Espresso

6 x 6 oil on hardboard

As my current paintings were drying between passes I decided to work in an ebay painting for this week. Cups with spoons is one of my more common themes, and the recent mug and book piece made me hungry to do another. This little espresso cup hadn't been utilized in a while, so I thought it would make a good subject for this week. These compositions tend to be monochromatic, but I'm drawn to them their simplicity. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can take part in the auction by clicking here.

Coke

6 x 6 oil on hardboard

This carton of coke bottles will probably be showing up repeatedly for a while yet. There is something about that green glass, and the red carton that kills me. Especially when the red shows through the glass. Man! I've got this idea in the back of my mind to try one of these bottles really big. Something like 36 x 36, or 24 x 48. I think it could be really cool. Many of my favorite contemporary realists like Pedro Campos, and Steve Mills commonly work in this size. I wonder if I could do it? Maybe 2010 is the year to go BIG. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.

Recent Commission: Pool Balls

6 x 6 each oil on hardboard

I was busy working on one of two commissions this past week, in addition to a couple of new ebay paintings. The commission for the first client was for pool balls, and the second client will be receiving a loaf of bread and a pb&j. Also in the 6 x 6 format. It had been a while since I painted pool balls in a glass bowl, and it was nice to visit them again. I hope to have the next ebay piece ready to go up on thursday, and the second commission paintings should be ready to be posted sometime next week. I also have another small project coming up in the next few weeks, more about that later.

Morning Mug

6 x 6 oil on hardboard

My plan for this week was to work up another five ebay paintings, but I landed a couple of small commissions just as I was getting started, and this is the only piece I had time to complete. This image was created on a trip to Inlet Beach Florida a year or so ago, and it's been in the back of my mind to paint ever since. My original intent was to do it as a 12 x 12, but I figured I'd try it out on ebay first, and see what kind of response it gets first. The complete photo reference includes all of the books, and a pair of glasses as well, but I thought this told most of the story. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.

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.

Blocks No.6

16 x 20 oil on hardboard

I finally completed the second painting bound for my new gallery in Houston. It's called Dean Day, and Karen has done very well there. I talked with Cathy Albright, the owner, when we were in town for Karen's show back in December, and she was very enthusiastic about showing my work as well. We agreed to "date" for a while, and see how it works out. I've emailed Cathy images of these two paintings, and she was very pleased with both of them. They are still too wet to ship, but should be on their walls within the next couple of weeks. With a little luck, my paintings will find an audience in Texas.

PB&J No. 13

18 x 18 oil on hardboard

Had some major problems with my internet connection this past week. After going back and forth with Earthlink for a few days with no success, the problem turned out to actually be with AT&T. It took the technicians about a week to figure things out. I have to say they were really good about keeping us up to date on their progress. Now we're back on line, and I'm able to post my latest painting. This is one of two paintings I'll be offering Dean Day Gallery in Houston. Karen has been very successful there, and Cathy Albright, the owner, has asked me to come on board. With a little luck, I'll find an audience for my work there as well.

Coca Cola

5.5 x 5.5 oil on hardboard

The final ebay painting for this week is a couple of empty coke bottles. I've had it in my mind to paint this subject for sometime now, but never got around to it. That old coke bottle shape, and color is so familiar, and nostalgic. I searched my favorite place for subject matter (ebay), and as usual found plenty of bottles to choose from. I'll try this again in a larger format in the future as a gallery piece. Just how large, I'm not sure. Big enough to really get into that glass. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can take part in the bidding by clicking here.

Silver Creamer

5.5 x 5.5 oil on hardboard

I decided to hold off for the holidays, and list my final two ebay pix starting tonight. This creamer was part of a collection of vintage silver given to us by Karen's parents. There's also a sugar bowl, and a water pitcher that go along with this creamer. They have a great shape for reflecting the contents of a room, and these wonderfully curly handles. If you'd like to partake in the bidding for this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.