The Purple Hat

It's not what I do, but the way I do it. It's not what I say, but the way I say it.

Mae West


I posted this hat when it was a black and white drawing back in September. Every once in a while I get the urge to work with colored pencils and these hat drawings are the perfect thing. There's still more to be done on the hat and then I'll go back in and do a little more molding on the face. Isn't she a pip?

Flowering Branch 3

People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.

Iris Murdoch


I have now started to put the highlights and shadows into the flower even though I haven't decided what color it's actually going to be. The source I'm working from is an intricate black and white line drawing. Originally I had thought the flower would be white but am now leaning toward red. At this point, though, there's still a lot of work getting in the detail. The original under drawing is now completely covered so it's a matter of painting from the source. If I do decide to make it a different color it will be through applying a series of glaces. Time to put this one aside for awhile.

Flowering Branch 2

We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.

Charles Kingsley


Of course, the ticket here is to find something to be enthusiastic about. And nothing fires my enthusiasm to paint more than going to an art show. This past week we went to a magnificent Fine Arts Fair in Palm Beach. On display were works from all around the world ~ both traditional and contemporary. What a treat!

I've put the background and leaves in on this little painting but am a little concerned as the drawing seems to have faded. Perhaps I didn't make it dark enough but I was concerned about covering the pencil lines since the flower is going to be white. We'll see.

Flowering Branch

A work of art cannot be satisfied with being a representation; it should be a presentation.

Jacques Reverdy

Jacques Reverdy to my mind is right on when he says that art should be a presentation rather than a representation. Artists are interpreters. They look at what is actually there and then present it as they see it. I love realistic paintings. I love beautiful photographs. To me they are both artistic endeavors. I consider both of them art forms. The photographer using his creative talent uses his camera much the same way the painter uses his brush. Each one using his interpretative way of seeing things changes what is actually in front of him to what he or she wants the viewer to actually visually experience.

I am trying a new techique in this small painting pictured above. I first gessoed the canvas using white acrylic gesso. I then did a detailed drawing of the flowering branch with graphite. To seal the drawing I put a fine wash of thinned gesso tinted with yellow ochre. Hopefully, this will keep the drawing from smudging when I start to actually paint. In keeping with Reverdy's way of thinking I'm hoping to be a little freer in my work even though the drawing is so exact. Should be fun!

The Pagoda

Beauty ~ the adjustment of all parts proportionately so that one cannot add or subtract or change without impairing the harmony of the whole.

Leon Battista Alberti

This little pagoda was outside of an Asian restaurant in Boca Raton near where we used to live. I thought the proportions were just perfect. Another one of those little paintings I have had sitting around that just needed some finishing touches ~ I think in spite of the color scheme it's very serene. I darkened the background a little ~ the original brighter red was too great a contrast with the green leaves and I wanted the pagoda to stand out a little more. It's amazing how different things look when you go back to them after several months!

Olive Oil

I feel a recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation.

Madame Benoit


This small painting of a jar of olive oil is one I started several years ago and has been sitting with a group of other paintings waiting for some finishing touches. It was initially intended to be an exercise in learning to paint glass. I'm not quite sure I have that down yet but I am pleased with how the cork turned out! In any event I hope to be posting five or six small paintings in the near future in an attempt to get my studio organized. And, oh, I am dedicating this painting to the most intelligent cook I know ~ Em!

The Jar

I could say I've not been well ~ I could say I've been traveling ~ I could say my computer has been acting like Hal. Anyway, here's a little update on the white jar.