Apple Tree: To Fruit

       It has been awhile! I have been creating but not posting. So, here is the other half of the pair from the last post. It is apple season again, and I recently painted a cluster of apples that were showing different stages of ripeness and the glorious variety of warm colors that come with the Fall harvest.    

       Prints of this piece will also be at Jenkins Winery and attached fruit stand (where you can buy some of the apples from the same trees I painted). Directions to the winery are in this post. I have many more pieces stockpiled that I want to share soon, keep an eye out.

Apple Tree: Winsome and Nubile (Now residing in a winery!)

Apple Tree: Winsome and Nubile
14" by 11"
Open Acrylics

I'd like you all to know that I have several paintings for sale at a local winery. Apple Tree: Winsome and Nubile is the latest addition to a collection of my work focusing on landscapes that are currently up at Jenkins Winery in Wynola, CA on the way up to Julian, CA. (Julian is an old mining town from the CA gold rush that is now popular for apple pies, cider, and a real change of seasons even in Southern CA).

The winery is in a peaceful spot surrounded by the grape vines and apple orchards. My favorite of their wines is an apple wine called Dolcezza. My impression of Dolcezza is that it is much like a refreshing lightly dry white wine, but what makes it playful is as I sipped I caught the scent of apples. So if you are in the area stop by and see a variety of my artwork. For directions follow this link: http://www.jenkinswinery.com/Hours_Directions.html

In the right you can see one of my silver leaf portraits featuring an African Grey.
Here is a link to my post on silver leaf portraits.

More plein air landscapes in oils, acrylics, and watercolor.

If you are looking for Jenkins you'll see this sign out front.

The Wine Bar

Ephemeral Light

Ephemeral Light
6" by 9"
Mixed Media
by Amber Goulet

I have been playing with landscapes as subject matter of late. I'm enjoying the opportunity to employ abstract design, focus on mood, and play with broad symbolism. Above is my most recent finished work.

I was focusing on conveying mood through lighting. I blocked in the scene en plein air (on location) with open acrylics. Then later I used my photos from that day to finish this piece with oil pastels. I'm enjoying how the texture of the canvas is emphasized when oil pastels lightly overlay the acrylic underpainting. I believe the textures created add to the dreamy quality of light in this painting.

The Fox, the Cock, and the Dog

The Fox, the Cock, and the Dog Illustration
This image is based on the Aesop's fable of the same name. I played around with several compositions and decided to go with this version because it shows a moment that involves all three characters.

The Aesop's Fable:

The Fox, the Cock and the Dog One moonlight night a Fox was prowling about a farmer's hen-coop, and saw a Cock roosting high up beyond his reach. "Good news, good news!" he cried. "Why, what is that?" said the Cock. "King Lion has declared a universal truce. No beast may hurt a bird henceforth, but all shall dwell together in brotherly friendship." "Why, that is good news," said the Cock; "and there I see some one coming, with whom we can share the good tidings." And so saying he craned his neck forward and looked afar off. "What is it you see?" said the Fox. "It is only my master's Dog that is coming towards us. What, going so soon?" he continued, as the Fox began to turn away as soon as he had heard the news. "Will you not stop and congratulate the Dog on the reign of universal peace?" "I would gladly do so," said the Fox, "but I fear he may not have heard of King Lion's decree." 

Cunning often outwits itself.

My Composition
I used the composition to create a sense of tension and threat, but the textures and the fox and rooster's expressions should offset that with playfulness. The viewer's eyes progressively move through the image as the story unfolds. The fox arrives first in the narrative and he appears here with the most vibrant chroma (color) and the most dynamic shaping/intentional distortion. The rooster who is pinned in by the fox and sits within the image at an active angle takes second precedence as it leads our eyes to the threatening though most subtle creature in the composition the dog.