Christmas Catus Bloom at Easter

10" x 8" Oil on Linen.

On auction at DailyPaintworks.

Our Christmas Easter Cactus is blooming. It is an amazing plant that we have failed to kill and it blooms twice a year. The flowers are very interesting a real challenge to capture.

Crumpled Paper Airplane

10" x 8" Oil on Linen.

On Auction (Click here.)

This is a painting for the Crumpled Paper Challenge at DailyPaintworks. It was a fun study to make it read correctly from across the room, while keeping it loosely executed. Crash and Burn?

Eggbeater Drill

12" x 12" Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas.

On auction at DailyPaintworks (click to bid.)

Grandpa's old "eggbeater" drill is still running very smooth. This is my take on the You Know the Drill Challenge at DailyPaintworks. I set the tool in the composition with a cool to warm background in the upper portion of the square. 

Tea with Cream and Sugar

14" x 11" Oil on Linen.

On sale at DailyPaintworks (click to bid.)

I still like this china pattern after many years. I wanted to keep this painting loose with the silver cream an sugar set pushed back in the composition. I am still working on the lost edges here, but I like the "shine" effect on the cup.

Two Gala Apples

8" x 6" Oil on linen.

For Sale at DailyPaintworks (Click to bid.)

A little still life setup concentrating on lost edges, shadows, and the wonderful color of these Gala's.

Trappist Apple

11" x 14" Oil on Mounted Linen.

On sale at DailyPaintworks (click here to bid).

This painting features a souvenir from Belgium. The Westmalle Trappist Ale glass is trapping a Gala apple. I like painting shiny glass and fruit, but I don't think I have combined them like this before. I really like the shiny bits here.

White on White Coffee Cup

10" x 10" Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas.

On Auction at DPW.

This coffee cup painting is in response to the White on White Daily Paintworks Challenge.

I wanted to go with a more graphic painting so I picked a square format with a lot of cropping on the subject. I did manage to get my favorite heart shaped handle reflection. I decided between this oblique angle and looking down from the top. That may be coming up.

The challenge was interesting, but I think I would sneak in a little more color with some warm/cool lighting if I started again. Still, it makes me think it is time to fill the cup with a latte...

Stovetop Espresso Maker

10" x 8" Oil on linen.

On auction at DPW.

This painting stars our new stainless stovetop espresso maker. In our household it makes sense to use this since we heat with a wood burning stove. It makes okay coffee and saves our off-grid battery power.  The new pot has an interesting shape that is quite different from the typical Moka octagon style pot.

I enjoyed the shiny reflections including the wood and the edge of the cup that peeks out from behind the pot. The fuzzy, lost, glowing edges also worked out well.

Coffee Cups - Big and Little

10" x 8" Oil on Linen.

On auction at DPW.

This is a pair of our newest coffee cups. The big one can host a nice sized latte and the little one is perfect for a double espresso. I must admit I am fascinated by the heart shape that the handle reflection creates since my wife pointed it out in a previous painting. I do love coffee, even if this morning's was a bit off...

Apple and Not Orange

10" x 8" Oil on Linen.

This painting is in response to a DPW Challenge from Carol Marine to paint using other colors from the original after establishing the correct values. The idea is that the result will still read as correct 3-dimensional objects. I think it works in this case except the green orange is a bit strange. Changing the Granny Smith to a red apple came out quite natural.

Here is a bigger look at the finished painting:

Orange on a Perch

8" x 8" Oil on Linen.

Available.

I've enjoyed depictions of partially peeled fruit in other people's work. I wanted to try the same with a slightly unusual staging. Within this composition, I looked to keep the lines and focal point off of the center lines. Working through getting the right values to get good modeling is the fun part here and was a good warm up for my afternoon painting session.

Corked

7" x 5" Oil on panel.
Sold.

I actually have been saving this cork for a while so that I could paint it. It was the most wickedly split cork I have seen that was still able to come out of the bottle in close to one piece. It also had a contrasting pink interior color. Pairing it with a "shiny thing" made it fun to paint.

Nutcracker Impression

8" x 10" Oil on linen.
Available.

In the Christmas spirit, I decided to worth this my red nutcracker. The goal here was to work on edges to keep the result "loose". I started with blocking in masses of color and then added detail later. I want to continue in this direction to intentionally reduce tightness/detail. I like the lost edges which give the painting a changing character from different distances.

Espresso and Lipstick

7" x 5" Oil on panel.

Subdued color with that hint that she has taken some sips.

English Breakfast Tea

7" x 5" Oil on panel.

Twinning's English Breakfast tea has great classic packaging. This little painting gave me a chance to play with reflections including the slight red glow on the cloth. I also liked restraining the detail. It is easy to go too far.

Garlic and Cruet

10" x 8" Oil on panel
Available.

Bright highlights shine against a dim background. The papery garlic skin glows in the shadows.

Acorn Squash and Vase

7" x 5" Oil on panel.

This is a nicely mottled squash that sits with my new small vase.

Shoe Yin Yang

12" x 12" Oil on Canvas.

For my Shoe Challenge painting, I thought I would create a Yin Yang symbol representing the business/formal vs. pleasure/informal sides of life. It was fun to paint. After I was finished I looked around and realized the white side is more commonly on the left.

(Sorry for the glare, I may retake the picture later.)

Or Tea

9" x 12" Oil on Linen.
Available.

This is, of course, a matching still life for the Coffee and Cup painting from a few days ago. This small, heavy, Asian tea pot has a nice subdued copper color that I enjoyed painting. I have wanted to work it into a painting since I received it as a gift from my daughter. It will be interesting to see how these paintings look together once they have the same sheen. I may have to do some more touch up to harmonize them; I already did some to the Coffee pot painting tonight.

Coffee and Cup

9" x 12" Oil on Linen.

Available.

This is the first of a planned pair of still life paintings. The unconventional composition choice to slice the cup is part of the plan for the other painting. When the other painting is done, I can see that there might be some revision for this one.

(Sorry for the glare on the dark wet paint.)