Painting of the Week

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:36:00 +0000

Fruit Festival
(18" x 36", oil on canvas)

Happy New Year and welcome to the fourth year of my "Painting of the Week" program.

I thought I’d kick off the New Year with a celebration of fresh fruit. For me, lots of bright colours and shapes, combined with interesting and varying textures, is an almost foolproof path to a successful 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.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:36:00 +0000

Vignette: White Enamel
(16" x 16", oil on canvas)

In this composition, I am still using the pomegranate to create a play between small detail and larger masses. I also like the contrast between the transparency of the glass jar and the opaque white of the enamel pitcher. The gold apple pulls all the colours together and adds a pleasant organic shape to 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.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:42:00 +0000

Composition with Red Jug
(24" x 36", oil on canvas)

Close to Christmas I usually try to come up with a green and red composition. Frankly, it's not hard as this is one of my preferred colour combinations. In this painting, my all-time favorite red jug packs its usual colour punch, intensified by the adjacent green grapes.

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.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:47:00 +0000

Jug with Pomegranates
(24" x 24", oil on canvas)

Pomegranates are back in the stores, so you can expect to see a few pieces featuring this colour-loaded fruit. Here I've paired the whole fruit with an equally bold shaped jug. Keeping both partially in shadow softens the massive shapes, while the intricate detail of the opened fruit and scattered seeds in the foreground provide a nice contrast.

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.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:59:00 +0000

Standing Room Only
(12" x 36", oil on canvas)

I have always found that gourds, just like people, have very definite personalities and I've been wanting to do a crowd of them for sometime now. In fact, this particular painting has been in my head for many months. I planned ahead and purchased a new canvas format that would allow me to show a fair number of these characters, all lined up and jostling for attention.

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.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:19:00 +0000

Tomatoes, Garlic and Oil
(12" x 24", oil on canvas)

This simple story speaks to the pleasures of a few fresh ingredients. The nod to the Italian flag (green, white and red) is subtle, but a nice addition for those who care to notice it.

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.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:15:00 +0000

A Book of Verse
(24" x 18", oil on canvas)

When a composition consists of very few items, the smallest details can assume heightened significance. For example, the cast shadow of the pear and the bounce of red reflected from the wine are details that may have been lost in a more complex composition. The slight edge of the bookmark carries the red up, completing the repetition of the colour found elsewhere on the canvas. Despite the apparent simplicity of any of my pieces, I try and include enough visual "surprises" to keep the viewer's eye engaged.

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.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:31:00 +0000

Great Gourds
(22' x 28", oil on canvas)

If last week's piece was all about shape and tone, then this week's is truly a celebration of colour. The fun patterns and colours of these gourds complement the clean contours of the bowl and pitcher. The wild stems add movement and lend the painting an air of playfulness.

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.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:34:00 +0000

Found Objects 
(24" x 36", oil on canvas)

  I love a composition like this one that focuses on shape and tone and challenges me to find the subtle attraction in the less than traditionally beautiful. Instead of using bright colour to keep the viewer's eye engaged, I use perfectly tuned lights and darks to achieve my goal.  

My most popular canvases are generally those with lots of colour. So while this painting may not have wide appeal, this personal set of aesthetics feeds my artist's soul. 

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.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:39:00 +0000

Late Season Tomatoes
(18" x 36", oil on canvas)

The glorious variations in the colour of these few last garden tomatoes called for careful layering of transparent hues. By combining complementary reds with greens, and blues with oranges, I was able to get believable shadows and clean highlights. Working with transparent colours is very time consuming, but I believe the end result is well worth the extra hours. Also, while outrageously expensive, using the best quality paints really pays off in a colour composition such as this.

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.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:49:00 +0000

Autumn Notebook, Page 1
(18" x 14", oil on canvas)

This homage to Autumn was inspired by a recent walk in the woods when I arrived home with pockets crammed full of nature's treasures. The colours, textures and shapes found at this time of the year are almost overwhelming, a treasure trove for artists of all stripes.

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.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:38:00 +0000

October Lobos
(24" x 24", oil on canvas)

In the fall, country roadside apple stands seem to pop up overnight and markets are overflowing with the just-picked fruit. There is little that says October to me more than fresh bright apples... and that first crisp bite!

