Thanksgiving Flowers

8" x 10" Oil on mounted canvas.

Flowers are a tough still life subject. Trust me, that's not just my opinion either. These were part of the bouquet our Thanksgiving guests brought us. I really liked the yellow and purple complements together (and there are actually more varieties in the full collection.) One of my particular struggles here is that I don't know the names to title my painting! :^) Sure, there are some daisies and little roses, but what are the others? I have a shamefully small knowledge here. My Grandmother who worked in the seed factory would know every one...sigh.

Silver Creamer

7" x 5" Oil on mounted canvas.

$65 - Shipping to US included.

New (old) shiny things! My personal globetrotter shopper picked up a silver tea set on her last trip. While the set will never be family heirloom quality, it shined up just right for painting (which was the point.) My favorite is tea is a simple breakfast tea with milk. So that is what you have here if you look closely.

I have noticed it has been pretty thin out there in the painting blogosphere and I am no exception. So, it is good to get a post up again. I hope you all are enjoying the start of the holiday season.

Steilacoom Cyclocross Run-up

8" x 10" Oil on mounted canvas.

$100 shipping to US included.

I was not completely satisfied with the previous cyclocross painting. I wanted to create one that showed the speed and movement of the racing. I used some softer edges and more blurring to get the impression. The subject here is a Kona racer right at the beginning of the huge run-up at Fort Steilacoom Park. He is shouldering his bike to attack the 200 meter gully that rises up from the shady path by a small lake.

Chestnuts

Approx 3" x 3.5" Oil on mounted canvas.

And now for something completely....smaller.

Two chestnuts. If you are scratching your head, here is a photograph of them. I guess they could have been done a little tighter. If anyone wants this painting, I would throw in the chestnuts, too.

Canadian Cyclocross Championship

The Canadian Cyclocross Championship was held on an appropriately cold and dreary day, but luckily there was no real steady rain. The event was held along the river in Kamloops, British Columbia. The course wound through a beautiful riverside park, using the sandy beach to make a couple of the run-up sections.

I started with a block in from my photo reference using Raw Umber.



I continued with blocking in the main colors on the figures and the background of sand and water. Right now, I am establishing the front wheel of the lead rider. At this point I have to decide how tight to complete the details. The major shapes seem right except for the front wheel of the second bike.


This painting is of the early leaders in the race. Notice that bib number 1 (Greg Reain) is leading the race as you might expect. (The numbers are assigned by the current UCI rankings for riders.) I finished up the painting over the next couple of days, stopping while the details were still fairly loose. Greg Reian finished up second to the eventual winner, Mike Garrigan (Number 4...who was somewhere behind at this point.)

16" x 20" Oil on gallery wrapped canvas.

Skykomish in Fall

10" x 8" Oil on mounted canvas.

Here is Skykomish on Friday afternoon. I started this painting with a yellow ochre under-painting. This painting is loose enough that is really only comes together from a few feet away. The clouds were rolling in from the northwest casting shadows on the mountains toward Stevens Pass. The building in the foreground is the railroad depot. This railyard in my small town is an infamous superfund site. Part of the town has already been picked up, moved, had the soil cleaned, and replanted. The trains that were the cause of the problem keep rumbling through, but they certainly are not dumping diesel fuel anymore.