Remembering Jess

Here’s a still life in honor of Ed’s mother–the world’s best mother-in-law.  She gave me her silver wedding gift  (compote?  fruit bowl?) years ago.  I passed it on to Alison who let me borrow it for the painting.  I love the unevenness of it,  one side up, one side down, and the variation of the hammered forms.    The old photograph is of Jess when she was quite small.  And of course the white rose is for Mother’s Day, as well as an echo of the white dress.  The wallpaper in the background  is made up, partly to repeat the swirls in the silver piece and to provide a complement to all the green.    I’m liking painting in the dark but it’s not easy.

Remembering Jess   14 x 16  oil on birch panel   $600

Cozy

We’ve had more snow this winter than Strafford has had in maybe the last 20 years.  So there’s been plenty of opportunity to hunker down and enjoy being inside.  When I’m not painting I love to drink tea and read novels while the white stuff is flying around.  Here’s a painting inspired by that scene.  The little teapot was my mother’s; the Pearly Everlasting is a wonderful tiny wildflower that dries beautifully; and I usually have a batch of shortbreads around.  It was all I could do to keep Ed from eating this one until I’d finished the painting!

Shortbread, Tea and Pearly Everlasting   14 x 16   $400 unframed