Wrapping up 2011

Radishes, 20 x 20 cm, oil on canvas, ©2011 Julie Galante. [SOLD]

2011 has been a wonderful year for me and my art career. I’ve painted more than ever. My paintings have found their way onto the walls of so many new collectors. I’m ending the year full of ideas for future projects. Things are good!

For 2012, I’m looking forward to keeping up my momentum in the studio. They say that an artist should have three exhibits’ worth of work on hand at any given time, and next year I’d like to actually do that. I’m also planning to explore new avenues for exhibiting and selling my paintings both in person and online. I’m excited to see where my art takes me next.

I am so grateful to all of you who have visited this blog and followed my progress during this past year. Thank you! And I’ll be back with more paintings and posts after the holidays.

Tags: daily painting, oils, painting, still life, thoughts, vegetables

Day 26: chili peppers

Chili Peppers, 15 x 15 cm, oil on canvas, €65, ©2011 Julie Galante.

I felt like doing something a little different today, and that ended up being this palette knife painting of chili peppers. For the most part I used the colors straight out of the tubes. I was going for simple shapes and bright colors. All that thick, shiny, wet paint proved hard to photograph, but hopefully I’ll get a better shot of it later.

November is Art Every Day Month. I’ll be posting a new small painting here each and every day. After they have had time to dry (a couple weeks), most of the original paintings will also appear in my Etsy shop. Paintings from the beginning of the month are already there! Christmas cards, too.

Tags: Art Every Day Month, daily painting, painting, still life, vegetables

Day 24: Thanksgiving dumpling squash

Dumpling squash, 13 x 18 cm, oil on canvas, €70, ©2011 Julie Galante. Original painting available for sale on Etsy.

If there were any wall space whatsoever in my kitchen, I might like to hang this painting in there. It reminds me how tasty these squash are. Can’t wait to roast up the models for lunch!

This Thanksgiving, I am especially thankful for all of you who take the time to look at my art, comment on posts, and in general offer support to me as an artist. I couldn’t do it without you!

November is Art Every Day Month. I’ll be posting a new small painting here each and every day. After they have had time to dry (a couple weeks), most of the original paintings will also appear in my Etsy shop. Paintings from the beginning of the month are already there! Christmas cards, too.

Tags: Art Every Day Month, daily painting, oils, painting, still life, vegetables

Day 21: Brussels sprout snake

Brussels sprout stalk, 24 x 18 cm, oil on canvas, €120, ©2011 Julie Galante.

I never really thought about how brussels sprouts grew until a stand at our local farmers market started selling stalks of them. This painting is just the very top of the stalk. The whole thing is a few feet long and has little sprouts growing the whole way down.

At first I wasn’t entirely happy with this painting, but after a bit it started growing on me. Turned on its side, it looks kind of like a skeletal snake-monster.

November is Art Every Day Month. I’ll be posting a new small painting here each and every day. After they have had time to dry (a couple weeks), the original paintings will also appear in my Etsy shop. Paintings from the beginning of the month are already there! Christmas cards, too.

Tags: Art Every Day Month, oils, painting, still life, vegetables

Day 18: Christmassy onions and garlic?

Onions & garlic & greenery, 24 x 18 cm, oil on canvas, €120, ©2011 Julie Galante.

Hey, if the Germans can use pickles as Christmas tree decorations, why can’t I use garlic and onions? OK, perhaps it would not be the sweetest-smelling Christmas tree on the block.

These pine branches are fun to paint. Perhaps I’ll try to find something more christmassy (like clementines and cranberries) to include in my next still life with them.

November is Art Every Day Month. I’ll be posting a new small painting here each and every day. After they have had time to dry (a couple weeks), the original paintings will also appear in my Etsy shop. Paintings from the beginning of the month (including the first leaf painting) are already there!

Tags: Art Every Day Month, Christmas, daily painting, oils, painting, still life, vegetables

Day 11: crepes and salad

Crepes and salad, 18 x 24 cm, oil on hardboard, ©2011 Julie Galante. Original painting available on Etsy. 

Brunch the other day – a colorful salad, a mushroom crepe, and and espresso macchiato. Tasty.

November is Art Every Day Month! I’ll be posting a new small painting here each and every day. After they have had time to dry (a couple weeks), the original paintings will also appear in my Etsy shop.

Tags: Art Every Day Month, oils, still life, vegetables

Daily painting: red and yellow onions

Onions (red and yellow), 15 x 15 cm, oil on canvas, ©2011 Julie Galante. [SOLD]

Not every single one of my paintings has an Oktoberfest theme these days, although it is starting to feel that way. I’m still fitting in the occasional still life or cityscape here and there. Onions are one of my favorite still life subjects, I’ve decided. I especially like trying to capture the little stringy things that stick out at the end of them.

Do you have a favorite still life subject?

Tags: daily painting, oils, painting, still life, vegetables

Daily Painting: kohlrabi is ugly

Kohlrabi study, 15 x 15 cm, oil on canvas, €65, ©2011 Julie Galante.

Kohlrabi isn’t the most attractive vegetable in the world, is it? But it was fun to paint.

In other news, my first newsletter finally went out! You can check it out (and sign up to receive future newsletters by email) here.

In still other news, DaWanda (the website I use for selling daily paintings) has a new blog widget for sharing products for sale. Let’s see how it looks:

Tags: daily painting, oils, painting, still life, vegetables

Daily painting: zucchini study

Study: zucchini, 15 x 15 cm, oil on canvas, €65, ©2011 Julie Galante.

This week I’ve been getting back into the rhythm of painting with a series of daily paintings, including several small vegetable studies. I think this is the first time I’ve ever used zucchini as a subject, which is surprising given that you can find it in my kitchen almost all the time.

I’ve also been getting ready to send out my first ever email newsletter. I’ve been collecting subscribers since my first show back in 2007; I’m guessing some folks will be surprised to hear from me after all this time. If you haven’t already, I invite you to sign up to receive my newsletter here. I promise it will be fun and interesting, and highly unannoying!

Tags: daily painting, oils, painting, still life, vegetables