Grapes No.2

5.5 x 5.5 oil on hardboard

Every once and a while, I get into a kind of Zen mode as I paint. During that usually very brief span of time, the act of painting seems effortless. It's nothing I can control or predict, it just occurs out of the blue. The next day it's gone, and the struggle to paint returns. These grapes were the end result of one of those fleeting moments. I'm not claiming this is an exceptional work of art, it's more about that marvelous, and ephemeral experience of painting without thinking. I wish it came around more often. If you'd like to bid on this painting, click here.

EverReady

5.5 x 5.5 oil on hardboard

This little painting falls into the category of the "study". I found a few of these vintage flashlights on ebay, and have done quite a bit of photography with them. The version here represents the top portion of a more involved piece I plan to do later. I wanted to get a feel for the grooves and embossing on the all metal case, before I attempted it in the larger painting. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can take part in the auction by clicking here.

PB&J No. 15

5.5 x 5.5 oil on hardboard

I never seem to tire of painting peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It's fun to find new ways of composing them. Delving into my most recent batch of photography I really liked this wedge shape of the split sandwich on the plate. If you'd like to participate in the auction you can bid by clicking here.

Bob's Kettle No.2

5.5 x 5.5 oil on hardboard

Before our good friends Bob Deyber, and Robert Graham moved back to Connecticut, they let me borrow one of their silver pieces to photograph. This great tea kettle had such a delightful shape, and highly reflective surface I knew I had to get some images of it before it was gone. I painted a larger version of it for Wynne/Falconer Gallery some time ago, but wanted to use it again for the wonderfully distorted view of the surroundings it creates. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.

Embroidery Scissors

5.5 x 5.5 oil on hardboard

Scissors have been part of my repertoire in the past, and I felt it was time to re-visit that subject once more. I found these little embroidery scissors in the shape of a stork on ebay, and thought they'd be fun to paint. As I was setting up one of the compositions, I decided to incorporate another pair of scissors as a kind of surrogate parent, feeding it's young. It may be a bit "cutesy", but I think it works. If you'd like to bid on this piece, you can access the auction by clicking here.

Karen: the cover Art Galleries & Artists of the South

Karen has one of her paintings on the cover of Art Galleries & Artists of the South this month. The publisher emailed her a little while back to say that they had an image of hers they really liked, and wanted permission to use it for the cover. It took about a second to respond with a "yes". They did a very good job with the printing, the reproduction was a spot on match to the original.

I've been working on a new group of ebay paintings, the first of which should be posted tomorrow evening. It's a good batch, I think. Once they're all up, I'm heading back to the Coke bottles. I want to paint more of that terrific glass.

Return for Deposit

16 x 20 oil on hardboard

After two weeks, I've finally completed the full version of the Coca Cola bottles. I knew when I did the study I would attempt the composition larger in order to delve more deeply into that wonderful Coke colored glass. It didn't fully satisfy that urge, and I'm anxious to begin another variation of this subject. I picked up another of those terrific Dick Blick studio mounted hardboard panels this weekend for just that purpose. Before I return to that, I've got to get busy on another line up of ebay paintings for next week. As soon as those are done I'm back to those bottles. I haven't made up my mind as to where I'm going to send this as yet. I may just hang onto it for a while before I make that decision.

Update: Stricoff Fine Art, Ltd. called today, and requested that I send this piece to them. Michel and I had a nice talk, and I will be shipping this to them sometime early next week.

Half Loaf No.2

5.5 x 5.5 oil on hardboard

. . . and a loaf of bread to finish off the week. I really enjoy painting bread, and Karen has made it clear to me that I, "should always have a bread painting in the works". This half loaf composition with the plastic bag is a favorite of mine. I love that serpentine line that runs the length of the loaf. It's not clearly evident in this image, but there are a lot of subtle colors, and textures in this piece. I'm attempting to work more color into my paintings. In my pre-oil days, when I worked in watercolor and colored pencil, there was much more color in my work. For some reason, when I switched to oil my palette became more muted. Now I'm trying to bring back that variety of color. It's a glacially slow process, but I'm getting there. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.

Study: Return for Deposit

5.5 x 5.5 oil on hardboard

I mentioned in an earlier post this week that I use two methods of cropping photographs as source material for paintings. This piece represents the second technique. I used a small portion of the image I was considering for a larger painting. The full composition contains the entire 8 pack of Coke. I commonly offer these studies for ebay, then based on the popularity of the auction, make the final decision to go on and paint a more elaborate rendition. I jumped the gun a little on this one. I liked this completed "study" enough to go ahead, and begin the larger painting. It's a chancy move, but it's going pretty well, and I'm very happy with it so far. If you'd like to take part in the auction you can bid by clicking here.

Blocks No.7

5.5 x 5.5 oil on hardboard

"Again with the blocks". I know, but I just like painting them so much. The Rabbit in particular. There is something very appealing about these toys which aren't made of plastic, don't require batteries, light up or make a sound. What can I say, I'm fond of the blocks. If you'd like to bid on this painting click here.

PB&J No. 14

5.5 x 5.5 oil on hardboard

This is another example of the crop "down" method for ebay. I think working for over a decade as a graphic designer helped me develop an eye for cropping images. It was a task employed on a daily basis. I'm not saying that my particular take on composition appeals to everyone, just saying that I like them. I used to state that I was searching for the heart of the larger image, but I realized very quickly that the large composition has many hearts. If you look close enough, each photograph provides a rich source from which to extract many small paintings. Each substantial, and unique on their own. This snippet comes from a painting I just shipped to Dean Day Gallery in Houston. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.

Glass & Silverware

5.5 x 5.5 oil on hardboard

When I'm working with my photography I usually go in one of two directions. I either crop out a key portion of a larger composition specifically to be used as an ebay painting, or I will cull out a tightly cropped piece of a composition I intend to paint larger, and do it as a study for the larger more involved version. See what kind of response it gets. The first painting to be auctioned this week is an example of the former method. I liked the painting I did recently for Stricoff of the glass jar filled with silverware, so I focused in on the top of that glass. A second painting to be auctioned later this week will be an example of the second method. The "study". If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can take part in the bidding by clicking here.