Olives

Copyrighted © 2009 by Linda Warner Constantino.

"Olives"

6"by 6" oil on gesso board.

$100 plus $5 shipping. Email me if interested.

It's hard to believe I have not posted in almost a month. I am teaching an overload at school and designing and illustrating a wine label. It has been just crazy!

So getting back to the easel has been approach/avoidance. I wanted to paint but was afraid I forgot everything. Why is that? I also did not know how I would paint it. There is part of me that can be as tight as a botanical illustrator (in watercolors at least) and another part of me that so enjoys a loose painterly approach to realistic subject matter.

I decided to photograph the stages of this painting on the left. Of course this put the pressure on it to be a great painting but I decided to do it anyway. I am still mourning the loss of my good camera that I dropped in the tub a few months ago(do not ask). The camera I am using is alright but does not take as good photos. Anyway, here are the stages.

The Last Meyer Lemon of the Year

Copyrighted © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino - oil on gessoboard - 6" by 6".

I am now on my winter break and have more time to get back to painting. I admit to being a bit rusty and having lost a little contact with my brushwork. I had to wipe this one off and start again.

This is the last Meyer lemon off of one of my trees in the front yard. They are just the most beautiful lemon color and smell and taste so good.

Cheese Shaker

Copyrighted © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino - 5" by 7"-oil on gessoboard.

I love this copper cheese shaker but it is always hard to do justice to it in a painting. I wish I could paint more often but teaching college is consuming so once or twice a week has to do it for now.I bought some new fabric for my still lifes that I am looking forward to using. I think I have been in a backround rut for a while. I am using gessoboard and adding some Galkyd Lite to my paints. I am liking it for a change. I think I will always be in search of the perfect brush, though. I would love to hear about other painter's perfect brushes.

Eggplants

Copyrighted © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino. Oil on Belgian linen panel - 6 by 6 in. Click image to view larger. Click here to purchase.

I could not resist these baby eggplants! I played around with the composition a bit because they are so strong in value. Also I finally figured out the light so that you can see more of the value and temperature changes in the eggplants. I do not know what it is about the shape of them, though. I just like them.

Pitchers - Still Life

Copyrighted ©2008 by Linda Warner Constantino.Oil on linen board 6" by 6" - Click on image for larger view. Click here to purchase.

I am getting pretty obsessed with the blue-green thing. I think it is safe to say. Even in painting landscapes it is the blues and greens that challenge me. I am still trying to stay looser, and a bit more interpretive with my still lifes. With my illustrator background I have a latent tendency to get hung up in rendering. When I start to render too tightly I am committed to a level of detail that I am not really interested in. I like mark making and the vitality it can bring to a painting. I find it easier to keep the brushtrokes lively in landscapes than still lifes but I am working on it.

Blue Pitcher

Copyrighted © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino - oil on linen board 8"by6". Click on image see larger.

I am still going with the blue green thing. Actually I can't help it. All the Arts and Crafts pottery in our house is some version of blue and green. Suffice it to say - another passion. I am still trying to stay looser with my still lifes. I also decided to sprawl a bit with the arrangement of objects since I tend to crowd my compositions a bit. I am trying to keep in the spirit of experimentation this summer and push myself out of my comfort zone.

Lemons & Pots - Still Life

Copyrighted © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino. Oil on linen board - 6" by 6". Click on image to see larger view. Click here to purchase.

I awoke to a nail and a stick in my tire so I knew I was not going out on site. I set up this little still life yesterday but did not get around to painting it because I had 15 family members over for dinner and decided I had to scrub the kitchen floor. Sounds ho-hum but sometimes cleaning can be very satisfying.I think I read somewhere once that Ingrid Bergman's hobby was cleaning! I guess that makes me feel justified.

Anyway, I have this thing with greens a blues. In this painting I was playing around with saturation and de-saturation. The cobalt blue pot is so bright. I decided to surround it with more desaturated blues and greens with some yellows and oranges as a kind of accent. I underpainted with a mixture of alizarin crimson, cad. red and some cad. orange. It is nice to have the time this summer to play around and experiment with painting a little more. I am really trying to stay a little looser with my still lifes.

Pitcher and Cherries

Copyrighted © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino. Oil on linen on board 6" by 6"

I have not painted in a couple of weeks and it is always a little rough going in the beginning. I developed "walking pneumonia" the last week of classes and wound up spending 4 days in bed! I do not get sick often but when I do it sure makes me appreciate wellness.

I feel like Queen Ann cherries were made to be painted. I love the play between the yellow and red. The pitcher was a tough one- translucent and ridges. I was going for an impression of it.

Cipollini Onions - Oils

Copyright © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino. Oil on gessoed artboard. 5"by7".Available for $100 plus shipping. Email me if interested.

This is the real painting in oil that I created before the digital one below. This painting was done from life.

"Peppers" Small Still Life

Copyrighted © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino. Oil on linen panel 7" by 5".Available for $100 plus shipping. Email me if interested.

I finally feel back in my routine of weekly painting. Painting on site and in my studio from life is a habit I never want to break. I am thinking of starting a drawing from life blog because in one of my classes I have my students do 100 sketches from life and I feel I need to be able to back it up on my end. Perhaps. I need more hours in the day.

In this little still life I was focusing on staying loose and painterly with clean color.

"Onions" Small Still Life

Copyrighted © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino. Oil on linen panel 7" by 5. Available for $100 plus shipping. Email me if interested.

These small onions have been hanging around begging to be painted. So I obliged. I really like the colors in this one for some reason. I hope you enjoy.

"Japanese Eggplant"

"Japanese Eggplant"

Copyrighted © 2007 by Linda Warner Constantino. Oil on board 8"by6"framed, 11.5" by10" unframed.

Purple is can be such an elegant color.vI like the simplicity and brushstrokes of this painting. I have always loved the shape of the Japanese eggplants. I usually grow them in my garden too.

I am offering this painting framed like the one above and it includes free shipping in time for Christmas if you like.

"Tomatoes"-Commission

© 2007 by Linda Warner Constantino. 5"w by 7"h oil on linen board.NFS

This is the painting that I finished a few weeks ago for a commission. I had great fun painting all the temperatures of red.