painted in the dark

Painting at night in a place where I did not have control of the lighting. I did not see the results of my efforts till the next morning. The colors within this painting are not colors that would be found in the interior where I painted. In a dark room it is difficult to see colors. I was able to perceive contrast but the low light neutralized the yellow.

both 8" x 8" oil on board

A glass bottomed tray with a glass carafe, martini glass and colored floats. Again painted at night, the reflections and highlights are the major focus of this painting.

Floats

These small spheres of hollow glass show up best against a light background. Capturing the transparent look of glass is a challenge I enjoy taking on. A simple subject, playful and colorful.

both 8" x 8" oil on board

Placing the floats in a martini glass gave an uplifting to the familiar subject.

ripped apart

A tangerine plate with a tangerine torn apart upon it. A study in orange, or maybe that should be oranges. I opened the fruit to increase the colors and textures of the subjects. It also expands the challenges within the composition. It also makes the room smell nice and citrusy.

both 8" x 8" oil on board

The orange and grapefruit was painted while teaching the Thursday afternoon oil painting class. I manager to steal enough time to paint while dispensing guidance and enlightenment. I try to instill that it is possible to paint quickly. For me it all changed the day I realized I don't need to spend six months on a painting. That day was 17 years ago, yesterday. I did a painting in the morning and decided to do another in the afternoon.

pair of pears

both 8"x 8" oil on board

Painted some pears the other day. Same pears, different time of day. The top pair had the cool light of a foggy day reflecting on the table top and back lighting the fruit. The second painted after the sun set, show the rosy side of the pears with a spotlight aimed upon them. The contrast between the two images reiterate the truth "timing is everything".

sunny day paintings

10" x 8" oil on board

We had a sunny day last week. Seems like it was the only this year. It was energizing and I ended up spending the day indoors painting. I did gather up some hose hips and privet berries from my yard for a still life. This winter bounty from my yard, inspired me with the blues and orange.

20" x 16" oil on canvas

It still looks a lot like Christmas around here. Probably the final Christmas painting of the season. I managed to get all three trees in this painting. I've done details of each already, glad to capture them together in there environment. The complexity of the trees is a challenge that I could go on painting, but by this time of year it seems an odd thing to do. The subject of the top painting is visible in this painting also. I did not have the lights on the tree in this painting, feels odd to light them the last few weeks. I have a few other paintings this size of interiors that I like this with. If I ever want to exhibit them together I need to be aware of the time of year. Christmas trees are much better in the latter pare of the year.

by the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful...

after what seams like weeks of fog and gloom the sun is out today

9.75" x 3.75 oil on board

This location is one I have painted many times. This painting from a photo I borrowed brought back so many memories of this vista, I felt I was there again. I took painting workshops in Carpintera over 15 years ago. I haven't been back since, but with a paintbrush in hand the terrain was very familiar.

18" x 36" oil; on canvas

This studio painting of the Santa Cruz lighthouse is also from photo reference. Not a vista I have painted before, it was more of a struggle to capture the feel of the place. I created more of a feeling of winter in this painting, taking more of a clue from the weather around me as I painting than the atmosphere of the day I took the photos.

Seasonal Inspiration

Every Christmas I enjoy painting holiday decoration. It helps to justify the amount of effort it takes to hull out and assemble this stuff. The forest of mixed matched trees that grew up on the table in front of the window. I hung one of my favorite Christmas paintings in the window. I had no wall space so the window worked, it fit well with the table top trees. The above image shows the finished painting and the table top inspiration.

10" x 8" oil on board

Here is the finished painting showing that strange little snowman guy placing an ornament on the tree. The little puff of tinsel on the green ball looks a little like a lit bomb, it gives a different spin to the narrative this image invokes.

8" x 8" oil on board

This painting is of this years green tree with it's multi colored light. This is a tall skinny tree, so I used a lot of long pointy decorations. The beaded garland was literally thrown to give it a extremely casual, drippy look. I tend to be attracted to unusual vintage holiday decorations. This tree gave me a place to display some of them, like the cluster of white plastic holly leaves with a couple of balls and tiny santa head. I find the complexity of a Christmas tree a challenge to capture in a painting. It seems so enticing before the tree is up, and so overwhelming once the painting begins.

more of my Christmas images are posted at: db-artist.blogspot.com

gold fish

8" x 5.5" oil on board

The above image is a quick study I did while teaching my painting class a month or so ago. Having little time to work on my painting, being busy making the rounds assisting my students, I had to leave my still life unattended for most of the session. Yes this was a still life. I have tiny carved fish, smaller than the figures on my painting. Often during this class I returned to my easel to discover that my fish were rearranged. Adam it was not funny! if you were within reach my paintbrush would have left it's mark upon you.

Apx. 7' x 3' pigment on glass

This image is another from Artful Living the design showroom/fundraiser that was set up in Modesto this past month. The goldfish painting on glass, was a first for me. I used the small painting above and the tiny carved fish as my subject reference. It is painted on the reverse side of the glass. The image is flipped when viewed. The very heavy glass make it difficult to lift to view the other side while working on it. I worked alongside Kristi Hughes as she painted a similar sheet of glass. Unfortunately I did not get her painting in this photograph, only the steel wall bracket shows on the upper right edge.

more pods

apx. 5' x 2.5' mixed medium on canvas

This photo is of a painting of mine on display at a designer's showroom in Modesto. It is a departure from my traditional oil painting. This was painted with layers of varying thicknesses that I sanded through to achieve the finished effect. The pods are the same as the ones shown in the following post.