Commission 8 x 10 inch in pastel

I just finished this commission in pastel on suedeboard. I love working on this surface with pastels. They just glide on like butter. I hope you like it Maureen!

8 x 10 inch oil "Bowl of Tomaotes - FINISHED

I think I have almost finished this painting. I worked some more on the tomatoes and strengthened the shadows a bit. Maybe a few more hightlights are in order.

12 x 16 inch oil "Out the Bathroom Window"

I have been working on and off this one for a week or so. I'm not sure where I am going with this. I like the composition and the monochromatic colors a lot but I just feel it lacks something. I know it needs some tidying up of the straight edges etc. but not sure what else. Any suggestions??

New Easel!!

I finally got that easel I have been dreaming of (for my birthday). It is a custom made H-frame studio easel made by a gentlemen in Penticton, B.C. and sent to me by Grayhound bus. He has a web site called EasyEasels.com. It is wonderfully large and very stable and sturdy and can hold extra large canvases. What a difference it makes. I don't have to worry about knocking my easel over while it holds a wet painting. What a mess that would make!

8 x 10 inch oil WIP " Bowl of Tomatoes"

I started this one today from a reference photo from WetCanvas. com. Thankyou to the contributor. WetCanvas is a wealth of wonderful reference photos and I love going thru all the categories. This one caught my attention right away. I think what I like most is the play of shadow and light and of course the bright red tomatoes. I got a good start on this today and I don't think it will take long to finish up. I really like these quick ones!

WIP continues

I did some more work on this tomatoe. Still not sure if I am quite "there" yet. Need to darken the shadows some more maybe.

12 x 12 inch oil WIP "Tomatoe and Colindar"

I have had this one on the easel for a few days now. I am almost finished with it, just need to work a little more on the tomato. I am really liking this square format. I have an idea to do a bunch of small 8 x 8 inch canvases with stuff found in my fridge. This should be fun and good practice for me as well.

8 x 8 inch oil "Twins"

I wanted to do a small and quick painting in a more looser style. I chose these pears (thanks to the contributor at WetCanvas) because this happens to be my most favorite green. I probably spent only around 1 hr on this. It was a nice change from the more challenging subjects I have been choosing lately.

Bowl of Cherries 11 x 12 inch in oil - Finished!!

I think I may be finally finished this one. I will leave it for now before I make a mess, let it dry and maybe go back and tidy up the highlights. I like the colors in this but I am finding it really hard to get yellow to look the way it does IRL. Maybe I haven't found the right hue yet.

WIP continues

I have tiddled a bit more with these two. I think my lemons looked more like oranges before. I think they are a little better now. I probably will still do a little more work on this and then call it finished. I added a bit more detail on the boat but still have some more to do. Hopefully I will finish these this weekend.

2 WIP in oil

Here are two that I started this weekend while waiting for my lemon painting to dry some before finishing it up. That is the only draw back (can also be a good thing) with working in oil - the slow drying time. I get really impatient sometime just to have something to paint, so I start a new one. The only problem is my lack of studio space and easel. I really want a large studio easel-the H frame type. Xmas is coming- listen up family! I will post these again when I have finished. I have a lot to do.

20 x 16 inches oil WIP "Bowl of Lemons"

I think this is the most challenging painting I have done to date. I have a lot to do, but it is coming along. I think what drew me to the photo was the dark shadows and the light. Thankyou so much to the contributor at WetCanvas for this great photo. I will post the painting when I have totally finished.

8 x 10 inch pastel "Freddie"

It's been a long time I have done a pet portrait and a long time since I have used pastel. It really felt good and I hope to do some more in the near future. This is little Freddie who has since passed on. I hope you like it Lisa!

30 x 20 inch oil "Unnamed"

This painting is the largest still-life that I have attempted and I am finding it quite a challenge. It is not finished by any means but I thought I would post my progress to date. It's funny how I see things wrong in a photo that I can't see IRL. For instance the bottle looks to me as if it is leaning to the left in the photo but when I see it IRL it looks ok. What to do!

10 x 10 inch oil "Reflected Pears"

This is another pear painting that I have been working on. I have a lovely gold frame for this one. This is another WIP as this definitely is not the finished product. I will post further developments.

WIP 3 pears finally finished!

I painted for most of the weekend and finally completed this one that has been on my easel for awhile. There may be a few touch-ups but I think this is it. It looks rather dark in the photo but not so IRL.

24 x 30 inch oil "Three of a Pear" WIP

After fussing with the last painting so much, trying for realism, this one was very liberating as the painting seemed to just paint itself. I used very large and loose strokes with the new # 12 filbert brush that I just bought. I really love this brush and it will be great for the larger paintings I plan on doing in the future. This painting is a WIP and I will post further photos as it develops.

8 x 10 inch oil "Teapot and Apple"

I spent a few hours in the studio today and finally finished up this little painting. For its size it really took me a lot of time to get the colors right. This is not a very good photo, the painting is much better IRL.

18 x 14 inch oil "Old Barrels"

This one has been sitting on my easel for several weeks so I thought I would post it as it is almost finished. I have to clean up the barrels some as I am not completely happy with them. This is one of those paintings that I could not photograph very well. The colors are much more vivid and true in real life and I am fairly happy with the result.

16 x 20 inch oil "Bowl of Fruit``

SOLD - Sept 18/09

I finially got into the studio to finish this one (the heat not so brutal today). I punched up the highlights a little and finshed off the small orange fruit (yellow plums I think). Anyway here is the finished version ready to be varnished and framed. This painting is for sale. Please contact me for info.