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Day 4. Reflection

Oil painting with vibrant textures of a woman sitting on a ledge looking at a yellow bird resting on her knee

“Reflection”, oil on canvas, framed

I recently started using some unlikely objects in my studio– the core of a romaine lettuce creates a stunning floral pattern when dipped in paint and pressed onto a surface. The lettuce has made some of the background patterns in this one. 

I also used the circle patterns of a cut onion. You can see them in the ledge the figure is sitting on. Yesterday, I went for a walk and found myself putting rocks and pinecones in the pocket of my hoodie– thinking maybe, these too will help me apply the paint in an interesting way.

There’s that famous expression: “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”

I just keep thinking this: “If art is the call of the human heart, then everything starts to look like a paintbrush.”

 

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Denise Hopkins

January 4, 2026

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