Pear and Knife

9" x 12" Oil on mounted linen.

Available.

It is just past harvest time in the orchards over the pass from us. We visited a couple of stands and bought about 100 lbs of fruit. Most is now canned applesauce, but I also got a few pears for painting subjects. I wanted to show how small this bright red pear is, so I posed it with a silver butter knife. It is always fun to paint a "shiny thing"!

Jens About to Win

20" x 30" Oil on linen on panel.

In a Private collection.

Checking Behind is a favorite of my paintings for me, so this summer I have been working on a larger revisit to the same subject. Only this time, I put a Leopard Trek Jersey on the rider to update it for 2011. I like to think that this is Jens Voigt about to win after a daring breakaway.

Chris and Tod

8" x 10" Oil on Linen on Panel

Chris Horner on his attack up Sierra Road in this year's Amgen Tour of California. This painting is based on a Jono Devich photo (thanks!) with a lot of editing. The whole scene includes Alex & Casey, Levi, and two more motos further in the background. This was the attack that won the race on a beautiful and hectic day climbing the mountains overlooking San Jose.

In this composition, I wanted to have the focus balanced between the camera lens and Chris' figure. I also wanted to capture the "likeness" of Tod on the moto. If I was to revisit this, I would give the scene more space to breathe inside the edges of the painting. I also would want to downplay all of the details away from the camera lens. I really enjoy how the cool shadow on the bright pavement looks and want to repeat that success.

The Salute - Study

8" x 10" Oil on linen.

I am struggling to get on track with my painting. This one turned out more detailed than I planned. I like the image of the victory salute and the reaction of second place. However, I would like to capture it much more abstract and with greater contrast. If I work on this further, I want it to be more separate from this specific sprint finish.

Thanks to Casey Gibson and Frank Pipp for the inspiration. Casey captured the salute at the end of Stage 2.

Burning the Candle at Both Ends

(Click on the photo for a larger view.)

30" x 24" Oil on linen.

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There is some debate on the meaning of the phrase "burning the candle at both ends". I have thought that it originated from working late and early, so that you had to use the candle at both ends of the day. It may actually be the more literal waste of burning both ends of a candle that lies at the heart of the imagery of this painting. It is clearly traced back to the 17th-century French the expression was "brusler la chandelle par lex deux bouts". I don't really think it changes the impact of the visual image of the meaning.

In this composition, I wanted to create a definite unease with the impossible balance of the candle. I felt it was also important to avoid the static feeling that true symmetry would provide. If you take the meaning of the phrase to be "at both ends of the day", then the right is the nighttime where we are more likely to burn our resources. It may not show as much in the photo, but I feel the contrast gives the flames a "searing" brightness.