"Tulips on Orange Batik Shawl"

"Tulips on Orange Batik Shawl" -- oil on canvas 24x24" -- Margie Guyot

Surprisingly, cut tulips seem to last a lot longer than I'd expected.  And they get more and more interesting as they age, with leaves twisting and the blossoms leaning and opening wider.  Why throw them out? 

For an interesting challenge, I decided to set them upon a bright orange batik shawl I'd snagged at a rummage sale.  Some people might find this garish, but I loved it.  It's a bright bit of "fire" in an otherwise dark, gloomy Michigan winter.

One trick I discovered about painting fabric wrinkles is to use Liquin and paint in the "hills and valleys" in the solid background color.  In a day or so the surface will be dry enough to paint in the printed design.  I didn't always know this.  Felt like a genius when I finally figured it out!

And no, it still didn't make things much easier for painting wrinkled fabrics --- only a bit quicker!  But what else is there to do up here in winter?  I refuse to pay for TV (so I don't have any).  And housecleaning is SUCH a drag.  You clean and the next day everything's trashed again.  Might as well sit and play around with colors!

"Tulips and Blue Glass Bowl"

"Tulips and Blue Glass Bowl" -- oil on canvas 20x16" -- Margie Guyot

I found these tulips at Meijer's and just loved the color!  The blue glass bowl came from an antique store in Elk Rapids.  As soon as I saw it, I knew it would be exciting in a painting.  The sun came out for one day, an exciting event in itself.  We see it so rarely in winter up here in NW Michigan.

 It's surprising how challenging it is to draw in and paint the tulip leaves!  Mixing the right shades of green was a challenge as well!  Once cut and put into water, tulips continue to grow -- and change.   But I've learned to compare the difficulty of painting something with the difficulty of painting cupcake frosting swirls (my big project last year).  I figure if I could control my panic with frosting swirls, anything else would be somewhat easier.

It's like comparing the difficulty of tasks with the difficulty of working on the Line at Ford Motor Company for 30 years!  Now THAT was hard work!

Stay tuned for more tulips.... 

"Granny Smiths"

"Granny Smiths" -- oil on canvas 24x24" -- Margie Guyot

I had the urge to paint another apple still life.  This time I wanted to do something with Granny Smith apples, since I'd painted quite a few Honeycrisps lately.  I love the green!  If you've been following my blog at all, you may have noticed I love painting vintage tablecloths as well.  And I don't shy away from painting folds and wrinkles, either.  What else is there to do, anyway?  Iron sheets?  Wash walls?  No, I'd sooner be figuring out how to paint things!

Often I'll decide on the color scheme before I set up a still life.  Years ago I was in a gallery out West when I realized that the paintings that seemed to jump off the wall were done in contrasting colors: red and green.  Orange and blue.  Lavender and yellow.  I love bright colors and a "this one's jumping off the wall!" type feeling, so much of the time I will consciously decide on contrasting colors before I set things up.

I've used this red and white tablecloth in several other paintings.  I snagged it in an antique store in Traverse City a year or two ago. 

The apples -- I'd planned on buying a bag of them, but the bagged ones all looked too green.  Like they weren't ripe yet.  Super-green, gill-grabbers!  So I had to pick out individual ones, going for the more pale ones at Meijer's.  A couple had faint tinges of red (all the better!).

And it was such a crazy week to try to paint!  A 6" snowfall, 2 rehearsals (I'm in 3 different musical groups), plus I taught 2 art classes and had art show opening at the Dennos Museum in Traverse City.  There were constant interruptions, but sometimes that's good, too.  It can be helpful to step away from one's painting, then come back to it to "see it with a fresh eye".

What's next?  A red apple with green tablecloth?  Possibly!

Fruit Swirl Cheesecakes

 "Key Lime Cheesecake #1" -- oil on canvas 6x6"

 "Key Lime Cheesecake #2" -- oil on canvas 6x6"

 

"Key Lime Cheesecake #3" -- oil on canvas 6x6"

 

 "Mixed Berry Cheesecake #1" -- oil on canvas 6x6"

 "Peach Cheesecake #1" -- oil on canvas 6x6"

"Peach Cheesecake #2" -- oil on canvas 6x6"

 

Ever see one of those big cheesecakes in the grocery, the ones with the different flavors?  I was invited to a dinner party and said I'd bring dessert.  But who has time to fuss with making it anymore?  I bought this one just because of the colors.  Probably the chocolate cheesecake would have been yummier.

 

I had just one day to paint slices, so I worked like a DAWG and did 6 slices.  Then it was off to the party.  Where only 3 slices were eaten.  I tried the peach and found it nearly tasteless.  Boo-hoo!  

 

When painting these, I thought it was fascinating to see how parts of the fruit swirls would seem to glow in the sunlight.  And I loved how the "mixed berry" stained purple into the cheesecake.  But I must admit to being glad to be finished painting this series.  That pitiful-tasting peach slice just kind of killed my enthusiasm! 

Gnome

"Gnome" -- oil on canvas 24x12" -- Margie Guyot

I love gnomes!  But only really cool gnomes.  Not stupid gnomes!  This one was found in Meijer's a couple years ago.  The red poinsettia doily was a resale shop find.  

Those glass ornaments have been in my family for many years.  In reality, I was holding the bulbs in my fingers when painting them.  One slipped out and shattered in a million pieces the floor.  I went out into the woods and clipped off a small branch and added that later. 

Coffee Break with Orchid

"Coffee Break with Orchid" -- oil on canvas -- 24x24" -- Margie Guyot

The inspiration for this one came from the beautiful slipper-type orchid I found at Meijer's in Traverse City. I'm such a sucker for orchids! Love them. Their blooms last for quite some time.

Right away I knew what I wanted to pair it with: the old metal cookie tin (on the left). I'd gotten that last month at a garage sale. It used to be my neighbor Pete Peterson's. I love the red bird on it!

And I'm re-using that tablecloth. It came from an antique store in Traverse City as well. Boy o boy -- it's a tough one to paint, too! But totally fascinating.

The big green glass vase I got from a mail-order about 15 years ago. Amazing -- it's survived and hasn't broken! I love the curlicues on it. Love the color!

Guess I'm kind of hooked (also!) on painting gloves. And I love this type of gardening glove! It's knit and the fingers are dipped in neoprene. I've bought all kinds of gardening gloves and this is the best! All the rest quickly blow out the fingertips. I tend to get fungus under my fingernails from the soil, so I really appreciate how these gloves hold up. And not that expensive, either!

It was overcast pretty much the entire time I painted this still life. So I had to guess about the shadows.

The cookies in the tin were painted from memory. I have no time to bake cookies. And the store-bought cookies are nasty! So you can call these "pretend cookies".

I usually like to fix a nice, strong cup of Starbucks coffee about mid-day. When I painted the coffee in the painting, I'd fixed a little extra and poured it into the thermos cup. Painted it quickly, then drank it. Waste not, want not.

Don't you just love the old thermos? I never buy them new. I snag as many as I want at garage sales. Who knows how old this one is? I always brought my own coffee when I worked at Ford Wixom Assembly Plant. The vending machine stuff was horrid.

You say the roses are too little? Well, they were snipped off my Blaze climbing rose. They were the first roses to open. I prettied them up a little, as the Japanese beetles had chewed them up somewhat. Maybe I'll treat myself to a bunch of store-bought tea roses soon....