Apples and Bananas

Apples and Bananas
11" x 14" oil on canvas


From time to time, I paint something that feels like a breakthrough, and this is one of those times.

I've written over and over about my attempts to focus on values and the relationship of shapes while ignoring details, but I struggle mightily to employ this practice in my painting. The temptation to paint too fine too soon is usually just too strong. I find myself breaking out the tiny brushes well before I should, and this results in muddiness or distorted values because I haven't even blocked in the masses. I feel like there's pressure to make things perfect, but there's not. I mean, who the hell even looks at this blog? So I said screw it, picked up the biggest brush I could find, and squinted. And I had a much more enjoyable painting experience.

I'm not calling this a masterpiece, but I like the clean colors and shapes, some of which just happened because I felt like they were more appealing than what was actually there. There aren't a lot of fine details in this painting, but I don't think there needs to be.

I painted this over an older painting, and you can still see some of the underlying textures - you can even see the relief of the old signature in the top right corner...Also, I didn't repaint the sides of the canvas, so if you're tempted to buy, just beware. You'd probably want to frame it anyway, so the exposed sides wouldn't matter. They're kind of an off-white, similar to the off-white in the top right, so it's really not a problem.

Kitchen Window - Late January

Kitchen Window - Late January
8" x 10" oil on canvas panel


There's a sort of guilty, lonesome feeling I get when I'm home alone in the afternoon during the work week. Maybe it stems back to when I used to play hooky as a kid and my mom would know I wasn't really sick. Everyone's away at work or school, but you're home alone, avoiding. Actually, this was painted during a snow day, so I shouldn't have felt guilty or lonesome.

I'm happy with this painting, and I feel like it captures the lonesome feeling of weak sun shining through a kitchen window at the end of January. I tried to focus on shapes again instead of tiny details. And while I painted this inside in my kitchen, with the quickly changing light, it was no different from painting outdoors.

Afternoon in January

Afternoon in January
8" x 10" oil on canvas panel


I know this painting is weird and abstract and most likely no one will buy it, but it was satisfying to paint. First, I painted over another painting that I didn't really like, which is always satisfying. I like the textures that it creates, and it's always interesting to let spots of the old painting poke through. Secondly, I was home alone during a snow day with no distractions. Thirdly, I didn't let myself get caught up in details. My goal for the painting was to paint shapes, not chairs and shadows. This approach was so much more enjoyable than trying to capture every tiny detail, and I plan to paint like this more often.

Blue Teapot with Lemon II

Blue Teapot with Lemon II
8" x 10" oil on board
Sold

Sometimes I wonder what difference it would make if I had an actual studio with adequate space and lighting and painting supplies at the ready. My setup for this painting involved balancing the blue teapot and lemon on a wooden box, perched on top of a crab pot, yes a crab pot, sitting on top of our guest bed.  This was the only way I could get the lighting and angle that I wanted for the painting. The surface that the box is sitting on in the painting did not actually exist...I did my best to imagine what it would look like if the box was sitting on a table by the window.

I like the colors and the values, but it's a little too symmetrical or something. Any thoughts?

Passing Storm

Passing Storm
8" x 10" oil on board
Commissioned - sold

This is the second version of this painting that I've done; the first is hanging in my bathroom.  My brother requested the painting, something with water and boats, for a coworker who's moving to the northern neck of Virginia.  I had already emailed a photo of the painting to my brother when I realized that I'd made a mistake. The horizon on the right was much lower than the horizon on the left...not physically possible.  So I scraped it off, got rid of a dock and boathouse and added a new horizon. The painting's called "Passing Storm," and I feel like the revised version does a better job of creating that effect.  Here's the original:

Here's the first one that's hanging in my bathroom:

Casey

Casey
8" x 10" oil on board
Not for Sale

For Dave and Sherry Herr: you've been an inspiration in my life and in my career, and I think of you as family. I hope this painting brings you some joy.

Jams and Jellies

Jams and Jellies
8" x 10" oil on board
Sold

My wife stole these jams and jellies from her mom in a dirty santa gift exchange at my aunt Alice's house. The jars were so pretty, sitting on our kitchen table, that I had to paint them. I don't have an actual studio, so I just set up wherever I find space. I painted these under the track lighting in my kitchen, and when I set the painting up to take the photograph, it looked completely different than it did under the track lighting; much warmer than it appeared during the painting process.  I need a painting studio with good lighting...

Paulownia II

Paulownia II
8" x 10" Oil on board
Not for sale

Today is not the day to write about the fact that I'll never visit or paint the river again; that'll happen when the time is right - possibly when I post my final river painting. I was fortunate to spend several beautiful weekends at the river this summer and this was one such weekend in mid September.  I didn't quite capture the warmth of this scene as I had hoped, but I like the way it turned out.  I also learned through trying to remember the name of the tree on the left that the Japanese used to plant Paulownia trees when a baby girl was born. When the girl married, the tree was turned into a dresser and given to her as a wedding present. If I owned the river property and the Paulownia trees that line the road leading in to the house, I would certainly build Camlin, who first visited the river when she was two months old, a dresser.

