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.

8 x 10 inch oil "Cloud Studies"

These are some quick studies of clouds done on canvas board in oil. I took my camera out a few weeks ago and got some great photos of different clouds. I have in mind to do a large canvas for my new bedroom (under construction). Some more will be following soon.

6 x 8 inch oil "Tides Out"

I did this little painting quickly from a photo I took on one of my outings a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to paint on site but it started to rain so I got this picture instead. I am having a lot of fun with this small format. I am able to finish them in around an hour and this forces me to forget about the details and just paint the shapes and light and shadows.

6 x 8 inch oil " Cobble Hill Road"

I did this little plein air right out in my back yard today. It is such a warm sunny day that I just had to get out and paint. I like the way the shadows played on the fields and tried to capture it. I bought and new book on oil painting this week by Kevin McPherson. I really love his style of painting and am trying to get a little looser with my technique. I would recomment this book to anyone wanting to paint plein aire.

8 x 10 inch oil "Cow Bay Flats"

I took my paint box and went on a little drive today, found a spot and painted from my car on the side of the road. This was painted with a knife and done quite quickly. I want to get a little more practice with the knife as it is especially good when on location. I don't need brush cleaner or turps so there is much less mess. I tend to be a very messy painter so the less stuff I take with me the better.

WIP #3

I worked a little today on this painting, base coating the fruit on the table and doing a little more modeling of the fruit. I will wait until it dries a little more to darken up the shadows and finish it up. It will not be long now before i am finished.

WIP day #2

I worked on this painting a little today, modeling the peaches and plums (?). I will go back and tidy up the fruit at the end, adding some more hightlights etc. but they are mainly finished now. I will tackle the fruit on the table probably tomorrow.

20 x 16 inch oil "Tarnished Bowl of Fruit" WIP

I decided to start this one today in my usual style of working oil. Everything is pretty much one layer of paint with a little blending. I found this lovely photo on Wetcanvas.com. Due to the size of this one it will probably take a couple of more sittings to finish. I love the contrast of the red and orange fruit against the dark background. I think this is my favorite type of still life to paint. After looking at this for awhile I noticed that my bowl is looking a little lopsided. I guess I will have to fix that.