Collage of My February Paintings

Collage of my "Pastry Pleasure" paintings

Wow!  What a delicious-looking collage!  Please tell me which painting is your favorite.

I tend to jump around in my choice of subject matters from day to day to stave off boredom and stay excited.  It has been a great learning experience to work on the "Pastry Pleasure" series.  Around the 12th painting, I felt bloated with pastry and seriously considered ending the series sooner, but thought better of it just to see if I could handle the "pastry fatigue."  I am glad that I saw it through.

I did learn a lesson or two from my first monthly challenge.  Having a theme for a month turned out to be one of the smartest ideas I have ever come up with.  By sticking to a theme, I really got to explore the subject in depth.  For one thing, you wouldn't believe how much I learned about painting texture, from powered sugar to chocolate glaze!  The results of my explorations are impressive too.  Even if some paintings are stronger than others, or vice versa, doesn't the whole collection look fabulous?

Twenty is, however, a lot of paintings!  From now on, I am going to limit myself to 16, or 12, or 9 paintings for my monthly challenge series, depending on how much time or material I have available during the month.  Staying focused is one thing; getting burned out is another!

I hope you enjoyed the ride.  Tomorrow I am going to announce the painting to be given away.  If you want to win a painting, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Layered Bliss" (oil on linen; 7" x 5") sold

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I did it!  I set out to do 20 small pastry paintings and went all the way to the finish.  I have to admit that I thought about ending the series at 16.  I didn't realize how many were twenty!  Since I have started painting "sweet" paintings since late January, I have actually created 26 of these little ones!

I wanted to do something special for the grand finale, so I bought a three-layered vanilla cake with chocolate buttercream icing from my favorite pastry shop.  The maraschino cherry atop a white rose icing is like an exclamation point!  I threw a party and ate the delicious cake with friends, as good things in life are even better when shared with loved ones.

"Bird's Nest" (oil on linen; 5" x 4") sold

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This is a cupcake for which resistance is futile.  One has to surrender to the bird's nest made of pale pink coconut shavings sitting on top of clouds of icing.  Did I mention jelly bean eggs?  The moment my husband saw the cupcake, he said: "It's mine."  He mumbled something about its richness, but didn't leave a crumb.  I guess he could handle it.

"Bird's Nest is the 19th in my February challenge paintings.  ONE MORE TO GO!  If you want to win a painting from my "Pastry Pleasure" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Pot of Gold" (oil on linen; 5" x 4") sold

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It is generally acknowledged that you cannot buy happiness with money.  I insist, however, that it is quite possible to purchase an intense satisfaction with less than five dollars at a pastry shop.  Look at this adorable chocolate cupcake with green icing and cookie crumbs.  It is bearing a chocolate pot of golden sugar!  I was happier than I would have been if I had found a leprechaun with a pot of gold.  You know, you cannot eat a pot or, for that matter, gold!

"Pot of Gold" is the eighteenth in my February Challenge paintings.  Only two more to go!  If you want to win a painting from my "Pastry Pleasure" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Chocolate Mousse Cup" (oil on linen; 5" x 4")

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After I was finished with the painting, I sat in front of it for a long time in deep satisfaction.  Perhaps it was the red raspberry dusted with confectioner's sugar; or, the yellow green ground.  Or, chocolate. Something about this little gem makes me very happy.

"Pink Lungwort" (watercolor on Yupo; 8 1/2" x 8 1/2") sold

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The lungwort is an invasive, shade-loving palnt.  It's taking over one side of my garden. I keep digging them up and sharing them with my gardening friends.  We all love it!  The matted size is 12 x 12".

If you want to win a painting from my "Pastry Pleasure" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Chocolate Strawberry" (oil on linen; 4" x 5") sold

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Now you are thinking: "Wait a minute, this is not a pastry painting."  True.  But isn't a chocolate-dipped strawberry the ultimate health food?  All the badness is gone; what's left is the pure goodness--fresh fruit and dark chocolate!

