DARLING LITTLE CLEMENTINES

"Darling Little Clementines" oil on panel, (6" x 12") 2015

We love the fruity sweetness of clementines. My husband, a native of Provence, calls them mandarines. He reminds me every year that the crop from Morocco, located in northwestern Africa, is the tastiest. He is right. Coming in second place is the harvest from neighboring Spain. After that we just don't take any chances since too many countries have jumped on board and frankly their clementines just don't compare. The season is almost over now and we are about to purchase our final bunch from the supermarket. I adore the petite crates in which they are presented. It just makes them even more darling and fun to paint.

"My Darling Clementines" oil on canvas, (12" x 16") 2014

Vintage Electric Fan Fascination

"Peerless Sideways" oil on canvas paper (16" x 12")

Baseball or no baseball, the weather has suddenly become very "autumnesque" here in Crabtown. Time to throw the furnace switch and drag out the quilts for bedding. Gosh, we're almost to the flannel sheet stage. But my collection of vintage electric fans will remain in view even when the snow begins to fall.
 I can't help it. I like looking at them. In fact I like them so much that this summer I spent time doing paintings of them. Some are labeled with familiar names like General Electric, Westinghouse and Peerless but others call themselves Zero, Eskimo and Polar Cub. Some are working and some are too unsafe to plug in. Here are a few of the paintings inspired by my whirring cast-iron and metal companions.

"General Electric" oil on canvas ( 20" x 16")

    This modest little fan  (above) was my first and it's the one I use every warm day in my studio.

"Big and Noisy" oil on board (18" x 18")

 She can no longer look side to side on her own. But she is a beauty.