I’ve finished two more pieces in this group I’ve started calling my “Sweets” series. I have another two on the way, making this one of the most cohesive series I’ve yet undertaken. I’m making these paintings for the sheer, delicious  pleasure of it. And yet, they are not without great challenges.

Take this cream soda can.

I crushed it a little bit before I began painting to increase both the interest and complexity of the image. With several dents, it was very sensitive to the changing light. I once heard said of Janet Fish that her paintings would change throughout the day as the light changed, so that no image represents a moment in time (as would happen if you took a photograph). All hours of the day and the light are represented in the painting, which exists as one single image.

That is something I really love about painting.

Painters, really, are in the business of misrepresentation and deception. An image may have a true feeling of realism – it may feel more real than reality but it is, in fact, an illusion.

So it is with this piece. Different parts of the can preserve the impression of light at various times of day and varying degrees of cloudiness. The maddening thing for the painter is making it all work together in the end. I love that moment when it all starts to gel:

And here is another new painting:

For this piece, I wanted to create a shimmering pastel background with very soft shapes. It took several layers of paint and adjustment before I achieved this look.

To give my dear readers an idea of the process of working with acrylic, here is another doughnut painting in progress (on the right). It is at a pretty ugly stage. every area of the image usually has to be built up a few times before I get my end result, which you can see in the painting on the left.

And there is one more challenge I face in the studio. It’s making sure this little firecracker gets all the attention she thinks she deserves (humph!):

That’s all for now. You can check out these paintings and more in my Etsy shop!