Paulownia Tree

Paulownia Tree
5" x 7" oil on board
Sold

This is looking across the field from below one of the Paulownia trees that line the road leading to the river house. I had a bunch of paint left over after completing an 8" x 10" painting of the same scene, so I did a quick palette knife painting.  I was leaving the next morning and didn't want the paint to go to waste.  My camera oversaturated the colors, as usual.

Apples with Cerulean Cup

Apples with Cerulean Cup
5" x 7" oil on board


Like a lot of my recent paintings, I painted this one quickly while Camlin was taking nap; sort of like how I'm writing this blog post...I guess it's good practice to get your thoughts down quickly.  Or maybe it's a shame that we have to cram everything into its own little window, even creative opportunities.

Last Rose

Last Rose
5" x 7" oil on board
Sold

There was one sad little rose left on the bush in front of our house last week.  It was supposed to freeze that night, so I plucked it and put it in a jar in the kitchen window.  Then I had to paint it.  Since completing the painting, the rose opened up and became even more beautiful.  Sadly, I haven't had time to paint it again.  I'm happy with this one, though.

Cantaloupe II

Cantaloupe II
5" x 7" oil on board
Sold

I had a lot of paint left over after I did finished the 8" x 10" (previous post), so I did this little one really quickly.  I like it.  The best thing about these paintings is the details that I left out.  For example, the plants on my patio and in my kitchen.

Cantaloupe I

Cantaloupe I
8" x 10" oil on board


From this painting, I learned how to spell cantaloupe.

Window Peaches

Window Peaches
8" x 10" oil on board


Some peaches in manganese violette, viridian, and cadmium yellow light.

Monocacy River Train Bridge

Monocacy River Train Bridge
8" x 10" oil on board
$70 plus shipping

Sadly, I am writing this post on the final day of summer vacation before I return to teaching and the stress of the school year. Summer photos have been uploaded and now it's time to scroll, achingly back through the wonderful experiences that I shared this summer and reassure myself that good times will return.

This painting is a reminder of one such experience. I was allowed out of the house for a day of fishing and painting, so I chose the Monocacy River, never having fished it before.  The Monocacy is beautiful and filled with fish.  I paddled upriver for a mile or so, casting along the way and catching tons of decent sized smallmouth bass. Once prime fishing hours had passed, I set up my easel in front of this train bridge and did my best. Amtrak passenger trains rumbled by occasionally as I painted, and when I was finished, I took a swim.

Crabtree Falls Trail

Crabtree Falls Trail
8" x 10" oil on board


My wife and I hiked Crabtree Falls trail the final morning of our wedding anniversary weekend in the mountains south of Charlottesville. It's a beautiful hike and it's popular, especially in October, so you have to get there early to avoid the crowds.

I went with manganese violet, viridian green, and yellow for this one. The sun was just coming up over the ridge in front of us, and I tried to capture the differences in color temperature from foreground to background and left to right.

Green Apple

Green Apple
6" x 6" oil on board
$40 plus shipping
Getting bored of the blue, red, yellow color scheme, so I'm trying out some new ones.  I think I used dioxazine purple, viridian green, and cadmium yellow light for this one.  I think.

Rose of Sharon

Rose of Sharon
8" x 10" oil on board
Sold

Fedor Zakharov might be my new favorite painter. Of course that distinction changes from week to week. But what strikes me most about Zakharov and the Russian impressionists, aside from vibrant color schemes, super thick paint and brushstrokes, is the confidence that it takes to paint the way they do. It takes a lot of confidence to put down a stroke and leave it, knowing that while it may look out of place at the moment, you will bring it all together in the end.

I'm not comparing myself to Fedor Zakharov, but I think this painting and some of my recent work is a step in the right direction.  I'm starting to do more than just replicate what I see in front of me. I'm making decisions about value and tone, color scheme and temperature that go beyond recreating what I see. I can see a little more confidence when I look at this painting.

High Noon on the Patio - Forest Edge

High Noon on the Patio - Forest Edge

5" x 7" oil on gesso board


My camera had a hard time with this photo, distorting values and colors as usual...Either way, this is an interesting little painting.  I used a palette of quinacridone purple, cadmium orange, and viridian green because when I sat in my lawn chair, eating lunch and thinking about this painting the day before, that's what I saw. I took a photo and did my best to premix values before I went outside because I knew the light would change quickly. I painted this between 12 and 1pm. The color combination made it tough to match the variety of colors, especially the greens, but I think it worked and it was more about the values anyway. The round thing in the lower left quadrant is a soccer ball that my dog, Riley, has been slowly chewing through the last two years.  That's her water dish just above the ball. I really like the greenish shadow on the flower pot in front and the mid value orange on the ball.  The chair is actually black, and I could have made it nearly back, but I felt like that would distract from the ball and the flower pot.

Springtime on the Piankatank

Springtime on the Piankatank
8" x 16" oil on board
Not for sale

I painted this to hang over Camlin's crib (if it ever arrives).  Interestingly, I painted this over another painting that I didn't love and had never posted. I like working over paintings because you wind up with nice textures and you can let some of the original painting peek through, providing spots of color to break things up.