The Kitchen Tree

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

Another view from one end of the house to another. The tree is an orange tree that we have to bring inside in winter, so for years now it stands in our kitchen then, providing us with juicy, sweet oranges just in time for Christmas (no kidding!).

The Old Cupboard

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

This old cupboard from the forties or so has a plain white coat of paint which has become a bit yellowish over the years. My husband always wants me to paint something on it, like a "trompe l'oeil" for example, but I like the plainness with the patina, which I think emphasize it's nice proportions. Anyway, although the painting looks quite simple, it was a challenge and I liked doing it.
Oh, and by the way, on top are a few of our collection of tins, I told you about a little while ago.

To the Studio

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

When I come up the stairs, I can look through the house from one end to the other and even see the outside in front of my studio. I always enjoy that - especially when the sun is setting and the golden light floods through the studio into the hallway. But - no sun today, so here's the hallway with the electric lights on, seen from the other direction than last time.

The Long Table

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

Another take on yesterday's theme. I am happier with this one, a better composition, I think.

High Noon

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

I am pleased I managed to capture today's few sunrays on our dining table at midday. After a magnificently beautiful turquoise and pink coloured sky this morning, the weather later changed to a wet, misty,autumnly gray.

Autumn Sky

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

Wonderful weather today, with wonderful clouds. An occasion to do some plain air painting again.

Parsley

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

No time for an interior today, so I painted this little still life instead.
A bit of parsley left over in one of my herb pots in the kitchen.

Saturday Afternoon

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

My favourite place for reading (except for my bed), a comfortable wicker chair next to our huge open fireplace, which is not in the picture though. That is something I might attempt to paint when we have a fire burning, later in winter. For the moment the woolen blanket still offers enough warmth.

Hallway Gallery

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

The west-east connection in the house, seen from my studio.
As you can see, I like the colour red very much!

Vittoria, head study

pencil on paper, Bleistift auf Papier, crayon sur papier
21cm x 29,5cm
Buy it here

Drawing class again today and thus another sketch of beautiful Vittoria. She's totally into the sixties, loves everything from that era and looks like she's just come from a visit to Andy Warhol's studio in New York. She's got big eyes which look even bigger with the thick, black eyeliner she wears. It's such fun drawing her!

Menora

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

This painting is somewhat confusing in more than one way. First of all, I am not jewish nor an alcoholic. I received this menora as a gift many years ago and like it very much and I'm a fan of sparkling and elegant decanters, love the colours of the liquids in them but hardly ever use them!
Secondly, you might wonder what that green-yellow square is in the middle - well, it is not a painting - it's a small frameless window through which we can see a bit of the countryside. Then there's that diagonal "thing" at the bottom of the picture - what's that?! That's the back of our sofa, which stands in front of this corner. And last but not least, what time of day is this?? I'm intrigued by the mixture of daylight and artificial light at the moment (not just at the moment actually), which is a real challenge to paint. It is in the afternoon, all walls are white, but against the light from outside they look very dark. But then there's the light from the lamp shining onto them which lightens them again. I'm not totally satisfied with the outcome and I tell you, I don't know if this is really such a good idea...

Late Afternoon in Autumn

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

It is getting dark earlier everyday now and we have to turn on our lamps in the afternoon already. I like this time of year (actually I like all times of the year), when we retreat into our cosy nest, light a fire in the fireplace and enjoy the blues outside and the warm yellows and oranges inside.

The Pink Lamp

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

I've painted this corner in my kitchen before, but at that time strong sunshine was streaming in through the window, creating strong contrasts. This was not the case today but somehow I felt like painting it again nevertheless. Then realized, half way through, that this was quite a bit more difficult to paint. The shades on the white walls behind the white chairs - uff! The pink lamp is a joke really - just a fun piece from Ikea but I love the colour combination....

The Little Smile

oil on canvas panel, Öl auf Malplatte, huile sur carton entoilé
18 cm x 24 cm, 7" x 9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

This is another commission I recently finished, showing my Canadian friend Marion who is a fitness trainer. ( The real thing is not as red as it is in the photo!)
See the body shape? Wish I looked a bit more like that myself. There's one thing she and her boyfriend (who received this as a gift) asked me to alter - the smile - hence the title. Apparently she was trying out HIS new fabulous kite and was really thrilled about the things she could make it do, which made her smile in happy surprise, which made the photo HIS favourite photo. (They're madly in love....) Well, seems like I didn't capture that smile clearly enough - mind you, I didn't know the significance, the story behind it when I painted it. So, there will be a slight change, but on the whole this is it.

Little Mermaid

oil on canvas - Öl auf Leinwand - huile sur toile
20 cm x 20 cm / 8" x 8"
sold - verkauft - vendu

Here's one of the commissions I have been working on.
This one was hard! I abandoned two first versions and only the third finally, the one you see here, was a success. At least, I think so and the man who received it as a gift thought so, too. That's the main thing - he's happy and I'm happy.

Vittoria, standing

pencil on paper, crayon sur papier, Bleistift auf Papier
21 cm x 30 cm

I just realized that I hardly posted anything this last week, but I have actually been painting (nearly) every day! Can't show it to you yet....
Well, today we did our drawing class again and followed Vittoria's great suggestion to just do one minute poses. Here's one of mine which I quite like. The lines are actually a bit lighter than they appear here, as they were drawn with pencil.
Should anybody be interested in buying it, I offer it to you for 30 Euros. Just write me an email.

Repairs

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

Why "repairs"? Well, this is an old teapot I have, which, in spite of it's missing lid, I love - not only for it's elegant shape but mainly for the little metallic spout it has. Somebody, a long time ago, went to the trouble of repairing this broken spout by attaching a new metal replacement. It looks odd, but it tells a story of caring, of valueing and of making an effort - instead of wasting, throwing out and consumimg. I really like that.

Autumn Item

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
Buy it here

Initially I had planned to paint some more of our tins, but then I found these nice mushrooms just outside my kitchen door this morning and changed my mind.
The little ceramic plate was made by my friend Jaqueline - it is simple but at the same time very special because it has a beautiful midnight blue glaze, which unfortunately doesn't show here.

Sketch of Vittoria

pencil on paper, crayon sur papier, Bleistift auf Papier
21 cm x 30 cm

Instead of doing my usual painting class, we had this beautiful model sitting for us today and did drawings. I hadn't drawn people for years and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge in spite of the fact that I noticed how rusty my drawing skills are.

Stainless Steel

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

Haven't posted for several days now because I was busy getting two portrait commissions finished, which are surprise birthday gifts, so they can't be posted yet. You will get to see them in a week or two.
Outside it is now gray, wet and cold - on schedule with the beginning of November and
perfect for painting inside. After my series of landscapes and the portrait commissions, I felt like painting a stillife again and was attracted by the soft reflections on our stainless steel kitchen counter. My husband LOVES and collects tins, which has, over the years, resulted in quite a selection of beautiful old and new tins of all kinds, scattered around our house. Here you see a few more recent ones, actually quite ordinary yet graphically interesting tins containing cubes of different stocks, for sale in our supermarkets - and a wooden box of tea - and a carafe for water.