Spring Onions, oil painting by Tempy Berg-Gilbert

10"x8" original oil painting

My mother in law gave me some onions from her garden.  As soon as I saw them, I thought they were the perfect thing to paint.  The roots are really long, like a frizzy hair-do.

They are painted in a little bit of a looser, less detailed style.  Probably because I have been thinking about the Impressionists lately.  It hasn't been that long since we covered them in my class, and I saw an exhibit at the Kimbell Art Museum of Impressionist works just a couple days before I painted it.

Tea and Chocolates

Tea and Chocolates  10"x8"

I had to guard my set up to make sure that my son didn't steal my chocolates.

Clementines

Clementines  10"x8"

This was my great-grandmother's dish, and I have wanted to paint it for the longest time.  With their small size, but bold color, clementines are a good accompaniment.

Unwinding

8"x6" Unwinding

Does this mean I need to unwind, or that I have unwound and come apart already?  Hmmm... both could be true.  Enough psychoanalyzing the orange.  Just eat it.

It was painted on a wooden panel, and there are some places where the wood grain shows through the transparent colors a little.  A cool effect, I thought.

The Unpeeling of Eustace Scrubb

11"x14"  The Unpeeling of Eustace Scrubb

One morning as I was peeling a clementine for a snack, it reminded me of one of my favorite parts in Voyage of the Dawn Treader, when Eustace has been turned into a dragon.  It is a miserable time for him, but in the end the lion Aslan turns him back into a boy by peeling off his dragon skin.  Eustace was also wearing a gold bracelet at the time, so I included a bracelet with a design of a dragon and a lion behind it with its claws unsheathed.  The coins are also another reference to the place where Eustace got turned into a dragon, which is by a pool of water that turns everything to gold.  As a dragon, Eustace had a horde of gold in a cave near the pool.

The way the thick orange skin comes off and reveals the juicy flesh underneath reminds me of how Aslan had to tear deep into the dragon skin to reveal the boy beneath the dragon skin.  It is one of my favorite parts of the story because Eustace, who had been acting horrible before he was turned inot a dragon, is redeemed.  When he realizes how nasty he has been and regrets it, he is given grace and gets to be a boy again.

Tea with Mr. Lewis, II

Tea with Mr. Lewis, II  8"x10"

I liked the idea of having tea with a good book, so here's a second version.

Olives

Olives 4"x4" 

After I painted this, I chopped up some olives, mixed them with cream cheese and a little garlic powder, and spread it on a cracker.  Yum!

Tea with Mr. Lewis

Tea with Mr. Lewis 10"x8"

At last, another post!  I painted this over a month ago, but computer problems kept me from posting.

I am still working on the CS Lewis and Turkish delight theme.  I wanted this one to look like someone had just paused from their reading, and is poised to sip tea and nibble on Turkish delight.  Probably most American readers of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe have wondered what Turkish delight is, and may have tried to buy it or make it.  I have a dim memory of trying to make some myself.  It must have been truly terrible because the only thing I remember about it is that it skulked around in the back of the refrigerator for a very long time.  For a treat to go untouched at our house was a sign that it wasn't even fit for the dog.  But, I digress; the main point isn't how good the stuff is (or isn't), it is that the book pulls you in and makes you want to experience what you read.  That's what this is, the experience of reading that gets into your head so that you are living the story as you read it.

Spirit of Texas Show

These three works have been accepted to the Spirit of Texas show!  It is the third annual state show for the Artists of Texas.  The show will be on display Nov 5- Dec 31 at the Dutch Art Gallery.  Check my Exhibit News page for more details. 

Fire Daisy

Casual Bouquet

Farm Fresh Eggs

Turkish Delight

Turkish Delight 8"x6"

The FAITH Artists group I belong to is planning a show based on the works of C.S. Lewis.  I had no idea what I would paint for that, but my friend Dawn suggested that I paint Turkish delight.  In case you don't remember, in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the witch uses Turkish delight to tempt Edmund. 

After her suggestion, I remembered having some delicious candy from Liberty Orchards that is basically Turkish Delight made in flavors more palatable to Americans.  Of course, I ordered plenty.  I wouldn't want to run out of still life props, you know.  I forced myself to save some of the candies so that I can paint at least a couple more versions of it.

This time I was very literal, and only included what the story mentioned: theTurkish delight, a round box, and a green ribbon.   

Back in the Saddle Again!

10"x8"

After taking over three months off to move & have a baby, I am finally back to painting!  Truth be told, this is my third attempt-- the first two little paintings I did were dreadfully embarrassing, and will not be put on view.  :)