Pear in Shadow

Pear in Shadow, 8"x8", oil on RayMar panel, unframed, $100
Wanted to apply the limited earthtone palette to an object. Picture is horrible, the black I mix with red oxide and ultramarine reall picks up the light from anywhere and everywhere.

Three Oranges and a Plate on Blue 319

Three Oranges and a Plate on Blue, 8"x8", oil on RayMar panel, $150

Three Mugs or Tribute to Arshile Gorky 308

Don't know what happened here, besides all the bottles being stuck on the bottom, so I just rode it out.

Big Egg Little Nest 299

Got this egg from a client when I dropped off a painting. It proved to be the MOST difficult subject ever. After 2 failed attempts and scrape-offs, I decided to put it in a more logical setting. The first 2 made it look like a a pear. I cursed to myself a threw it in a nest and here you go. It is a chicken egg in a barn swallow nest, so don't bother to point that out to me! Just goes to show that the top 3 words in real estate sometimes work with still lifes as well... location, location, location.

Clementines and a Bowl 298

Sorry for my absence. The holiday season puts me on the road a great deal. My wife and I live in middle Georgia and her family is in western Tennessee. So, needless to say painting has been sparse and the paintings I do this time of year are usually Christmas presents and cannot be put on the blog as of yet. We have also been house hunting... we all know how great that is.

Trying to get back into the swing on small daily paintings, but I am beginning to feel like they have run their course... at least for now. I am seriously considering doing a 365 blog of plein air paintings... but we are moving back to the city. May have to be cityscapes!

Anyway, glad to be back!

Kiwis on Lilac 278 SOLD

Daily painting, sometimes it is good... sometimes it is bad. This one made me smile, anything is better than wondering why you waste your time. It the grand scheme of things, just doing it is never a waste. Inherently, there is something to be learned from every success and especially in every mistake... I just can't always find those.

Three Spoons 267

Haven't been using the knife much, but have been mixing up gobs of paint and lathering it on. Been fun.

46' Willys, 239

Trying to build some creative momentum. I only get summer vacation once a year and I try to take advantage of it. This year my creative peak and vacation are NOT lining up and not for lack of trying! Hoping this piece will get me back into the groove of things again.

Around the Bend, 227

Tried to bang out a little landscape last night, and there is something about it that bothers me. I know the road is lighter than the sky and that may be putting me off. I also used a bit of yellow oxide and it really didn't do what I thought it would. Painting trees small was also a challenge for some reason. This little piece was quite the challenge!

Avocado Halves and Quarters on Red, 220

This one is very different for some reason. Not sure if it the green/red relationship or my use of cad red light versus my permanent red or cad red medium. i like the overall effect but it may be a but strong for most.

Avocado Halves on Blue, 218

I am having to move through my produce pretty quickly. I get hungry and it doesn't always keep as long as I would like. I used this avocado for several paintings of different siZes on different backgrounds. I find these paintings are coming easier to me. I am using a more complex palette than what I normally use as I have introduced new colors to it.

Dogwood, 218

It's that time of year hear in georgia where the woods erupt with fountains of white and pink. I love dogwoods, they remind me that if the Masters hasn't been played yet... it will be soon!

Asparagus on Red, 217

Continuing with the asparagus theme from yesterday...

Asparagus on Blue, 217

Ramping up to get back into the swing of daily painting. I spent most of January and February painting the large pieces for the restaurant in NC, now it is time to get back to some smaller observational work. This piece marks the first of many smaller pieces I did last week during my spring break. I tried to do at least 3 a day.

Destroyed Tide, 213

I really pushed the limits of this painting, abstracting almost beyond the point of recognition. I still don't quite know where these are going, but the journey continues to amuse me.

Sinclair, 212

Love this Sinclair logo... How braZZEn to use an actual dinosaur on a logo used for fossil fuels! Sometimes the obvious is the way to go. Easily one of my favorite gas logos, next to the pegasus used by Mobil. There is a great story there I am sure. I am sure there has got to be one behind this dinosaur as well!

Mini RC, 209

Here is another experiment performed on RC Cola...

Mini Lucky Strike, 208

Continuing with the theme of the day, advertising. These are much smaller pieces than the others... the siZe of the daily pieces. They enable me to experiment on a much cheaper basis. I like the idea of old advertising so I try to give the impression that these paintings have been out in the environment and that rain, sun and gravity take their toll on an abstract level. I have always loved drops of paint and the physics that they represent. However, it is a direct contradiction to what I stated above. The signs look like the paint, over time, has oxidied and run down the sign, but I have intentionally place the paint splotches on this one while it was laying down. I never turned it up and let the drips run down. I love the look of the "drop" and not the "run".

Nest IV, 177

Another for the nest series. I hope to get out, if and when it ever stops raining, to look for some nests around the farm. I usually find a few in the engine of my Land Cruiser, but only after I smell it burning. It should be much easier in the winter!

Nest III, 176

Back to daily painting. I was surprised how angry and frustrated this painting has made me. It finished up pretty well but not without a few expletives. I am incredibly surprised how the larger paintings turn out much more easily that the smaller ones. I have painted several larger pieces this month without so much as a curse word or a mild tantrum, turn my attentions to a smaller canvas and... BAM, temper tantrum city.