when I can find them with stem and leaf intact.

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.

 

Bird on Poppy Bud
(8” x 8”, oil on canvas)

To be perfectly truthful, it is goldfinches that I see perched on the poppy bulbs. It is always such a charming sight that I decided yet again, to make liberal use of my artistic license to change one bird for another.


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.

Fence Sitter
(8” x 10, oil on canvas)

We have a very old and weather-beaten fence in our backyard. It leans this way and that and has been repaired more often than I can remember; and we love it. The birds love it too and can often be spotted darting in and about the holey planks.


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.

 

Seed Jar
(8” x 8”, oil on canvas)

My father keeps a jar of sunflower seeds handy on his porch to refill his feeder. It is not unusual for some of the more impatient chickadees to help themselves directly from this jar. The brave little souls will actually fly into the container to get a seed.


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.

 

Party Line
(8” x 16”, oil on canvas)

I am, once again, stretching the truth by lining up four chickadees. I’ve never seen more than two side by each, but I believe these four make a pretty little gathering. When I see the chickadees chattering away near the feeder in our hawthorn tree, I imagine them exchanging news and catching up on the days events.


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 Courtship
(8” x 10”, oil on panel)

Belle
(8” x 8”, oil on panel)

Half the fun of painting my little chickadees is finding suitable titles that aim to hint at a bigger story. These two were easy! 


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.

Sentinel
(8” x 8”, oil on panel)

Scout
(8” x 8”, oil on panel)

These are nervous times for our little birds as we have a pair of Merlin hawks sitting watch over our backyard from our neighbour’s antenna. I like to think the solitary birds I see are keeping watch while their buddies are busy at the feeders.


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.

Chill
(8” x 8”, oil on panel)

 

Just the Two of Us
(10” x 8”, oil on panel)

Gossips
(8” x 10”, oil on panel)

Encouraged by the overwhelming response to my little bird pieces, here are three more.

My heartfelt thanks to the many of you who expressed interest in this project; it is clear that I am not the only fan of the animated chickadee!

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.

Chip
(8” x 8”, oil on panel)

Dee
(8” x 8”, oil on panel)

Happily Ever After
(8” x 10”, oil on panel)

My husband is an avid bird feeder. Over the years we have gone through countless pounds of sunflower seeds, peanuts, Niger seed and suet. So, naturally, I became an avid bird watcher. Painting wildlife is a far cry from painting still life; these chickadees simply don’t hold still. Accordingly, I will leave accuracy to Audubon, and paint my interpretation of these personable little birds.

These small works are a huge departure from my usual subject matter and technique; in fact I consider these pieces a kind of vacation. I hope you have as much fun viewing these as I am having painting them! And because they are so different from what I normally do, any comments will be very helpful.

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.

A.M. and P.M.
(12” x 12” each, oil on canvas)

I painted these two small pieces simultaneously to study the effects of working light to dark, and dark to light.

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.

Lite Brite
(12” x 12”, oil on canvas)
 
Lite Brite was a popular toy when I was a child. It was a basic light box that came with brightly colored pegs that you would push through a screen into black paper creating free-form designs. (There were of course pattern pages provided, but I much preferred the “blank canvas” route). Turning on the light bulb behind the paper illuminated one’s oeuvre.


The light, bright colors of this piece reminded me of the original toy and my early day of painting, albeit with pegs, against a black background and the resulting glowing colours.

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.

Linen Square
(12” x 12”, oil on canvas)

In this small piece, the organic texture of the linen plays just as important a role as the fruit.

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.

Lemon Stack
(24" x 12", oil on canvas)



I like this unorthodox arrangement of lemons for its surprise factor. Stacking the fruit in a glass vase allowed me to concentrate on the great colours of the lemons while giving just a suggestion of the vase. The addition of the berry added a bright splash of red that I happily carried up and down through the vertical composition.


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.

Spring Promise
(8" x 16", oil on canvas)

These paperwhite bulbs hold the promise of spring in their tender pale green shoots. This promise is dedicated to all my fellow winter-weary Canadians.

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 and Co.
(14" x 10", oil on canvas)


A simple small-scale arrangement of three objects in harmony.

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.

Pensé
(16" x 8", oil on canvas)

I do not paint many florals, but when I do, I generally prefer spare "arrangements" of common flowers. My goal here was a simple thought, or pensé, done with very few flowers and a bright palette.

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.

Red Charm
(12" x 12", oil on canvas)
This size canvas benefits by sure brush work, one stroke, not ten, with the aim of keeping a freshness to the painting. While this can mean the work is done more quickly, it has to be done with forethought and a good dose of confidence. Often more hours go into smaller works, more thought, less actual painting time.

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.

White Light
(16" x 16", oil on canvas)

A bright piece to start off the year takes advantage of the white light of January.
Here the cool temperature of the whites and blues is contrasted against the warmth of the apples. These same contrasting temperatures are carried through to the cast shadows, enlivening and unifying the composition.

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.