"Mini Apple" - SOLD

Thanks Marilyn. I guess I should clarify a bit more on what I meant to say. Really I should have said...I love about 30% of my work, I like about %60 of my work and I probably dislike only about %10. That %10 I usually wipe down, or never post. However, there are a small handful of paintings on my blog I dislike. But most paintings I post have something I like. I guess what would be nice, and what I am striving for, would be to flip-flop my %30 with my %60.

"Taken" - SOLD

Painting really is a crazy juggle. It's hard to figure out all of the components that go into a successful painting every time. I was telling a friend the other day that I seem to really only like about a third of my paintings. He didn't seem to think these were bad odds.

"Back Up" - SOLD

"Boost" - SOLD

I will be the first to admit my lack of creativity with titles. If it were up to me I would probably name all my paintings 'Untitled 1', 'Untitled 2', etc. But I realize there is a chance to redefine a painting with a good title, or even give the painting more stare-time with a clever tag. So...if anyone ever has a good replacement title, I will certainly consider it.

Now, some might see the bottom object as an orange. And who could blame you. My camera just is not capturing the more subtle red and is instead translating the color to a more orange appearance. Sorry. Trust me it is more red in person.

"Steps" - SOLD

Large dark areas are hard for me. I don't know why. Actually I don't have any black and just mix a bunch of my dark blues and reds and greens together. Really in no particular order. I just keep mixing until I get a massive pile of color, and more than half of it goes into the trash. So, I wish I knew more about different blacks. Maybe I wouldn't waste so much paint.

"Waiting" - SOLD

"Green Cup and Eggs" - SOLD

Very rarely do I think of a composition before I start a painting. This was one. I just quickly set it up and started painting.

"Exposed" - SOLD

It is hard to come back to painting after such a long break. I should know since I take a lot of them. But its always good to be back swinging the brush.
This one was fun to paint. The painting really looks better than the photo. I had such a hard time taking the picture for this one. I don't know if my colors don't work well with the camera I use or my lighting is bad.

"Coiled Tie" - SOLD

I have a good friend Zach Proctor who used to paint ties similar to this. Thanks for the idea. Everyone check out his blog. I am going on vacation for the rest of this week. I will be taking my paints with me, but I'm not sure if I will get out to use them. See you all next week.

"Toys" - n/a

This container has been sitting on my shelf for a while and has started to collect these toys. I did not alter the toys in any way and just painted it as is. I have been trying to get paintings that are more involved. So when I saw this I thought it would be fun to paint.

"Apples and Jars"

I can't think of a good name for this one. I want to name it something like "house of mirrors" or "fun house". But neither seem to sound right. Help me out...(Next Day) Thanks Julian. Just to get things straight, the two apples are directly behind the jars filled with water, but they kind of do look like they are inside.

"Hiding" - SOLD

I really liked how the tomato (behind the jar) completely saturated the water. Just in case it is hard to read, there are two tomatoes in this painting.

"Brian's Potatoes"

I was sitting at the stop light the other night, looking at the tar on the road. It had the red of the stop light reflecting in them and then the color instantly changed to green. It was so ordinary, but cool. I don't know if you have to be an artist to appreciated (or even notice) things like that but I have always felt that my goal as an artist is to explore color. I love to see how color bounces off one object and affects another.

"Hungry for Summer" - SOLD

My dad, who loves to garden, was talking this week about starting preparations for his garden. He always plants three to four rows of tomato plants and it got me excited for late July. I am looking forward to some warmer weather. And some painting material.

"Three Eggs" - SOLD

This was a fun one to paint. I did not worry too much about detail and just tried to get strong brush strokes instead.

"Distortions" - SOLD

I really like these eye-level point of view setups. The geometry of them is simple and fun to paint. I commend those artists who set up more challenging perspectives.
The object below the apple is a cup. The handle was cut off and it might be hard to read.

"Stepping Back" - SOLD

I like the idea of objects falling off the canvas, but I should have moved the subject down just a bit. That is a cool blue vase and I wish more was seen. I think I will paint the vase again, but with more of it showing.

By the way...this is painting #100.

"Afterthought" - SOLD

I ate lunch the other day with my friend Lane Bennion who decided to start his own blog. He is an amazing artist and I am glad he will be sharing his work in the blogging world. He paints mainly large paintings, and has a lot to say about his own art and art in general. I think there is a great benefit to blogging and networking with other artists. So visit his website and blog and let him know what you think...Now if I can just convince Zach to start a blog.

"Crooked" - SOLD

I would like to get good at painting fabric. I think getting the values in the folds right is tricky.

I had a tough time with this painting. I actually wiped it down and reset up my objects to get this composition. I definitely like this one better. I need to be more willing to start over. Sometimes when I start a painting I realize I don't really like it, but I keep going just to see what will happen. Sometimes the painting will turn around and be great but other times not so great. I think there is a point when I realize the painting is bad but will just sign it and hope for better luck tomorrow. I have a hard time wiping down a couple hours worth of work, but I am glad I did today.

"Granny's Tea" - SOLD

I am going to try and use larger brushes again. Since I started painting on these smaller surfaces, I have been unconsciously using smaller brushes. I looked at some of my older/larger paintings and realized I would use much larger brushes. I think choosing the right size brush to make a mark is just as important as mixing the right value.