Delicate Shadow

I liked the last painting very much but I also wanted to do a close-up of the butterfly.  This canvas has a bit of texture and I like the effect here.



This painting is available on Daily Paintworks .com auction.

6" x 8" original oil painting on canvas board.

Going For The Middle

My co-worker found this perfect but dead butterfly and I couldn't help but think of painting with it.

I got the strangest look when I asked if I could borrow it for the weekend and bring it back Monday.

To suspend the butterfly, I tied stretchy mono-filament string around it in a loose knot and taped the string to the top of my shadow box.


This painting is available through Daily Paintworks .com auction.

10" x 10" original oil painting on canvas board.

Stand-off

It looks like someone isn't going to make it onto the plate.  Especially if Pink Tomato has anything to say about it.

It was fun to add a little personality to still life.  I hope it makes you smile.

This painting is available from Daily Paintworks .com auction.

8" x 8" original oil painting on gessobord.

Sunflowers and Peppers

One bonus of painting flowers in still life is, I can justify buying myself flowers.  I love flowers but I would usually think of them as a luxury purchase.  Something that will die in a few days.  This way they are a necessity.

WIN !!

Knowing that flowers have a short life span also spurs me to paint more while they are around.  Try to get the most out of them before they begin to wilt.

This painting is available on Daily Paintworks .com auction.

12" x 12" oil on gessobord.

Orchid and Bromeliad

Just back from a trip to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC.  Looking for inspiration of ways to spend my millions when I win Lotto.  I went with my mother and daughter and we each had our favorite areas of the estate: Daughter, the farm; Mother, the house; me, the gardens.

I got lucky and the light was really lovely for taking photos so I have lots of references for future paintings.

This one is from the greenhouse.

This painting is available through Daily Paint Works.com auction.

10" x 10" oil on canvas board.

I'll Be Your Umbrella

I'm still figuring out my painting style and sometimes it takes a couple of tries to get the look I want to achieve.  In the case of these Sunflowers, the third time was the charm.

I love planting things but once the heat of summer hits, I wilt pretty quickly.  If a plant needs a lot of care, it isn't going to do well at my place.  A friend told me that Sunflowers are especially easy to grow so I will probably make a little plot for them in my yard next year.


Painting is available through dailypaintworks.com.
6" x 8" oil on canvas board.

A Gift For Mother (Not For Sale)

24" x 36" oil on stretched canvas

My mother had purchased a painting for her dining room that always bothered me.  It had sort of a Native American theme and a large part of the painting was the bottom of a stool.  A stool?  Really?  The technique was realistic so there was no mistaking what that thing was that took up half the painting.  Was the artist trying to be clever about something?  Was I just missing the point?  I didn't understand how all the objects fit together and Mom couldn't explain it she "Just liked it okay and needed something to fit in the space..."  I guess I complained a lot about that painting because she asked if I could paint over it and give her something better.

I should have started from scratch because the painting was done in thick impasto and I could tell it had been taken off the original stretcher (and probably shipped), then re-stretched onto a really cheapo stretcher that was not put together properly.  I reinforced the stretchers and stretched the canvas again, as carefully as possible.  Then I covered over the painting with Flexible Ground and allowed it to dry completely before priming and beginning my painting.

You can still see a hint of Ground behind the painting but I kind of like the texture of it.  Once varnished, some of the texture may disappear.

The original painting

After the Ground is applied



B&W to check values













This painting is Not For Sale.