Late August Still Life Paintings

I'm getting used to cycles without my camera (broken, broken, stolen) and so I redirect my energy back into painting.  I don't know what I'm doing with all of these paintings I'm amassing, but I think chiefly I'm practicing, developing and stretching my visual muscles.  Here's two 8X10 still lifes.  My inspiration shot was the cover of the Garnet Hill catalogue.  I really love the one of the cups, but the tea/spoons turned out nicely too.  Sometimes it's so much easier to paint from a beautifully lit photo than my set-ups.

Earlier in the month, I felt inspired to paint my shoes.  I was breaking out of my fruit crate, so to speak, and set up my shoes instead.  Initially, I had painted the background a pale yellow, but after a visit to the Met and looking at Van Gogh's portrait of his postman, I changed the background to a Kaffe Fassett fabric.  I plan to do more shoes and more patterned backgrounds.  This one's a little bigger-- 11X14, but still fairly small.   Perhaps when Jack finally begins his full day of school (a grand total of 2-1/2 hours) I'll have some time to paint again.
Inspiration: