"Orange and Juice"

I am not happy that I cut the top off of this one. I actually wiped this down once and did not want to wipe it down a second time. I finally bought some new paintbrushes, and love them. That reminds me...I better go and clean them.

"Party Cup and Glass" - SOLD

I think I will postpone selling these next few paintings till January. I realized that I have one painting ending on eBay Christmas Eve, and one on Christmas. Wow, bad timing on my part. Today I moved my easel back about three feet from my previous spot. I think moving back lets me see the whole picture better. Moving back also gets rid of detail, and helps me focus on color and value better. Sometimes change is a good thing.

"Apples with Glass"

"Small Teapot"

This is a handmade teapot I bought at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. I have had it for years. I have some glare on the photo. I have been trying different shoot spots in and around my home, but have not been very satisfied lately. I want to get a good photo of each painting...Any suggestions?

"Orange with Glass"

I will be painting every day this week. I am very excited.

"Cup with Doodles"

Okay, I have dropped using linseed for a while, and I think I like this painting better than my last few. I have not figured out a title for this painting yet. As many of you have seen I lack a certain creativity when it comes to naming my paintings. So, any suggestions?

"Study"

I have already wiped this painting down. I have been using too much linseed oil an I think its been too hard to control. I though I would post this painting because I have been painting the last couple of days without satisfaction, and wanted to share some trial paintings with you. Sorry about the photo, its kinda washed out on the underside of the spoon.
One other item of business. I am excited to be a part of a new website...dailypaintwork.com. There is some amazing talent, so check it out.

"Apple and Mug" - SOLD

I was asked a few questions about my technique. Hmmmm. Well I do use a new brush for each new color. I think that helps in laying down the first broad colors. But after the colors are all down my brushes no longer stay free of mixtures. I use different brushes that I have just collected over the years. I like the blue handled watercolor brushes from Utrecht, and I also use Utrecht paint. I also use the white synthetic flat brushes (the longer, and softer, the bristles the better). In order to get the "right" color, I isolate that color by looking through a hole punched through a 2"x2" square piece of gray cardstock. Once that color is isolated, it is so much easier to mix that color. I don't really know what more to say about my technique except that I am still trying to figure it out too.

"Plastic Creamer"

Oh its Saturday and I am sleepy.

"Glasses" - n/a

I stopped at the local thrift shop and bought a bunch of new item to paint. Yeehaa.

"Snack" - SOLD

I have actually tried to paint apples in a baggie before, but never with success. I think tonights is a good-enough-to-post painting. I had to paint the apples as if they were just sitting there in open air. Then once all the color is down, I started to put down the white lines (highlights). The painting still did not look that great so I used a half inch brush and started to knock back some of the apple and bag to get some better edges and hopefully the appearance of looking through plastic.

"Cut Tomato"

Generally after twenty minuets of painting, my left hand tends to have around ten different paintbrushes wedged between my fingers. I use a new brushed for each new color so, as you can imagine, my left hand fills up quick. I look like Freddy Kruger or Edward Scissorhands (except with paintbrushes instead of scissors, or knives). And, well, it gets kind of dangerous. If I am lazy and decide not to change into a painting shirt all it takes is one small itch on my neck and then, BAM...I have a new painting shirt. Which is always kind of sad and happy. Goodbye nice shirt, hello paint shirt.

"Blue Shadow"

I had no direct light on this setup. Just the indirect light from off my easel. So the highlight on the painting is brighter than reality, but I couldn't help myself. I love painting highlights.

"Empty"

I was looking at some of my older paintings and started to compare them to some newer work. I have been getting smoother in my paint application (not necessarily a good or bad thing). I tended to not have interest in crisp drawing but applied paint more loose. So, this painting is a response to some of my older work. I tried to not be to concerned about drawing and just apply the paint and move on.

"Short Mug"

Check out the work of Jimmy Longacre. He has great work and I enjoy reading the quotes he incorporates into his blog.

"Tipped" - SOLD

To all those lactose intolerant people, I apologies. Milk is just too fun to paint.

Check out the work of Michel McNinch who recently had a successful art show, and has some great work.

"Milk and Water" - SOLD

I know, I know...its been a week. I actually left my last cup of milk down in my studio for a couple of days. I used whole milk which my kids drink because its a brighter white than the skim I drink. Anyway, The entire cup of milk had turned solid. Despite how gross that sounds it was actually kind a neat. I turned it upside down and it came out in the shape of the cup. Now that would be a cool painting.

I have come across some great artists lately --
Check out Sandra Flood her work is fantastic, and make sure you go to her website too. I'll post some other artists later this week.