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.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:07:00 +0000

Colour Luxe
(20" x 30", oil on canvas)

I approached this painting with some trepidation, concerned that the rich tones of blue and red would simply cancel each other out. But I think my deliberate choice of bright objects in the form of the white bowl and the fruit provide just enough light and life to balance the darker saturated 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.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:16:00 +0000

Jersey Macs
(12" x 24", oil on canvas)

These apples, seemingly available only this time of year, are quite small and more regular in form than standard supermarket fare. The skin of the Jersey Mac is a deliciously warm red with cool ruby shadows. The intense red bleeds slightly into the interior flesh, making for unusual and colourful stains. The small squat blue jug seemed to be the perfect shape to accompany these diminutive 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.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:16:00 +0000

Pitcher with Late Summer Apricots
(24" x 18, oil on canvas)

The colour of these late summer apricots varies greatly from those found earlier in the season. With richer, darker tones they are perhaps overripe, but still perfect for my needs. The red and white colour blocking I used as a base adds an unexpected graphic quality to an otherwise painterly composition.

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

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:20:00 +0000

Red Pitcher
(24" x 18", oil on canvas)

This second pitcher painting builds on the lessons learned form the first, which I featured last week, and keeps the focus on the interplay of colour. Furthermore, I'm finding that after months of mostly horizontal formats these verticals are providing a fresh point of view and a nice change of pace. 

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.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:12:00 +0000

Blue Pitcher
(24" x 18", oil on canvas)

Every summer I look forward to the annual pottery show in Val David, Quebec. 1001 Pots is a wonderful place to find additions to my ever-increasing collection of props. Pieces made by hand have more personality, and are therefore more fun to paint, than objects that are machine made.

This jug was one of my purchases this year. Because it is such a beautifully strong colour I paired it with hues of similar value resulting in a wonderful play of colour.

If you’d like to be included on my Painting of the Week email list please write me at daniele@DanieleLemieux.com.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:16:00 +0000

Battenberg and Plums
(24" x18", oil on canvas)

Here, my goal was to showcase the beautiful geometry of the Battenberg lace, keeping all other elements secondary to the pattern. Well, the lace proved to be no match for the colour story of the yellow plums and red bowl, and, although not my original idea, both pattern and colour share the spotlight. This is perhaps not exactly the painting I had in mind, but I still believe it works.

If you’d like to be included on my Painting of the Week email list please write me at daniele@DanieleLemieux.com.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:04:00 +0000

Duos: Clementine
(10" x 14", oil on canvas)

This second small horizontal painting is a companion to last week's piece and uses the same "recipe": fruit, bowl and reflection.

If you’d like to be included on my Painting of the Week email list please write me at daniele@DanieleLemieux.com.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:12:00 +0000

Duos: Peach
(10" x 14", oil on canvas)

Another small format, this one a slight horizontal, which gives me more freedom of composition than my usual 12” squares.

If you’d like to be included on my Painting of the Week email list please write me at daniele@DanieleLemieux.com.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:17:00 +0000

Cherry Tumble

(12 x 24", oil on canvas)

Generally, composition dictates format, but here, the horizontal canvas proved to be the inspiration for this piece. I like the back-and-forth play of horizontal movement — the light moving across the canvas from left to right, while the cherries tumble out of the jar in the opposite direction, from right to left.

If you’d like to be included on my Painting of the Week email list please write me at daniele@DanieleLemieux.com.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:48:00 +0000

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

One of the most important colour theories I learned as a young art student is the undeniable chemistry of complementary colours. This painting is a perfect example of how placing the complementary colours of red and green in close proximity to each other makes for a vibrant colour story. The greens make the reds redder, and the reds in turn make the greens brighter – resulting in a fresh, lively painting.

If you’d like to be included on my Painting of the Week email list please write me at daniele@DanieleLemieux.com.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:31:00 +0000

Peach Bowl
(18" x 18", oil on canvas)

Often, one painting leads to another. This painting grew from one that I did a few weeks ago and posted July 22, "Food for Thought"

If you’d like to be included on my Painting of the Week email list please write me at daniele@DanieleLemieux.com.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:07:00 +0000

À la Table: Galas
(18" x 18", oil on canvas)

In keeping with the "À la Table" series, this piece uses the same elevated point of view. I've used a bigger format, 18" square instead of my usual 12", to accommodate the large enamelware plate and the numerous apples.

If you’d like to be included on my Painting of the Week email list please write me at daniele@DanieleLemieux.com.

noreply@blogger.com (Danièle Lemieux) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:27:00 +0000

Food for Thought
(24" x 36", oil on canvas)

After so many weeks of working with small formats, I was anxious to break out my big brushes and get to work on a larger piece. For me, a big canvas means looser, more painterly work and more liberty to create a mood. Furthermore, working in various sizes is a good practice, as I want to keep my rendering reasonably accurate while still maintaining a fresh brushstroke.

If you’d like to be included on my Painting of the Week email list please write me at daniele@DanieleLemieux.com.