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Turning Point
Up until last night I had my doubts about this project – I wasn’t entirely sure I would produce something I was proud of. It’s not that I have any lack of self-confidence in front of the easel, but the size and the tight schedule meant that I wasn’t 100% sure of the result. Now […]
Glazing the Background
Today I applied the glaze to darken the background, and in this video I talk about that process and show the results.
First Pass Completed
Last night I completed the first pass. The objective of that is to get paint everywhere so I can start to work out the exact relationships between colors – especially values and temperatures. Once paint is everywhere, I find that problems sometimes become obvious that weren’t so clear before. There are a couple of issues […]
First Pass
Continuing work on the first pass. I don’t approach all of my paintings in exactly the same way. Some are done start-to-finish in just one sitting, and some have a black-and-white underpainting followed by successive color layers. This painting will be a series of “passes” – rough approximations to get some basic information down, followed […]
The Two Hardest Parts
It’s starting to feel like a painting. As I prepared myself for this project, the two parts that concerned me most from a technical standpoint were the background and the folded cloth. I began with them, since there will be multiple steps with drying time in between. I want to give the background a deep […]
Drawing in the composition
I’ve transferred the composition to the panel, drawing it in with a thin wash of Burnt Umber. This video shows the details of where the project stands at the moment:
Framed and Ready for Delivery
This commission is complete, framed, and ready for delivery. I can’t wait to get this into the collectors’ hands; it’s been an honor and a pleasure to do this painting for them.
Final composition, toning the canvas, and a drapery challenge
Yesterday as I was preparing the final composition, I realized that the painting would be better served with a lower point of view. The sketches I’d originally sent to the collectors were from about a 45 degree angle, and the more I worked with it, the more I realized that a lower vantage point would […]
One Ends, One Begins
This picture is the end point of one commission, and the beginning point of another. The frame in back is for my most recently-completed piece. I’m delivering it tonight, and am very excited to see it up on the collectors’ wall. Hopefully they will allow me to share some pictures of it in it’s final […]
Beginning a new commissioned painting
This week I began a new commissioned painting to finish up the year. The family who’s requested it had several specific themes and items they wanted in it. After a few discussions and some sketches passed back and forth, we agreed on a basic composition, as seen in this small thumbnail sketch: I’ll be doing […]
Peeling Orange on a Brick
From a few years ago: “Peeling Orange on a Brick”, oil on panel, 6×5 inches, 2011, SOLD This is probably my favorite from the series of small kitchen paintings I did in 2011. If you want to see paintings of fruit on bricks handled with a very different sensibility, check out the wonderful paintings of […]
Silver Creamer and Peeled Orange
From a few years ago: “Silver Creamer and Peeled Orange”, oil on panel, 5×6 inches, 2011, SOLD Along with the painting I shared yesterday, this is another from a series of small kitchen paintings I did in 2011. It’s healthy for me to look at older work like this, because I see so many things […]
Silver Cup, Spoon, and Orange
From a few years ago: “Silver Cup, Spoon, and Orange”, oil on panel, 5×6 inches, 2011, SOLD This was a painting where I wanted make the light quite dark. If I were going to do this today, I think I’d push it down even further, and see how dark it could be and still be […]
Pear, Egg, Wineglass
From a few years ago: “Pear, Egg, Wineglass”, oil on linen, 6×8 inches, 2013, SOLD Yesterday I shared a piece from from a small series of kitchen paintings I did in 2013, and this is another of them. The classical Spanish Bodegón paintings – at least the ones I like best – bring some real […]
Mexican Pitcher and Two Eggs
From a few years ago: “Mexican Pitcher and Two Eggs”, oil on linen, 6×8 inches, 2013, SOLD This was from a small series of kitchen paintings I did in 2013. The classical Spanish Bodegón paintings – at least the ones I like best – bring some real drama to the subject of food and it’s […]
Kaleidoscope: Silver Bowl
From a few years ago: “Kaleidoscope: Silver Bowl”, oil on panel, 5×5 inches, 2009, SOLD This is the third from an old series of experimental paintings I’ve been sharing this week. The series was done in 2009, and focused on closely-cropped views into dense assemblies of objects. This one was the most abstract, and probably […]
Almost Complete
At this point, the painting is largely complete. All that remains are a few details and touch-ups. These are largely concerned with harmonizing all the parts of the painting together. Once that’s done, the painting will be finished.
Kaleidoscope: Magnifying Glass No. 2
From a few years ago: “Kaleidoscope: Magnifying Glass No. 2”, oil on panel, 5×5 inches, 2009, SOLD This is another piece from the series of experimental paintings I did in 2009 focusing on tightly-cropped views into dense assemblies of objects.
Kaleidoscope: Magnifying Glass No. 1
From a few years ago: “Kaleidoscope: Magnifying Glass No. 1”, oil on panel, 5×5 inches, 2009, SOLD In 2009 I did a series of experimental paintings of closely cropped views into dense assemblies of objects. There were probably about 10 paintings in that group, and this was one of them. Ultimately it was just that […]
Completing the Central Objects
At this point, the central objects in the painting are complete. All that remains is the yellow cloth and the black credenza they rest on.