"Milk" - SOLD

I have wanted to paint this scene before, but I did not have the right kind of glass. So, I went to the store and bought this glass in a four-pack. One of the glasses fell out of the package and broke and then my son broke another on our kitchen floor. Good thing I still have two others. But I'm not sure how long they are going to last.

"Blue Ribbon" - SOLD

I like the cup on this one, especially the highlight on the handle. The dinosaur is a bit more difficult to like. I have been trying to get a few more objects which are more difficult to draw, as the dinosaur proved. But it was fun to try.

"Red Ribbon" - SOLD

I had a fun art show with Jared Gillett on Friday. We had a two person show at the Pickett Fairbanks Gallery in Salt Lake City. A good sized crowd showed up to support us. Thanks. My studio turned into a makeshift frame shop for a week and I spent a good two hours today cleaning up the sawdust. But now the studio is clean, and ready for some new work.

"Green Stripes" - n/a

"On Halloween night, the Great Pumpkin rises from his pumpkin patch and flies through the air to deliver toys to all the children." ~Linus

This is a pumpkin from my dad's garden. I thought the pumpkin was beautiful with the green stripes radiating from the stem. I don't know if this picture shows the stripes well enough. Maybe I will paint it more head on. The pumpkin also looks a bit lopsided but...maybe it is.

"The Gentleman and the Bottle" - SOLD

“Chaos in the world brings uneasiness, but it also allows the opportunity for creativity and growth.” ~Tom Barrett

I was talking to a friend of mine about artists who have "made it". Meaning they have reached a fair amount of success and recognition in a short amount of time. During the conversation I remembered a comment by one of my teachers concerning bad paintings. He said, "Bad paintings are a good thing. They indicate we are still experimenting. We should never stop experimenting". Whats nice about experimenting is our chance to get a really great painting, but we also chance failure. We came to the conclusion that we never wanted to "make it" but continue to make bad, and good, paintings.

"Apple and Plastic"

Sometimes I love a painting all the way until I put on the last brush stroke. And, other times I will dislike a painting until I finish and I then love it. I am not going to say where this painting sits.

"Racing Stripes" - SOLD

Every now and again I paint a painting that I would love to paint again. This is certainly one. I had so much fun painting the shadows, even though they are only two small brush strokes. But they made my day.

"Piggy Bank"

I was asked what kind of medium I use. I actually don't use any medium, except liquin on slim occasions. I have nothing against mediums, I just have never been taught--or taught myself--how to use them. I have actually wanted to start experimenting with different materials, and eventually will. I would be interested to hear what other people have used along with there outcomes.

On the pig; Monica said the pig might not appear see-through. It is. Let me know what you think.

"Tomato and Green" - SOLD

I realize I am in need of some new painting material. The green glass was fun to paint. Maybe I'll get some more tinted glass.

I seem to go back to certain colors more often than others on my pallet. Even when I do not have that color in my painting I will find some way to use it in a mixture. The color I use the most (and buy the most frequently) is cadmium lemon yellow. All of my other colors can go dry and useless but cad lemon is always fresh. I use a fair amount of viridian as well. So, I am actually very curious about the colors others use most frequently.

"Roll and Glass" - SOLD

Okay, so this one may be a little strange. I don't know if the roll looks like a roll (you tell me). I tend to go with the idea that if you get the color right then the details do not matter as much. But I look at this painting, scratch my head and say, "That does not look like a convincing roll, maybe a potato, but not a roll".

"Apple and Glass" - SOLD

I think I starting to get some better volume lately. Sometimes we have to relearn things we used to know but somehow forgot along the way. And, then we hit our heads with our palm and say "duh".

I guess that is one of the fun things about painting. We continually grow and hopefully become better. And if not better then at least we have fun along the way just swinging the brush.

"Cup and Kazoo" - SOLD

The cup and kazoo are sitting on my apron. The apron is one I found when we moved. It comes from a paper supply store, so that's why there is an image of a truck. I thought I would try to paint a little bit of perspective today along with the other random objects. I like painting random objects. I guess its kinda like poetry or something similar.

"The Glass Stage" - SOLD

Ahhhhh. Some color - finally.

"Plums" - SOLD

I used more paint than normal painting this one. I tend to paint with more paint every once in a while, but usually with devastating results. However, I think this one turned out okay.

"Rocks" - SOLD

I am sure it is innate for all kids to gather rocks. I know I did. Well, with our new house comes a new yard and from time to time I will see piles of rocks grouped together. I'm not quite sure who the culprit is but I am guessing my 4-year-old son may have something to do with it. So, looking for subject matter I came across a little pile of unassuming rocks and decided to give them the spotlight.

"Teapot and Tomato" - SOLD

This is another ceramic masterpiece made by my sister. I really like the blue in this. The cool breaks up the warms and gives more interest in the painting overall. The handle was extremely hard to paint, I think it was moving.

