I started painting the figs, and because they are sitting out in my studio getting softer by the minute, I decided to get all of them onto the canvas at once. They will need to be eaten immediately or become additions to the circular file.   More work will be done on the figs eventually (notice how they look a bit dull and lifeless), but here are a few photos showing how I painted from right to left, working towards the light, and how I shaped the figs with some shadows and deep to lighter tones.  If you click on the photos, they will increase in size and you can see the colors in the figs a bit better.  Just remember, you are seeing a painting come together, step by step, and this painting is in process.....

These are Brown Turkey figs, hence the deep purple tones I am using in this painting.   Some of us adore their shape, color and taste.  Others, I am told, cannot stand this luscious fruit.

I have selected the palatte of hues to be used in this painting, based on the figs in front of me and the colors I see in them:  Yellow orange aso, raw sienna, raw umber, naphthol crimson, phthalo blue, chromium green oxide, titanium white.  I snapped a photo of the paints after I put them into the container from which I paint, so you can see what they look like before they are mixed together on the canvas.  They will all combine into rich tones.

The other photos show the process of  painting in the upper background using three four of the hues.

 

The figs are in my kitchen, so I am 'living' with them and realized that I want the light, in the painting, to stream from the left, so more sketching today after repositioning the figs and changing the direction of the light source.  I have settled on the location for each fig, which will create movement across the canvas and draw the eye.

I also selected the canvas which is 10" x 30" and sketched the composition onto the canvas.  The figs will be located in the right 3/4's, on a board, with light hitting and bouncing off the left side of the board. This will also create a visual movement across the canvas which will lead your eye.

These figs are on the other side of firm, won't last long, so this is a painting that will need to proceed quickly since I want to have them sitting in front of me while I paint.

I am thinking it might be interesting to show the process I go through to create a painting, start to finish.  I will post every day while I am working on this painting, every day I actually work on it, but I will not send out an 'update' notice every time, so it will be up to you to follow along.


I have been intrigued with figs because: 1.  It is fall and figs are in the markets, 2.  I love to eat them, 3. they have wonderful squatty little shapes, 4.  the color in figs is unique, and I think difficult to capture on canvas.  So I have chosen figs as the subject for this painting.


Today I purchased figs, set them up in a composition I like, photographed them, and started to sketch them.  Ok, I ate one.  You think I can become one with the fig and do a more satisfying job of painting them by eating them?


Pictured here are the figs I purchased and a couple of sketches.....

It's the time of year to notice Fall Leaves.  They are green to start with because they are filled with chlorophyll, the substance that allows them to manufacture food.  Other pigments - red, orange, yellow - are also present but masked by the green.  As the days shorten in Fall, chlorophyll synthesis ceases, the green color disappears, and other pigments begin to dominate.  The leaves of certain species typically turn a uniform color (yellow on aspen and birch, scarlet on Red Maple);  others are more variable. 
   As well as looking at a colorful display of trees from a distance, do you look at individual leaves? Each leaf is a work of art, sometimes painted with a variety of color.  So while the drama of firey reds, coppery apricots, and golden yellows pop sizzle and jump right at you, especially when the colorful trees stand in front of deep hued evergreens, take the time to pick up and study individual leaves.
   Right now the lawn is strewn with multi hued leaves.......nature's confetti!


   The paintings here show both views, close up and from a distance.  'Aspen Mountain' (30" x 15") an acrylic on canvas, was painted after a Fall hike on those world famous ski slopes.  'Fall Aspen Leaves' (40" x 25"), a watercolor on paper, was painted to express the end of chlorophyll synthesis in aspen leaves.  I no longer own this painting, but do have giclee prints in full and half size.   Village Interiors (775-831-8868) has a framed print of this painting which can be hung vertically or horizontally.


Take a look at my web site:  www.pamelahuntlee.com to see additional paintings of spectacularly colored fall leaves.

For several years I have been stacking rocks into cairns around and in front of my home. While they can represent many different things, to me they celebrate the sacred in nature. After living with these cairns in my daily view, I couldn't help but begin to paint them in luminous jewel tones. They have become monuments to nature's beauty.

Working on my Trunk Show calendar....these are shows of my jewelry for pre-holiday, winter and early spring. Not only will I be showing in boutiques, but I am accepting 'in home' dates in some locations.

My designs are created with unique, unusual beads, pendants and other items I have collected. Included in my Fall-Holiday collection is a Mah Jongg grouping, due to my love of the game and the great response to my Mahj jewelry from other players.

All of my jewels are semi-precious: pearls (loads of pearls in unusual shapes and sizes - I love them!), turquoise, jade, coral, citrine, lapis....all fabulously outrageous! Necklaces designed to be worn as one, two or three together, and some can be doubled or tripled. This provides options, incredible wearability, and crazy drama. Not to be forgotten: multi-strand bracelets and co-ordinating earrings.

My original jewelry designs have sold through the exclusive SAK's Fifth Avenue designer case in San Francisco, Beverly Hills and South Coast Plaza. Numerous boutiques across the US have carried my designs. If you, or someone you know, is interested in hosting a Trunk Show, contact me via e-mail (pamelahuntlee@gmail.com) to receive hosting information. My calendar is filling....