November Birthday, Oil, 12 x 16inches

©Colette Martin Waite

I painted this today on the occasion of my Mother's birthday.

 My Dad brought the cloisonne vase home from Japan years ago and Mom gave it to me for Christmas last year. One of her favorite childhood memories is the satsumas she and her siblings would receive in their Christmas stockings! So I set this up with a satsuma reflecting in the vase.

Order Up, Oil, 18 x 14inches

©Colette Martin Waite

Two great gals from Eastern Shore Cafe in Daphne. All five of us ordered the special that night. 

Satsuma, Oil, 8x10 inches

©Colette Martin Waite

While I have the satsumas I am making the best of them.

Also a good excuse to paint orange & blue.

I have been busy setting up this blog and working with my digital images so that this blog can be up and running fast. I hope my work makes you smile when you see it. I have found one of the best reasons to participate in outdoor art shows is to see the reaction of the public to my work. I am so grateful to everyone who walks in to my booth and breaks into a big smile. However, my favorite response is when something catches a young child's eye and they pull their parents in to see.

That's why I'm here-to borrow a phrase from James Taylor!

Shrimp, Oil, 10 x 10 inches

©Colette Martin Waite

While visiting New Orleans a few months back, Taylor and I wandered down to see the artists on the Square and have lunch at Muriel's or maybe it was after Sunday Brunch at Royal Sonesta-anyway-I was inspired me to paint these little shrimp paintings when I got back home. A few of them are for sale in Mobile at Tanner's Pecans in Springhill.

Still Life

Pumpkin & Squash, Oil on board,12 x 16 inches

©Colette Martin Waite

Pineapple, Oil on board, 18 x 14 inches

©Colette Martin Waite

I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in a workshop with instructor Qiang Huang at Alabama Art Colony back in October. Qiang(Chong) is a fabulous instructor and painter. I rarely painted still life before this workshop. Now I am facinated by them. Here are a couple I did after returning home. I have always been partial to warm reds and orange and I have now given myself the license to really use it!

Culinary School, Oil, 24x36 inches

©Colette Martin Waite

I had a wonderful show earlier this month in Ocean Springs. The Peter Anderson Festival has been a great show for me. My work this year focused on the culinary world with paintings of chefs, wait staff and table settings. The response was very positive! So many in the food industry stopped to talk with me and ask about my work. This painting was from a photo I took several years ago during a fabulous lunch at the Culinary Institute out in Napa. The best place to get photos of lots of chef hats!

You can bid on this painting

Shepard's Lake, Oil on board, 10x10

©Colette Martin Waite

This is a painting of Shepards Lake up in the Mobile Delta.

Early summer this year, my friends Frank and Marion took me in their boat up in the Mobile Delta river system. We had so much rain this spring the water was very high. Early in the morning as we explored the backwaters we were amazed at the stillness of the water.

The shoreline was invisible and we could not tell where the trees stopped and the water began.

 One of those magical moments.