Afternoon Delight

"Afternoon Delight"  (Watercolor -- 8x10) © C. Eastwood, 2016

"Afternoon Delight" was a commissioned piece for a surprise anniversary gift.  I went back to a more traditional approach for this one, raiding my stash of old antique tea and coffee pots and selecting some rather lovely looking fruit to put together a still life.  What could be more refreshing in the afternoon than a cup of tea and some cherries or pears?  Possibly even a tangerine.

I am delighted to say that the surprise factor was a success and the new painting went off this afternoon to live at its new home. I love participating in this kind of thing.  It's really fun to see the joy on the faces of both the giver and the recipient.  Yay!!!

Make Lemonade

"Make Lemonade"  (Acrylic Mixed Media, 8'x10' canvas panel)    C. Eastwood  © 2015 

"Choose your own direction...when life gives you lemons."  I was experimenting with some different techniques and media, and this is the end result.  Underneath the painting, and visible through the lemons, is a recipe for making lemonade.  There are some other little surprises tucked into the painting for the viewer to discover.  Just a simple painting for a kitchen wall.

Olive Oil To Be

"Olive Oil To Be"  (Watercolor)  C. Eastwood, 2013

Another painting from my visit to the Dutch Henry Winery in Calistoga, CA.  This time it's of the olives being grown there for production of their own olive oil.  It was rather fascinating to see trees that were bearing olives of so many different colors -- green, black, and those in the process of changing, as these were -- all on the same tree.  I just loved the colors.  I also learned that olives have little tiny spots on them (sort of like freckles) where the green continues to show, even when they're fully black.  Who knew?

As for this painting, the style is a bit different than what I usually do.  I tend to prefer blended edges, especially when shading.  But watercolor often uses hard edges in the various layers of glazes as they are built up.  Somehow that just seemed appropriate to this particular painting.

Grapes and Cheese (SOLD)

"Grapes and Cheese"  (Watercolor)  © C. Eastwood, 2013

One more food item -- something to accompany "Lunch Time."  I decided to take a close-up look at the grapes and make them the star.  And lest you think these were gargantuan grapes, everything is actually in proportion.  The cheese was a little tiny wedge with a small spread knife cutting into it. 

Lunch Time

"Lunch Time"  (Watercolor)  C. Eastwood, 2013

Okay -- today's challenge was more pressing than usual.  We needed to bring in something edible to paint.  I decided that a nice sandwich would fit the requirements by being colorful and having different textures.  But there was one catch, the sandwich was my lunch and I couldn't eat it until I finished the painting.  This is called "motivation."  You can't take all day on a painting if you're waiting to eat it!  Anyway -- with apologies to poor Susan who was sitting next to me and getting a whiff of the onions for a couple of hours while I sketched and then painted -- it was an interesting assignment.