Dickie Brother's Orchard

Dickie Brother's Orchard
8" x 10" oil on board
Sold

The photograph of the painting makes the shadows look a little darker than they actually are.  I intentionally tried to limit the range of values, particularly the darkest values, in an effort to create harmony.  In reality, the shadow on the end of the hay bales is much darker, and the shadows on the trees to the right are almost black.  From observation, I've noticed that many of my favorite painters use value restriction to add harmony to their paintings.  I'm still going with a thicker painting style and a limited palette;  ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow, and transparent oxide red for this one.  My goal lately has been harmony and a painterly style, and I think this one achieves both.

The scene is the back of Dickie Brother's apple orchard down near Wintergreen Resort in Virginia. I don't think my wife and I were supposed to be back here, but it was too beautiful to pass up.

Nightstand

Nightstand
8" x 10" oil on board


Yep, that's my nightstand. That's my alarm clock, my scallop shell full of rocks from places I've traveled, my notebook, and books.   The star is the hurricane lamp that I inherited from my granddad when he passed away.  I love the warm light that it puts out, and I have wanted to paint it for a while.

I used another limited palette of ultramarine blue, a couple of reds, and cadmium yellow, and I slapped it on thick.  I like the colors in this one, but I also like the greys that I created for the shadows on the books and notebook.

I have sold thirteen paintings this month; my best month ever!  And one thing I've noticed is that people are attracted to unusual, ordinary, or sometimes ugly scenes such as my bathroom, which created a stir at the latest Marriott craft show, and, ugliest of all, the beltway around DC.  I don't consider this one ugly, but it fits in weird-wise.

Blue Teapot with Lemon

Blue Teapot with Lemon
5" x 7" oil on board
Sold

I've been working with a limited palette of ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow light, and some sort of red; this was transparent oxide red.  I like the harmony that a limited palette creates.