A couple of months into painting with acrylics ~ I love this medium. I’ve really enjoyed learning the nuances and technical mechanics. While only at the beginning of building my knowledge base and comfort level, acrylics is becoming a paint of choice.
Bowl of Plums, an acrylic painting (8×10) was painted on a thickly coated gessoed hardboard using primarily liquitex acrylic paints. A wonderful photographer on pmp did a great series of plums and one photo caught my attention, so I used it to construct and base my painting off of. I love still life’s and this one was perfect to work up in acrylics – offering rich and deeply colored plums against a substantial glass bowl.
Thanks for checking in ~ click onto the image to view in a larger size.
Please don’t take my images – my art is copyrighted.
Please don’t copy or use the image without receiving my permission first – see disclosure on the right panel.
Oil Pastels by Mary 
Only a couple of months? Wow, I’m impressed, you’ve mastered acrylics already. Beautiful piece.
Thank you Pizzuti you are very kind. Let me just say I do feel like a fish out of water with acrylics, but I’ve enjoyed learning this new medium and exploring the possibilities. It’s been fun ~
I love the background that you did and i can see that you have a nice canvas or a stretched? I do painting as well and have just got back into it. Your painting is so lovely you could sell!
Thank you so visiting my blog, I really appreciate your comment. This particular piece was done on a gessoed prepared hardboard and by thickly applying the gesso I achieved a nice texture for the painting. Appreciate your compliment – means a lot. Best wishes and hope you are enjoying painting again~
It looks marvelous! Have you experience in using oil colors for your paintings?
Hello Clemens, thank you for your kind feedback – always appreciated! The only experience I have in oil paints is with oil pastels, I’ve not taken the opportunity to try out oils. My start with brushes was with acrylics and I have to admit it’s been a lot of fun. Perhaps one day I’ll try my hand painting with oil paints, you never know. Thanks again and nice to meet you.
Those plums look so delicious. Great work, Mary. 🙂
Hi Sylvia, so nice to see you. I’ve been off my blog again for a while. Thank you for being so kind. I hope you have a lovely holiday!
😘
These look gorgeous! I’ll come over and we’ll make jam.
So glad you enjoyed the painting – loved taking a shot at this one. Thank you for always being present, means so much!
you captured the look of glass well
Thank you Carl for your lovely compliment. I’m so sorry for being late with my response, hope you are well.
Doing OK. Another trick that works for me is to apply a little glaze to the wet stuff like droplets on a flower or wine bottle. The “shiny” against flat paints makes a wet look. But I would not do that with an ocean or river as part of a painting. Sometimes the glaze may enhance edges of things like flower petals and also create effect of light affecting objects in many ways.
Wonderful suggestion Carl and will keep it in mind on my next painting project that has a shiny object. Thanks so much ~
Ah, beautiful painting, Mary! I love the dramatic effect acrylics have. Bravo, my friend! 🙂
My wonderful friend, so good to see you. Very sorry for being more than late with my response Marina, I continue to be distracted, but my thoughts always come back to blogging and wondering how everyone is. Thank you for always showing an interest in my work and being so generous and kind in your comment. Just makes my day. I hope you are well, feeling better and not being quite as hectic as you’ve been. I also hope that your writing, singing and creativity has been off the charts over these past couple of months. I’m hoping to be able to catchup one of these days. Take care and have a beautiful Christmas.
Don’t worry about it, my friend! I’ve also been on-off blogging lately. Lots of changes and 2017 hasn’t been exactly slow! I don’t even know where it went! 😉 Hope you’re enjoying Christmas Holidays and sending my wishes for a beautiful, happy and extra creative 2018!
Hello Marina – I hope to see your creative and beautiful works more often in 2018! I missed “happy new years” to you, but many wishes coming your way for a wonderful and productive, peaceful and happy 2018!
Happy New Year, my dearest Mary. I’ve been very much offline lately [that ‘lately’ seems to be lasting more than I anticipated, but who knows what 2018 brings! 😉 ] My best wishes to you, my talented friend! May it be a joyful, creative and …lucky year! 🙂
So wonderful to hear from you Marina – thank you for your enthusiasm as always and generous feedback. My wishes for you is that 2018 brings some calm into your life, good health and lots of wonderful creativity.
Gosh, this is truly wonderful, Mary! Such a beauty.
Thank you for being so kind Dina – very much appreciated!
So beautifully painted, Mary. I love the rich color of the apples.
Glad you are back! 🙂
Oops, plums!
I understand and not a problem (lol)!
Hi Amy, thanks very much for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment. Happy to see you again.
That’s so great that you’re enjoying using acrylics. For the past few days I’ve been using watercolors – and after so many acrylics, at times I did things that might ‘bite ‘ – like brushing in dark details as a ‘map’ then realizing they’d move when the lighter colors were worked ‘over’ the dark.. no no, lisa – this is watercolor, not acrylic!
Watercolors can sometimes look ‘dead’ where the acrylics sizzle!
Great work!
Always love your narrative, weaving our worlds together. Good to see you Lisa, hope you are well. I’ll bet your watercolor works are gorgeous. Thank you my friend, always so generous with your words.
it is very superb!
