Cipollinis

I found these neat looking onions in the grocery store...they're shaped like little spinning tops. Apparently called cipollinis. In any case, they were a lot of fun to paint...lots of subtle coloration, reflections, etc. Both are painted on 4x6 Sourcetek linen panels that I am experimenting with. For the first painting, I placed the onion on a sheet of aluminum foil, which provides partial reflections. For the second painting, I placed the onions on a piece of glass with something dark underneath, to enhance the reflections.

















I've really found these little studies to be challenging but also surprisingly fun to do, and I plan on doing a lot more of them during the winter. I originally became inspired to do these small paintings after seeing the work of Duane Keiser, who is generally credited with starting the "painting-a-day" craze. More recently, a friend told me about Carol Marine who has been doing these kinds of paintings for about 3 years. Check out their work if you get the chance.