Still life composition

Last weekend I arranged some fruit and a tea cup on our kitchen counter playing around with different positions.  I had trouble deciding where to focus the composition so I started with a pencil sketch and did some thumbnail drawings.  I wanted the apple and banana to be the main subject.  Today I completed a watercolor painting of this still life composition.  I think the apple should be a warmer red and the teacup a more turquoise color..

Before cars there were sewing machines

My wife purchased this sewing machine made over half a century ago by Toyota.

The Countess of Rocksavage

John Singer Sargent painted some amazing portraits.  Here is a drawing of the Countess of Rocksavage which is one of my favorites.  Of course it is nothing like the original.

Roses are red

I decided to try my luck at painting the same rosé I did as a drawing a couple of weeks ago.  I struggled to apply pink that did not appear washed out.  I think next time I'll mix in a little yellow and less white into the reds.  I like the balance of the overall composition.  Last weekend I saw some Dutch floral paintings at the DeYoung museum that were truly amazing.  Painting this rose made me really appreciate the amount of work involved.