Turquoise Teacup with Rainier Cherries

Another vintage teacup found on a fun day out "antiquing" with my friend Kim. We always find a few treasures, and I couldn't leave this little teacup behind.

I hope your week is off to a great beginning!

Still Life with Red Grapes

I did this study for a larger painting. I hope to be able to share it with you soon.

In other news, I've been having issues with my photos looking very washed out in Blogger. After much troubleshooting, I found that the problem was with my Google+ settings. If you are having the same issue, go to your profile settings page, scroll down to photos and uncheck the auto enhance feature and check the box for uploading your images at full size. This prevents it from altering or compressing your image, and the original photo quality is preserved. I only started noticing this a few weeks ago, so I thought others may be experiencing it, too.

I hope you're having a great weekend!

And the winner is...

It's time for the drawing! As you can see, everyone's name is in the hat! And since this is Texas, well, it it's gotta be a cowboy hat, right? And the lucky painter is...

Congratulations, Renee Brennan! Renee has been daily painting and blogging since February of 2010. To see her beautiful artwork, please click here.

Thank you again to everyone for the sweet comments and emails. Y'all are the BEST!

Have a great weekend! And happy painting!

Ode to Vasari and a Giveway!

It's time to confess. I have fallen completely in love with Vasari's alizarin crimson. You know how alizarin can be rather grainy? Well, this isn't. It is the best that I've ever used. Since I learn so much from you, I would like to share a tube of this awesome paint! If you would like to try it, just send me an email (or post it in comments) and on Friday, I'll put all of your names in a hat and draw a lucky winner.

Thank you for your daily inspiration! I appreciate it!

Pear at Dusk

While grocery shopping this week, I was so tickled to find a leaf still attached to this little pear. I wanted to do a happy dance right there in the produce section. I think I'm spending too much time with fruit.

Have a great evening!

White Peaches in the Late Afternoon Light

More fun with painting peaches. My husband has been eyeing these for a cobbler, so I'm painting them as fast as I can!

I hope you have a great weekend!

Tea Bowl with White Peach

I'm settling in to my summer routine groove, and I'm loving the late afternoon light for painting. And of course -- the A/C. It is already heating up in Texas! So, it's a treat to stay indoors and paint.

I hope you're having a great week!

Tenmoku Monk Bottle with Strawberries

This pretty little bottle was so fun to paint. It is another handmade piece from the Jury Smith collection available at Bottle and Bowl.

I hope your week is off to a great beginning! Happy painting!

Prairie Style

My lavender is blooming now, and I love the soft fragrance. It smells just like summertime! 

I hope you have a great evening!