"Waiting for Daddy"

Oil on Canvas, 8" x 10"

"Gold Rimmed Tea Cup"

Oil on canvas, 6" x 6"

I haven't painted much in oils lately because of difficulty with the odor of some of the more widely used mediums.  Since the 1970's artists have become more and more aware of the toxicity of artist's materials and have opted for more healthy alternatives in the studio.

 I can remember being a teenager taking private oil painting classes and being subjected to the heavy odor of turpentine with no ventilation and using without caution paints with cadmium and lead. There are vivid memories of my high school years and the use of fixative for pastel drawings that formed a huge cloud of headache producing fumes that seemed to be ever present in the art room.  College was no different and the art studios were a conglomeration of enough fumes, especially of polymer resins, to wish for a gas mask.  I'm amazed at the lack of guidelines in those days, and especially in the public schools and applaud the awareness that the art community and educators have gleaned in the years since. 

For me, it was a no brainer when I switched to acrylic painting as a mom with small children.  Then as the years went by, migraine headaches became a chronic problem for me which were aggravated by strong chemical odors. It seemed that going back to oil painting would never work out for me.

   It was sheer joy to learn of  what I'm using now, oil paints based with walnut oil, and my latest experiment, using high quality cold pressed safflower oil (cheap oil will cause unwanted yellowing of pigments).  M. Graham makes wonderful oils whose medium is only walnut oil, but at times with many days of painting, despite being non-toxic, to my migraine sensitive system, the mild odor can build up.  I use an air purifier for the coldest of days, but all in all M. Graham offers a fabulous alternative.  The safflower oil as a medium has the least odor of any I've tried and the dry time is not much worse than the walnut oil, about 3 days for a nice tackiness, 5 days for surface dry and of course longer, for a thicker application. 

My days of using acrylics are not completely over, since acrylics have many qualities that I embrace such as fast dry time.  They are also very useful as a first coat in a painting to lay down values work out color issues quickly.  Oils can then be painted on this bottom layer after a few hours of dry time provided no acrylic medium is used. 

This painting is part of my daily painting series, and is small, measuring 6 inches by 6 inches.  It was painted from life my studio.  This is a very direct and simple theme, standing on it's own, a tea cup that has been in my collection for many years.

"Bridge at Perona"

Acrylic on Canvas 24" x 36"

The Last Days of Summer.......

"Morning Sunset"  Acrylic, 6" x 6"

"Sand Dune", Acrylic, 6" x 6"

"Two Gulls", Acrylic 6" x 6"

"Tomatoes on the Vine 2"

 Acrylic on Canvas.......8" x 10"

" Chocolate and Vanilla"

Acrylic on Stretched Canvas, 8" x 10"

Just standing in a bakeshop makes my senses go wild with the different cakes all lined up.  I needed a cake for a dinner party I was having, and decided on this one.  But before serving it, I took a picture of it just in case I felt like painting it sometime.  So I did.

"Strawberry Cheese Cake"

Acrylic on Stretched Canvas, 8" x 10"

My sister and I are somewhat competitive over our cheese cake making abilities, but I must admit that she wins, hands down.  The texture is just right, very creamy, not too light and not too fluffy.  Then she pipes the whip cream on top and finishes up with the strawberries.  Mmmmmm.

"Rose Tea"

Oil on Canvas, 6"x 6"

 Grand ladies with big hats and white gloves......that's what I think about when I see this cup......so I had to paint it!

"Ocean Sunset"

Acrylic on Canvas, 24" x 36"

I painted this larger piece a while ago but decided to post it here........it just makes me feel happy to see it!  I hope you like it too! 

"By the Sea"

Acrylic on Canvas, 8" x 10"

I am always at home at the beach looking out at the sea......Oh, a taste of heaven!

"Asparagus"

Acrylic on Canvas, 6" x 6"

Asparagus......Notice how they are always sporting that purple rubber band?

"Apples in a Basket"

Acrylic on Canvas Board, 6" x 6"

Many times I work from a still life that I set up in my studio, but this time I wanted an overhead view of this basket of apples that I had on my counter top.  I always have my camera with me so that I can capture a moment that I think will make good subject matter for a painting in the near or far future. I took several shots from different angles and settled on this one.  Simple, and fun to paint!