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.

$105.00

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.

$200.00

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.

$50.00

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.

8 x 8 inch oil "Cobolt and Orange"

I recently bought Susan Sarback's book "Capturing Radiant Light in Oil" and tried the demonstration that she did in the book. I love her impressionistic style of painting and tried to capture the light as she does. It does somewhat look like the demo although I am not quite there yet. This way of painting starts out by blocking in the main shapes with whatever color you like, keeping the lights with warm colors and the darks and shadows with cool colors. After the 1st step you keep adding colors, mixing only on the painting, until you get the color you want, adjusting the value as needed by adding white. You do all of this using a pallet knife, just to add to the difficulty. This little painting took me around 3 hours. I do not have the skill yet with the knife but I think it will come more naturally as I work with it more.

9 x 12 inch oil "Baldy Mountain"

This is another painting done with the knives. I used a lot more color than I usually do in this painting, trying to loosen up. Using the knife helps me in that respect, as I cannot blend and I can not get every detail in as with a brush.

8 x 8 inch oil "Ghost Trees #2"

I have been getting a lot of painting done this weekend. Having a lot of fun with the pallett knives. These paintings are quick and fun. Hope you enjoy.

$50.00

8 x 8 inch oil "Ghost Trees"

This is another attempt with the pallett knife. I am really enjoying using the knife although I believe there is quite a technique to be learned to be successful with it. More experiments to follow.

$50.00

8 x 10 inch oil

This is a scene I have painted before but I wanted to do a little experimentation using a pallete knife and lots of thick paint. I put on bright block-in colors first, added another layer of local color and scraped back a bit with the knife. This was totally out of my comfort zone, especially with the bright colors but it was a fun little painting.

4 x 6 inch oil "Low Tide"

This painting was done on location at a favorite spot of mine for watching birds and wildlife. I had just set up my paintbox and it started to rain, so I managed to do a quick sketch on location and finished the rest up in the studio.

11 x 14 inch oil "Apples and Pot"

This painting is a departure from my normal style of painting. Instead of brushing on the paint, I dabbed it on after putting a layer of color in the forms. It didn't start out this way, but I was not liking how it was turning out, so I switched my technique. Sometimes you just have to do that!

8 x 10 inch oil "Bowl of Grapes"

I had a very sucessfull weekend as far as painting goes. This one just seemed to just flow effortlessly. I decided that I was not going to do any layering of my oil , just lay the color where I wanted it and leave it be. Also I did very little blending and I really like the effect. The total painting only took around 5 hours versus many hours if I was to layer. I think I will try this technique again. I have another still life all picked out.

20 x 24 inch oil "Orange Rose"

I have been working on this one for a couple of days, and for the size of it, it has gone pretty quickly. I discovered it is really hard to get a decent orange with only cadium yellow pale and permanent alizarim red. I think I will get another yellow to add to my pallett.