"Red and Green" - SOLD

I actually like how this one turned out. As I was blocking in all my shapes, and got to this point, I decided to stop. I could have taken this further by continuing to modulate the color, redefining the edges, etc, etc. But, I kinda liked it in this raw stage. Hope you do too.

"Green Vase" - SOLD

I put a green plastic sheet in front of my light source on this one. Which gave the whole painting a green tint. But it also made the shadows on the eggs a gray color. I don't know...what do you think?

"Three Pears" - SOLD

"Three Flowers" - SOLD

These three little flowers are from the same plant. I'm not sure what they are called but they grow together with two or three different color heads. So, they must be a hybrid of some kind. Actually the one on the left seems a little washed out and I can't seem to get a good photo of it.

"Blue Belly" - SOLD

I bought a new color, 'Ivory Black', and really wanted to paint a darker painting to see it in action. I think it is great. I have had teachers and other painters warn me about using black and have avoided it for a long time. Wow, I don't know why I listened. I end up waisting less paint, and can get to the right value much quicker. Hmmmm, I wonder what other colors I am missing out on...?

"Apple" - SOLD

Great title, eh?!
Well it a little too late to put this on eBay tonight, so I'll probably put it on tomorrow. And I'm a bit tired. Zzzzzzzzzzzz.

"Staged" - SOLD

I think I could have kept going with this one, but I decided to pull it back and let it stand. Sometimes if I keep going it becomes too labored. But, if I don't take it far enough it looks...umm...undercooked.

Well enough about me. I have a link below to a friend of mine, Joseph Alleman who paints amazing watercolors. As long as I can remember he has preferred watercolor over oil paint. I have always admired him for going that direction since oils (unjustifiably) seem to get more attention. But, he is great. So, check out his work and drop him a line.

"Mushrooms" - SOLD

I have a few different ways I start a painting. Having a variety of ways to start or work on a painting keeps things more fresh. Often I start from a central part on the canvas, and after getting it right, I move on to the next part, then to the next, and so on. But, today I just started by blocking in the lights and darks, followed by modulating the lights and darks to get something I was finally satisfied with. I don't think either way is right or wrong, and I don't know if either way is quicker. But the variety is fun.

"Lime Line" - SOLD

"Little Help" - SOLD

I have been trying to use less white lately. My paintings have been sort of high-key, due to the lighting in my studio. So, I have been trying to get a little lower-key. On this painting in particular I used hardly any white. I set my light back more, and that helped. But I also tried to make a more conscience effort to paint the darks on first and then come back on top with the lighter colors. I will have to keep going and see where this takes me. So far I think I am happier with this one.

"In and Out No.2" - SOLD

"Three Tomatoes" - SOLD

Although these are store bought, its still nice to paint tomatoes.

"Line Up" - SOLD

"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.