Windowsill Apples

Windowsill Apples
8" x 16" oil on canvas
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I've been getting a lot of page views the past few days. Russian hackers or legitimate viewers?  I'd love to know...

Cherries, Lemon, Brush

Cherries, Lemons, Brush
9" x 11" oil on board


Kind of a weird selection of subject matter, but sometimes when I need to paint, I just grab whatever I can find.

Copper Cup with Apple and Grapes

Copper Cup with Apple and Grapes
8" x 10" oil on board


I couldn't bear to watch the inauguration, so I painted instead. This painting and my last still life feel like breakthrough paintings. Every now and then I take what feels like a permanent step forward. One choice I made with this painting was to replace what were, in reality, cool highlights on the grapes and apple that came from the window to my left, with warm highlights that pulled the copper color from the cup into the foreground.

Still Life with Bananas, Fruit Basket and Wine.
9" x 12" oil on board


As usual, I've been experimenting with paint palettes and approaches. I painted over a pre-existing painting for this one, so there are some nice textures, and I didn't draw it out beforehand. I just picked up my brush and started painting. That could be why it's a little more centered than I'd like it to be. However, it's interesting, and I like the colors.

'Mandarin Teapot'

8" x 10" Oil on Canvas Panel
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For those of you who thought I'd gone crazy yesterday...you're probably right, but I'm returning to sanity today with a good ole-fashioned still life of mandarin oranges and my green teapot.  I like the contrast of the orange against the green and I think leaving some visible brush strokes makes a painting look more alive.  What do you think?

'Dirty Apple'

8' x 10' Oil on panel
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White is a surprisingly difficult color to paint. It sounds easy, but when you really look at all the colors and values going on in the folds of a white cloth, you realize that there is a lot more to it. With this painting, I concentrated more on the folds of the cloth than I did the apple.

I should probably reiterate that I'm not tying to paint realistically. I'm not a fan of realistic painting...I agree that it takes a certain skill to perfectly recreate a scene, but I believe there is more art involved with impressionist painting, or the suggestion features through tonal values, lines and edges, etc. Not that I'm always successful at it...

Which style do you prefer?

'Cherries'

6" x 8" oil on panel

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On the advice of another artist's website, I tried taking my photos outside in the shade as opposed to inside under artificial light. This does seem to cut down on the glare, but the colors still do not come through as bright as they are in person. Even after adjusting them with Picasa. I love the turquoise against the crimson...