Dirty Palette Knives, Liquin Container and Paper Towel

 

Dirty Palette Knives, Liquin Container and Paper Towel 

6" x 6" oil on 3/4" gesso board

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The irony of this painting is that I realized how much I needed those palette knives after I got started...

I was about to paint a boring, safe arrangement - an apple and a silver cup - when I saw my dirty palette knives and grimy container of Liquin (painting medium) sitting on a paper towel that I had used to clean brushes, lit by the cool winter light. I'm a sucker for an unarranged or unplanned still life, so I dropped the apple and silver cup.  

This was a tough subject - there is so much going on in that tiny scene. I always get sucked into thinking a painting is going to be easy, but I should know better by now. The more I learn about painting, the harder it gets. 

Seldom Seen

 

Seldom Seen

6" x 6" oil on board

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I like this painting and it was fun to paint. I painted over an old painting, which is always satisfying, especially when it's a terrible painting as was the case here - a muddy old painting of sardines in a bowl.  

It's tough not to fall into the trap of painting "things." Things, meaning trees, mountains, individual leaves, etc. When you're painting "things" a painting is much more likely to become muddy and dead. 

What I like about this painting is that instead of painting "things" I suggested them with shapes, color temperature, and values. I'm always afraid that my judgement is completely wrong but to me, this reads mountains and trees with light on snow just as much or more than a photo-realistic painting does. The longer I paint and the more I study painting, the more I prefer paintings that are abstract and a little mysterious - paintings that force the viewer to make his or her own conclusions. 

Clearing

10"x 20" oil on canvas
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I've painted this scene near Bryce Canyon, Utah, once before. Still trying to get it right...is it better than the original, below?  The original sold at the Marriott Craft Show a few years back.  I like how I used a little more red in the trunks of the trees in the original...maybe I need to try it one more time.