Shot of Convos

Shot of Convos

6x6, soft pastel

What the heck?  BAE...YAAAS...I actually had to google these terms (and others) when I went to paint this still life. I understand “text me” even “lets hang” but I had no idea these traditional candies had kept up with the times better than I have!

A bit of background: In 1866 Oliver Chase, a Boston pharmacist, invented a way to print vegetable dye “conversations” on individual candy pieces.  By1902 he began creating heart shaped candies with conversation quips on them which became very popular near Valentines Day.  If you’re familiar with them (and who isn’t) you know the messages...”kiss me, be mine, all mine, first kiss, best day, love you, dear heart”...etc. etc. These were the same messages as far back as I can remember. And (for now at least) I can remember them 60 years ago...or thereabouts. 

In any event...I got quite a chuckle out of the new conversation candies and was heartened to see that my beloved “xoxo” is still in print!   Enjoy!

P.S. This piece was a bugger!  Imperfections in the paper caused me to redo the background several times.  The background is now purple but doesn’t show up really well in the image above. Oh well, I’ve made it to Day 14. 😊

Shot of Fortune

Shot of Fortune

6x6, soft pastel

This may be one still life “edible” that stays intact.  Not because I don’t like fortune cookies, but it IS about 5 years old and has been laying around in the silverware drawer all this time. It’s pretty crumbly around the edges. I think I’ll just leave my ”fortune” to my imagination.

As part of my process today, I pulled out a color wheel to see what color harmony I should choose for this golden little cookie. I rather like the resulting purple background and touch of teal.

 

Shot of Winter

Shot of Winter

6x6, soft pastel

What do you do when there’s only a trace of snow? You make a tiny shot glass snowman! You can’t imagine how tough this little guy was to make and paint before he melted. It was 4:15am and we had a trace of snow over night so I ran outside, scooped up what I could and scurried back to the warmth of my studio.  It took all of 15 minutes before he was gone...only a trace of snow remained.

Little Blue - The Last M&M

Little Blue

6x6, soft pastel

Recently I bought a small bag of peanut M&Ms with the intention of using them for a colorful still life... but, by the time I was ready to use them the bag was almost empty.  Alas, “Little Blue” was the lone survivor.  

Zero Calories

Zero Calories

6x6, soft pastel

Day 10 #stradaeasel Challenge...I’m deviating from the shot glass series to paint this little piece for an upcoming show in early Feb. Life is hectic right now with the 31 day challenge and framing pieces for the show.  Calgon, take me away!

A Shot of Sleepless Night

A Shot of Sleepless Night

6x6, soft pastel

Day 9 of the #stradaeasel - I’m not going to bother painting this one twice because it reminds me of last night...when it seemed the world was falling apart. Problems with Iran, uncontrolled fires in Australia and a plane crash out of Tehran (later determined to be shot down in error by Iranian forces)...instead of sleeping well and getting up in the wee hours of the morning excited to paint another piece for the 31 day challenge...I couldn’t go to sleep. Finally, at 1am I went into the studio and sketched this little shot of whiskey so it would be ready to paint in the morning. Thankfully, it helped me sleep 😴.   

Shot of Chocolate - 2

Shot of Chocolate - 2

6x6, soft pastel

Take two of the “shot of chocolate”...now I can partake in its gooey chocolatey delishishness (despite my need to eliminate dairy...I tell myself it’s only a tiny bit right?)