Winter Squash and Apples - It's What's For Dinner

This is what I am considering my first attempt at a "real still life". By that I mean one that was set up with all the drama, composition considerations, etc. I'm pretty pleased with it, thanks to Jeanne Mackenzie, (www.jeannemackenzie.com) an artist from Laporte, Co and a great teacher! I made a trip last week to get some instruction and to my delight she had this still life set up for us to paint. I've been wanting to paint some still lifes for quite awhile, but for some reason just not able to get it together to tackle it. I find myself more and more desiring to paint from life and since the wind hasn't stopped blowing for the past 2 weeks I'm staying in to paint. So, this was perfect timing and now I'm really excited to do some more of these! And as I told my husband, one of the great things about this kind of still life is you can eat it when you're done! :)

The Paisley Porch Gallery Christmas Show and Sale

These paintings are both 6x8 and will be part of a Christmas Show and Sale that we put on each year. This year the show is running from November 7 through January 7. All the paintings are small and unframed. As you can see from these two, I used a palette - or painting - knife towards the end which gives them a bit more texture. Lots of fun!