Almost Summer!

While I've been trying to get my two boys through the last two weeks of school, and also finish up some important formal portraiture work, I did have a chance this past Saturday to work on some large oyster paintings.  When doing inventory for the galleries and shops that carry my artwork, I noticed that just about every time I paint an oyster piece, especially the oversized canvases, that they sell quickly.  So, I decided I'd try to paint a few in the next couple of weeks, especially since some of the shops are running low on my inventory.

I love working in this large size and especially with the heavy texture of the exterior of the shells and the metallic paints that bring out the "pearly-ness" of the oysters.

These are 24x30" gallery wrapped heavy duty canvases (meaning that they have the thick sides and are very sturdy) and would look great framed or unframed (the painting goes around the thick sides of the canvas).

"Oyster on Gray" and "Oyster on Blue" - 24x30" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas by Jennifer F. Allen

These are my questions:

Do you like the gray background or blue better?
Do you like the horizontal or vertical orientation?
Should they be coated with the heavy resin gloss as usual or left more natural and "flat" (not shiny)?

I would truly love your feedback.  I hope everyone out there had a wonderful Mother's Day -- I surely did! :)