Still Life study

Lime and Tomatoes On the Vine

6 x 8 in., oil on panel

I love a still life once in a while. Especially when they involve red. Red appeals in a painting, and it's rarely found in a landscape with this intensity, so it's quite fun to use it once in a while like this. I was trying to work out some of the rust, get out of the box a little, and just play with this. Did a bit of all three.

-julie davis

Upstream

Upstream

sold

Rhythm can be difficult to re-establish once it's broken. I'm struggling with getting back in the groove of things after the move and all that comes along with it, but I'm making progress! I'm very much enjoying my new studio space, and the deliciously large easel I was able to get. Makes these 6 x 8s seem so tiny. Which is part of my method....giving myself the environment in which to create larger pieces than I have before. I think part of the break in my rhythm is the "pressure" to paint larger. The name of this piece says a lot about how I'm feeling momentarily. :)

-julie davis

Sunset

Sunset

6 x 8 in., oil on panel
sold in Hurricane Harvey fundraiser for the Rockport Center for the Arts

I'm in love with the pinks in this little study. This particular sunset was this summer in Wyoming. I've had this painting for a bit, and am ready to try it larger. Sometimes I have to live with a painting a while to process what it is I like about it and where I want to take it. I'm sure this is not profound, but I've noticed how good it feels sometimes to live with a piece for a while before working a larger version. Then again, sometimes I'm ready the same day.

-julie davis

Fall at Western Lake

Fall at Western Lake

6 x 8 in., oil on panel

nfs

Happy new year! I apologize for my absence, but I took a much needed post-move break over the holidays. School began again today for the girls, so my attention turned back to my work. I entered doorway of my new studio this morning with total anticipation (and trepidation) about painting in a new space, on a new easel, and after what was for me, an extended amount of time "off the brush."

I painted this piece over Thanksgiving, in a favorite spot of mine--Watercolor, Florida. Fall there is so beautiful, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect for plein air painting. I began a larger version of this today, then ditched it for a small tree study when I realized what I really needed in my new environment was something familiar. Very soon, I'll post a larger version.

-julie davis