Here is a funny story. I was in the store the other day picking out a variety of peppers and other fruits and veggies that caught my eye. I took my strange assortment of object to pay and the cashier asked what I was planning on doing with what seemed like odd ingredients. I said, "I'm going to paint them". She just stopped and gave me the strangest look and then said, "Well, have fun with that".

"Bowl with Lemon" - SOLD

I think I can start calling myself a daily painter again. I now paint at night. I will most likely post my paintings the next day. Painting at night is a bit harder, because I am more tired but oh well. I am happy to get back into the daily routine. I think my work improves the more I stay consistent.

"Ceramic and Red" - SOLD

As a general rule I never eat anything I paint (food items I mean). So, its kind of sad to paint these two garden tomatoes knowing I can never eat them.

I have posted some artists links below on the right. They are a few of the artists I know. I have taken workshops from Brad Slaugh, David Dornan, Paul Davis, and Doug Braithwaite. The Helper workshops are fantastic. John Erickson was my teacher in college and is probably my main influence. Zach Proctor, Lane Bennion, and Joseph Alleman are friends of whom I have also learned a great deal.

Anyway, check them out. They are worth your time.

Oh yeah, and sorry for not painting very much this week. We have been adjusting our schedules a bit and still working out the flow. Don't give up on me.

"Glass and Yellow" - SOLD

I wish I had painted this one a little bigger - fill up the board a little more. My scale has shrunk with use of these smaller boards. I catch myself painting too small and then reminding myself to paint larger. I guess that can be next weeks goal.

"Off The Line" - SOLD

I like this little honey bear. The bear is fun to paint. Go ahead-give it a try.

"Ceramic and Green" - SOLD

The thing I like about painting daily (or at least trying to) is that we can have a fresh start everyday. There are so many times where I will put on the final brush stroke and think why in the world did I use brown for my background.

"Cup and Onion" - SOLD

Well I kind of disappeared for a month and a half. We went through the process of remodeling and moving into a home. I've moved my studio to the basement of our home, and now I have to deal with the new lighting. I always have a hard time adjusting to new setups. Figuring out the lights usually takes me about two weeks. Right now, I'm wishing I had my old studio back. I'm sure things will work out. I'm happy to be swinging the brush again, yeehaw!

"August Vegetables"

"Untitled"

I'm back.

"Alta Trees" - SOLD

This one is done near my home. I have hiked around this area for years. There is nothing very significant about these three trees. Off to the left and right were dozens of other trees. What is fun about painting outdoors is not having to set up anything-everythings is ready to paint. I have not yet decided if I will go back into the studio next week. I guess we will see.

"The Pond"

This one may be a little harder to understand. I was looking down at a pond with the reflection of the bank in the water, and moss is floating in the pond. Painting outdoors certainly gives us a time limit. The colors around us change with each hour causing some funny shifts.

"Devils Creek"

I painted this one a little differently. First I blocked in all of the main colors, and then after I went and placed modifying colors on top of the thinner layer. I was careful not to put too much paint on and allowed for the thin layer to show through.

"Pleasantview Reservoir" - SOLD

This is my first landscape of the summer. The sun kept peeking in and out of the clouds which was a little bit of a challenge. I used a lot of paint and kept moving it around until I ended with this.

"Flower Print" - SOLD

I found this mug at the thrift shop. Best place to find inspiration. Strange. I am going to be out of town Monday thru Thursday. I will still be painting, but I will not post anything until I get back. I will probably post on eBay, just not my blog. I actually have a question... I think this painting is an 8"x6" not a 6"x8", right? Or is it the other way around? I have checked out gallery websites and most people list the height followed by the width. Does anybody know the rules or reasons for this? Anyway, I have changed all of my old posts to reflect this new rule.

"Temporary" - SOLD

I threw this pot in college. I actually loved ceramics. My sister majored in ceramics the same time I was in painting and drawing.

"Cracked" - SOLD

blah.

"Apples" - SOLD

I have a hard time naming paintings. Today I showed this painting to my 3-year-old son and asked him to title the piece. He said "apples". I know I lack a certain amound of creativity in titles, but often when I think of names for my work they tend to sound a little tacky, cheesy, or B-rated. So for now (while I do not have the money for a marketing department) I will just use my son.

"Tie Soup" - SOLD

When I set up this scene, I did not question its logic. However, I finished this painting and wondered why in the world someone would roll up a tie and put it in a bowl. I certainly never have. But maybe this painting will start a new trend. People all around the world will come home from the office, roll up their ties, and place them in available bowls. No questions asked. Next morning, get a new bowl, take out the tie, put it on, and pour their cereal.