"Chocolate Strawberry" is the sixteenth of my February challenge paintings.  Only four more to go!  If you want to win a painting from my "Pastry Pleasure" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Ten Happy Donut Holes" (oil on linen; 5" x 4") sold

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Okay, technically speaking, donut holes are inanimate objects, therefore, incapable of emotions such as happiness.  Happiness was felt by the person who ate them, i.e., my husband, and the other person who painted them, i.e., myself.  I hope that you also experience the same euphoria while looking at the painting of donut holes covered with cinnamon sugar and ready to be dipped in caramel sauce.

If you want to win a painting from my "Pastry Pleasure" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Chocolate Caramel Cupcake" (oil on linen; 5" x 4") sold

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Reference photo

The other day my husband and I had a hot date at a local joint called "Rock Bottom Restaurant Brewery."  After dinner, I ordered this delicious-looking dessert and, of course, I wanted to paint it.  The original picture  taken with my phone had a black shadow, but no matter. Thank god for Photoshop.  Thus was born "Chocolate Caramel Cake."

Cream cheese icing was delicious.  But what really made the cupcake visually appealing was the sauces.  Today's forecast is partly caramel sauce and partly fudge sauce!

"Cherry Brownie" (oil on linen; 4" x 5") sold

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A maraschino cherry cradled in a dollop of whipped cream on top of a homemade brownie.  This is a sweet offering from my kitchen and studio.  I have never eaten a brownie this way, but it was delicious!

"Mount Rushmore" (oil on linen; 28" x 32" x 1 1/2")

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I always share this favorite painting of mine on the Presidents Day.  From this unusual vantage point, one can see only George Washington and Abraham Lincoln fully; Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt can be just glimpsed.  As it happens, these are four of my top favorite presidents.  Thank you, Gutzon Borglum!

HAPPY PRESIDENTS DAY!

"Sprinkled Chocolate Donut" (oil on linen; 4" x 5") sold

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This is my daughter's favorite donut.  Technically, it is a sprinkled and chocolate-glazed donut, but hey, that's a very long title!

If you want to win a painting from my "Pastry Pleasure" series, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Heart Jelly Donut" (oil on linen; 4" x 5") sold

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I bought this heart-shaped jelly donut on the day before the Valentine's Day at Dunkin' Donuts.  When my husband saw it, his reaction was: "Hey, it's smaller than the usual round donut. I now have to eat three of these, not two!"

If you want to win a painting from my "Pastry Pleasure" series, please sign in to follow my blog. Thanks!

"Fruit Tartlet" (oil on linen; 4" x 5") sold

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I have become a connoisseur of pastry.  I haunt bakeries these days. I've noticed that there are many styles of fruit tarts, but they all seem to feature strawberries and blueberries, I guess, for their punchy colors. The fruits are often glazed with a gooey transparent glaze for protection.  Yum....

If you want to win a painting from my "Pastry Pleasure" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog. Thanks!

"Chocolate Cheesecake" (oil on linen; 5" x 4") sold

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Ah, the most delicious chocolate cheesecake, topped with a swirl of clotted cream and a raspberry!  It's too much!

If you want to win a painting at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog. Thanks!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

"Summer Garden Harvest" (watercolor; 14" x 18") sold

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I have a small fruit garden that bears raspberries, blueberries, and sour cherries.  The raspberries posed for my still life one summer day, along with astilbe and tuberous begonia.  I donated the painting to the 2013 Patrons' Show at the Art League in Alexandria, VA, and it won an honorable mention!  Hooray!

If you want to win a painting from my Pastry Pleasure series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Mardi Gras Cupcake" (oil on linen; 7" x 5") sold

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What I learned from my February Challenge of "Pastry Pleasure" so far is that the best job in the world is the pastry chef.  I mean who is having more fun: the artist who painted this sassy cupcake or the pastry chef who designed it?

If you want to win a painting at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog. Thanks!

HAPPY MARDI GRAS!

"Backlit Purple Irises" (watercolor on paper; 14" x 8") sold

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I painted these purple irises from my garden many times.  Ah, the glory of iris!  The matted size is 20 x 14".