Very special response, thanks so much dsaquarelles!
This is just so beautiful, Mary – so alive. The colours of Rembrandt and the old Dutch painters – if I remember it right. The glow and the richness of it – there is a clear taste, I can feel it.
Great to see you Ann-Christine, thanks very much for your encouragement and compliment means a lot.
I am happy you are there!
Gosh, Mary, those plums – how wickedly they smile! The stout wooden shelf and dark background lend your composition a period flavour. How I’d like to reach through time and space to snatch that lone plum from the shelf – Yum!
Great to see you back – take care,
Paul
Good to see you Paul. Thank you for your generous reaction to the painting – I really enjoyed your reaction. Hope you both are well and your writings. Take care –
a fantastic painting….congratulations!
best regards from Italy
Beautiful Mary!
Thanks Rita – I really appreciate it!
a fantastic painting….congratulations!
best regards from Italy
Thank you Antonio for your generous feedback!!
Totally juicy Mary – just lovely! 🙂
Hi Rebecca, great to see you – thank you for your descriptive words, love them!
You’re so welcome! 🙂
Beautiful Mary! It has a rich and very classic feel.
Great to see you Catherine – thanks so much. I can’t wait to see your latest paintings.
Wow! This looks wonderful! I’m a beginner artist and I’m trying to get the hang of painting with acrylics. Hope to be able to achieve such beautiful results some day 🙂
Hi Christina, thanks very much for your kind feedback. I’m a true beginner with acrylics, one day I think I’m catching on and the next it’s two steps back and figuring out what’s not working. For me that is the fun of this medium, I’ve no doubt that you’ll find your way and achieve what you are after. Thanks – I do appreciate it.
This is so rich and delicious, Mary. I love the colour of plums and you have captured it perfectly. The glass just adds to the glow and gleam of the fruit. The painting really shows how much you are enjoying acrylics.
Wonderful to see you Gallivanta – thank you for your thoughts on read on the painting! I’ve really enjoyed my time with the medium, constant exploration and figuring out the lengths that the medium will go.
Good to see you back. The glass is particularly good in this
Thanks Derrick – loved working the glass in this piece. Good to be back, hope you and Jackie are well and looking forward to seeing your Fall garden photographs.
It’s soooo beautiful !
Long time no see 😉
Love it
Thank you for your kindness and good to be back!
How lovely!
Thanks Fiona, I really appreciate it! Hope you are well ~
This is just an amazing still life. I love everything about it!
I’ve missed you Dorann! Thanks so much and so happy that you enjoyed this painting! It was a bit intimating to work through, but happy for the experience of it. Hope you are well ~
Acrylics – as tricky as watercolor, but in a completely different way. You produced such richness of color here. Something I would expect from oils. Bravo!
Happy to see you again Audrey! Thanks for your kind comment and thoughts. I’ve not painted with watercolor, but have enjoyed this whole experience of working with such a wet (and fast drying) medium. Thanks again ~
This is sublime, Mary! I love your work! Cher xo
Thanks so much Cher, so appreciate your feedback and compliment.
Lovely! Very pleased to see you here Mary. Missed you and your beautiful art.
Once again I’m late to the party, but happy to see you all again! Thanks my friend for being so gracious – looking forward to seeing what you have been up too.
After the yellow apple, this one is another wonderful creation of yours. The colors are deep and rich, and the bowl stands out but also helps frame those apples very well.
Great to see you Hien and thank you so much for your read on the painting. The bowl was like putting the icing on a cake (fun to work out) and the fruit, well those plums came alive with the richness of acrylics. Was a great piece to work on, it taught me a lot. Thanks again and hope you are well – looking forward to seeing your latest photography.
Beautiful. I can only guess what your family is hoping they will find under the Christmas tree – a painting. 🙂
I just happened to see your comment Judy, you made me smile. Thanks so much, you are always make my day and I’m very grateful. Hope you are well.
Very nice, Mary.
Leslie
Thank you so much Leslie – always appreciate hearing from you.
I love your work Mary.
Thanks Leslie, you’ve made my day!
🙂
Oh my…this is magnificent, Mary! Thank you so much for sharing it with us…we’ve been deprived of your talent. xo
Oh Jill, great to see you and thank you so much for your generous comment. I’m glad you enjoyed this painting, it was great fun experimenting. Hope you are well, I’ve been thinking about you. I’m late in replying to you, I owe you an email. Trying to get back into the swing of things. Thanks again ~
LOVE it Mary!!!
Thanks so much Shirley – great to see you!
Mary, Bowl of Plums is glorious! You are one talented artist! I like acrylics too, but that’s because I can mix them with fabric medium and paint on my Art Gowns. I just made some autumn leaves using bronze and copper acrylics. I’d love to paint that glass effect you’re so great at. Again, Bowl of Plums is glorious!
Thanks so much Resa – great to hear from you! You are so kind and know how to make my day – the learning is going slow at times, but never frustrating because I can see the possibilities and to be honest it’s very relaxing for me to paint with acrylics (sort of like with drawing in graphite). I’m going over to see your latest creation and let me just say I doesn’t surprise me at all that acrylics is a big part of your creativity!
Yeah!!! 😀 😀