"Around the Corner"

Oil on canvas panel, 11 x 14 inches, $325

This painting started as a demo for my oil painting class. The red cloth is a curtain I found at a local thrift store. It's a really thick material and I love the way it drapes down and then wraps around the corner of the table. The folds are just so interesting to me - and were fun to paint.

"The Cloth Divide"

Oil on canvas panel, 11 x 14 inches, $325

 

I began this painting as a demo for my students and used a limited palette of Yellow Ochre, Terra Rosa, Ivory Black and Titanium White. The canvas was toned with Raw Umber.

These earthy versions of the primary colors are nearly the same as those used by Swedish painter Anders Leonard Zorn (1860-1920). But, instead of Terra Rosa, the Zorn palette uses Vermillion (or modern-day Cadmium Red Light). Other earthy reds like Venetian Red, English Red Light or Light Red Oxide work well, too.

Using the Zorn palette has its benefits. The muted color scheme creates color harmony and unity with no effort at all. It's also a good teaching tool, because beginning students can learn how to manipulate oil paint without the concern for exact color-matching. The subdued tones also help students recognize complimentary colors and strengthen their understanding of the color wheel.

Ivory Black is cool and stands in for blue. So in this painting, for example, the small pitcher on the left was blue, so I used Ivory Black to paint it. Mixing Ivory Black with Yellow Ochre results in an nice, earthy, sort of olive green. But, as a final step for this painting, I decided to brighten up the yellow-green apples with a thin glaze of Viridian mixed with Cadmium Yellow. Below is a shot of the painting before the glaze was added.

"Green Apples and Lace"

Oil on canvas, 12 x 16 inches, $400

Back in the studio for some still life painting. Actually, I painted this one in the classroom alongside my oil painting students. The biggest challenge for everyone was achieving the look and feel of lace without going overboard on every last detail. The best solution I could come up with was to paint in big shapes first and then selectively add a few smaller darks and highlights where they were needed. The time-tested method of "squinting" helped me see those big shapes and also helped me decide which details to include - and which to leave out.

"Juicy Day" SOLD

Oil on canvas, 10 x 10 inches

This is a happy little painting on a few different levels - subject, color, and I had some fun with paint application, too. Most of the background was applied thickly with a painting knife. Then I used the tip of that same knife to sort of "etch in" texture and lines. Thicker paint was also applied on the highlight area of the orange with a small, round bristle brush.

"Royal Citrus"

 Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches, $150

Again, I'm combining a painterly quality with my usual realism. This is definitely a look I'll try again. I ate this tangerine when I finished it, too, in order to take care of any scurvy issues. Unfortunately, a cold of some sort has gotten a hold of me instead. That's why I've been away from the computer for almost a week!

"Candid Pear"

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches
Available at Circa Gallery

I consider this painting to be a celebration of each stroke of the brush to canvas. Instead of smoothing out the background like I usually do, I've allowed the brushstrokes to remain visible. The pear is also painted with more abandon than I normally accept. This is a candid painting which allows itself to be a painting and not just the realistic interpretation of a pear. I like the result and will probably explore this approach in future paintings, as well. How do you feel about it? Your comments are welcomed!

"Smiling Apple"

 Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches, $125

I finished a preliminary sketch, transferred it to the canvas and took a short break. Imagine my surprise when I returned to begin painting and saw this split in the apple! The lesson here was that apples don't like extreme temperature changes. From a cold fridge to a hot spotlight was not so good for our apple friend, here. At first I was simply going to ignore the split, but as I was painting, I realized that it added a lot of interest to an otherwise ordinary apple. And now, as I look at the finished painting, the apple's smile is unmistakable.

"Eggs That Came Second"

 Oil on canvas on panel, 6 x 8 inches, $150

This will be my third and final painting from this still life. As I've mentioned before, my first small painting and a much larger, 30 x 40 inch painting are from this same still life. More about both is in this YouTube video.

"These Eggs Came First"

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 8 inches, $150

This painting is special! Why? Because this is the first in my new series of small daily paintings. So, these eggs really did come first!

Plus, a step-by-step of its creation is featured on my YouTube channel. Also, there's a much larger, 30 x 40 inch painting in progress from this same still life. More about it in the YouTube video, too.