Dancing Chilis

As I was going through our reference material my heart smiled when I came across this little southwest ladder draped with chili ristras. I remember that day in Albuquerque as clearly as if it were yesterday, I excitedly turned to Jack and told him it looked as if the chilis were dancing up the rungs. I thought this would be fun to share with our eBay collectors. The shell design over the doorway is from a picture we took in Santa Fe.

To go directly to my eBay auction CLICK HERE.

The door and window are a soft blue made of mixtures of Ultramarine Blue + White. MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + Cadmium Orange are mixed for the gnarled trunk of the vine and the rustic ladder. White is added into that for the lighter areas. I steady my hand on the mahl stick to paint the details. One of our readers asked if she could premix the MUD and put it in tubes for later use? We used to do exactly that, you can buy empty paint tubes at most of the online art stores. I’m not sure why we got away from it, I guess in all of our travels it just meant more stuff to carry. Now I mix a glob that will last 3 to 4 days laid out on my palette.

This piece seemed to call for a rough paver floor. The light and shadow patterns on the flat surface are painted first, then the lines separating the ancient pavers are drawn with a fine liner brush dipped in a mix of MUD + Liquin.

Now for those chilis happily dancing up the ladder. They were blocked in with dark washes of Alizarin Crimson when I first sketched the basic elements of the painting up on the canvas. The wash is now dry so using the edge of a #6 Bright brush the individual peppers are delineated with Cadmium Red Light. I will come back and add a few highlights on them with Cadmium Red Light + White.

Dancing Chilis        16″ x 19″        Original Oil Painting

Maxmillian’s Sunflowers provide a burst of sunshine next to the blue door. I love this combination of yellow and blue. Add in the red chilis and we’ve got the primary colors of Santa Fe. Let Dancing Chilis bring a touch of the southwest into your home.

Framed in our Senkarik White Signature Frame the outer dimension of Dancing Chilis is 16 inches tall and 19 inches wide. The size of the painted image is 11 1/2 inches tall by 14 1/2 inches wide. A Senkarik original oil painting this size sells in our galleries for $890. The auction bidding starts at 1 cent. That’s right, one penny. To say Thank You we are giving FREE SHIPPING, anywhere in the continental United States, to the winner.

CLICK HERE to go to my eBay auction.

The auction ends Sunday, March 18 at 8 PM in Texas. That’s Central Daylight Savings Time.  So have some fun and visit my auction on eBay. HAPPY BIDDING. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik