Blue Spotted Vase

"Blue Spotted Vase" -- oil on canvas 24x24" -- Margie Guyot

After painting the last still life, which was predominantly in blue tones, I felt chilled to the bone.  I had to do something in fiery red to warm up! 

The blue spotted vase was a garage sale find.  Last fall I stopped at a garage sale in Elk Rapids and there it was, waiting for me.  Only $4 -- such a bargain!

The wild-patterned silk scarf is one I've had for a number of years.  Somehow it's survived the move from Farmington Hills to my studio in northern Michigan.  The mice haven't discovered it yet, thank goodness!  Who knows how many years old it is.  I just love it for the interesting design!

In the back, on the right, is a hand-blown glass pitcher that I'd found at a shop in Pontiac.  In reality, there's a huge crack running across, but I just can't bear to part with it. 

If you've followed my paintings, you'll recognize the striped glasses.  I love striped glasses and have them in several colors.  They just fascinate me.  And don't think that because I've painted them a number of times that they're easy to paint!  They're like Sirens -- irresistable!  One trick I've discovered is to paint the background first, using Liquin, and once it's dry, paint the back side of the glass.  Let it dry, then finish up by painting the front side.  The stripes are so tricky, usually I have to do some wiping-out.  And if the under layer is dry, then wiping-out is so much easier!

I used the same technique for painting the blue vase: painting the backside first, letting it dry, then finishing up on the front side.  Challenging, yes, but it's so much more interesting than washing floors!