Jan Claire Painting: New Yorkers and Cow


	WORKS BY JAN CLAIRE
	Pioneer Still Life 20" x 16"	Oil on canvas Artist's Collection

In my weekend prowling around local antique stores here in the Sierra Nevada mountains or at our village's semiannual Peddler's Fairs, I sometimes come across interesting objects to paint. Even apples have been grown around Oakhurst for more than 100 years as early miners determined the gold to be found in the hills wasn't of high enough quality, so many of them stayed on and turned to apple growing.

I thought the wine cask, copper pitcher, and lantern lent a historic feeling to this arrangement. Because we live in such a landscape-rich area of the west, not too many artists do still life painting. I find still life a great opportunity to paint in grisaille style - underpainting the entire picture in shades of grey, then overpainting with layers of glazed colors until everything is just right. It gives a deeper, richer color to the painting.