Flower power

As I was reading some notes by J.S.Sargent ( one of the painters I admire the most) I noticed that he said that painting flowers was a good exercise.
Exactly what I think too ( moderstly). Fruits are easier to approach , they offer you nice variations of shapes, contrasts and colors and they seem to guide you on a safe path.
Flowers show you their simple beauty but most of them hide traps and unexpected difficulties ...
Here are some I painted these last years.

A rose in my parent's in law's garden ( casein 50x50cm)

Daisies I collected on the road side in the same area ( casein 61x55cm)

Other flowers from the roadside ( casein 92x60cm)

I offered this painting to a person I was lucky enought o meet a couple of times in the Brandywine area.

Sunflowers look at the sun, they seem to look at you and finally they look at the earth.

(acrylic 92x60cm)

Two yellow beauties in Monet's garden in Giverny.

(casein 50x50cm)

Tutti frutti

I love the paintings of  Barbara Kacicek , she paints marvellous fruits, and rocks and other things.
I often check out her website and it is always a delight to see her new creations. I find her paintings so sensuous and I love the way she seems to pick up simple and ordinary subjects and  infuses  a strong and deep underlying  meaning.

I paint fruits differently , in a more ornamental manner certainly but I have pleasure doing it. My fruit paintings are amongst the ones I prefer in my production.
I have been including fruits paintings in my "collections" for quite some time now.

In 2003 I started with casein on a very absorbant lime wash base...

Apples I 90x62 cm

Apples II 90x62 cm

Basket I 90x62 cm

Basket II 90x62cm

Bergeade 50x50 cm

...then, in 2006, 2007  I  exhibited in a gallery in the US and I decided to work with acrylics on a gessoed background...

Cider  40x30cm

A good year  28x40cm

Ripe I 40x40cn

Ripe II 40x40cm

and finally a couple of years ago I started a new series with a mix of classical ornamentation and fragments of XVIIth centurey still lifes,   in casein for the ornament and oils for the fruits, like this one for example.

Grappa 150x85cm