Oil painting signed Nan Guest??

I don't know why I bought this but I did. The first thing I found odd about this painting was the part that is pretuding from the lower flower to the vase. I thought it may be a handle but not sure. Some other things I found odd about this painting is a turquoise looking color in the middle of the painting. It has no rhyme or reason to be there. The center part of the arrangement looks odd, I see a different colors. Is it common the use a turquoise gesso under a painting?

 

Armando, I don't know why that "object" protruding from under the lower flower is there but . . .

I wonder if it is a glass knife rest (it looks like there might be a "ball" slightly showing from under the flower which might match the "ball" ending which shows.

http://www.rubylane.com/item/812954...est-Unsigned?gclid=COL28LPRlMICFWRp7AodXT8AVA

 

To me it looks like they used a mortar as a vase, and the *thing* next to it is the pestle.

 

In art class, one is taught to underpaint in the opposite color. If your painting is going to end up with warm colors, your shadows and underpainting should be in cool colors. It's possible she painted in the shapes and tones in blues and then overpainted in the oranges and yellows and what you are seeing is the underpaint showing. I'd characterize this as a student work.

 

Oh, and I go for the mortar and pestle answer myself.

 

Agreed, Bev.

The frame looks to be cypress stripped of milk paint.
Hard to tell for sure but if that's the case, someone may want this for the frame alone. I've stripped away layers of milk paint from cypress wood - it's very difficult but leaves this lovely appearance.