"Two Hearts" (oil on linen; 5: x 7") sold

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When even the cookies are in love, you know we are very close to the Valentine's Day! I first painted the ground in lavender, but it didn't tell the story loud enough. So I changed the color to pink!

If you want to win a painting at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog. Thanks!

"Sexy Donut" (oil on linen; 4" x 5") sold

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Can you resist this sexy donut?  I couldn't.

If you want to win a painting at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog. Thanks!

"Key Lime Tartlet" (oil on linen; 4" x 5") sold

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This key lime tartlet was so small that it could go straight into a mouth.  Doesn't the raspberry look like a red flower in a green field?

If you want to win a painting at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Tulip Shadows" (watercolor on Yupo; 14" x 18")

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Taking a break from my February challenge of "Pastry Pleasure" paintings, I worked on a watercolor yesterday.  It is nice to switch gears every now and then.  Red tulips and yellow miniature tulips cast purple shadows on a white ground.  Which is prettier--the flowers or shadows?  The matted size is 20 x 24".

"Be Mine" (oil on linen; 7" x 7") sold

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February is the month when I can indulge in my two afflictions--chocolate and pink.  When I found this adorable mini chocolate cake at the local Whole Foods store, my joy was unbounded.  My daughter, who is becoming more sophisticated by the day, wanted to eat the half of the heart with the rosebud!  So I ate the other half with "Be Mi."  The cake was as delicious as it looked. 

"Blueberry Smile" (oil on linen; 4" x 5") sold

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When I turned the mini fruit tart around, I saw three blueberries looking like smiling.  For a different look, I switched to a yellow orange fabric for the ground.  Which ground do you like better, orange or green?

"Mini Fruit Tart" (oil, 4" x 5")
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If you want to win a painting at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Mini Fruit Tart" (oil on linen; 4" x 5") sold

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A mini tart loaded with a fruit salad of strawberry, blueberries, grape, kiwi, and orange.  Which fruit is your favorite?  By the way, the dull sheen of the highlights was caused by the transparent glaze on the tart.  Yummy.

By the way, the name of this month's challenge is "Pastry Pleasure."  If you want to win a painting at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Lemon Tart Love" (oil on linen; 4" x 5") sold

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Some people don't like the orange color.  To me, it's like a burst of sunshine.  Put a mini lemon tart on a yellow orange fabric.  Look at the blue purple shadow.  I am about to swoon!

In case you missed my blog yesterday, I am going to repeat my goal for February.  It is to paint 20 small pastry paintings, five a week.  At the end of the month, I want to create another collage like the one I did for the January paintings.  So please follow my blog to see if I live up to my promise.  Hopefully my blog will hit 40,000 pageviews by the end of the month so that I can give away one of my delicious food paintings.

In order to be eligible for my painting giveaways, you have to follow my blog.  Thanks!

Collage of My January Paintings

My 30 in 30 challenge paintings; not quite 30, but hey, who is counting?

How do you like the fancy collage of my paintings done during the last month?  Leslie Saeta showed in her blog how to make a collage of the paintings each participating artist created for the 30 in 30 challenge.  It is done using a free site called PicMonkey. If you are interested, try it out!  It's a little tricky to drag the pictures around, and that's why I miss out one of my paintings.  I think it still looks fabulous.  There are always new things to learn!

By the way, my goal for February is to paint 20 small pastry paintings, five a week.  At the end of the month, I want to create another collage like this.  So please follow my blog to see if I live up to my promise.  Hopefully my blog will hit 40,000 pageviews by the end of the month so that I can give away one of the delicious food paintings!

"Peony Season" (watercolor on paper; 6" x 6")

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matted size: 10" x 10"

Recently someone asked me why I don't promote my watercolor paintings.  She said: "They are gorgeous!"  Well, I suppose they are my little secrets.  A great thing about watercolor is that if you use the white of the paper effectively, the painting can really sing for you.  How do you like this little gem?