Daisies and Fish

It's been raining a lot in LA lately. (I guess it's allowed since it is winter...) Given the cloudy days and looking back on my recent works, I feel the two have collided. That my style has shifted a bit. Take a look at the daisies and the fish on a plate paintings.

Fish with Lemons 9" x 12"
oil paint

Or perhaps it's just all the graphic design classes I've been taking that have made me more consciences of selecting a composition. Many of my classmates have commented that my canvases now have a more graphic style. I'm not sure if this is because of the darker deeper colors that make other shapes standout more or if its my actual compositions. I'd be interested to know what you think.

The fish were painted from a real (was alive at one point) fish my teacher brought in. We oiled them up with linseed oil to keep them from stinking up the studio. Squirting the lemons helped too. It was fun painting something I've never drawn, painted, or ever considered that beautiful. Fish scales have so many colors!

Daisies
oil paint 9" x 12"

The daisies are actually from my apartment. Anne, my teacher, ask a classmate and I to bring in still life objects for this session. I felt so much more connected painting something I was attracted to, bought (thank you IKEA), own, and have on my dinning table. I felt like I understood it better--from both a drawing standpoint but also it's 'energy' if it has that. It was raining so hard when we were painting. Art Center has this plastic roof that amplifies the sound to a roar. But it wasn't distracting, rather the perfect noise for me to just concentrate on those three flowers yearning to "jump out of the vase" as one classmate put it.

I realized my web fans (haha, do I have any?) wouldn't know of a painting tendency I have. I've had a habit of painting the edges of my canvases. I'm not sure why or when I stared doing it. There is a large painting in my parents' dining room that is unframed and the edges are painted, which I have always admired. I also like that you don't have to frame the pieces. They have one build it into it. I also like the effect it gives the work when you're looking at it from the side, as if it keeps going onto the back. See below for an example.

Daisies
shot from below

In other news I've been making progress on some freelance projects. I'll show them off when they are completely finished. Finally feeling like I can check some things off my to do list--and it is so freeing.

Have a creative day.