Original Oil Painting Tomato Sauce

 Tomato Sauce

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

This painting has a variety of textures to communicate and became quite a challenge. I enjoy painting different shinning objects. Glass will reflect light different than metal for instance. Glass has reflective light in the jar and in the shadow it cast. Metal can vary too. I found the jar's lid was newer and shinier than the old metal funnel. The shine on new metal has more contrast verses old metal where it blends more. It is light that fascinates me the most plus variety. I hope my little painting has enough of both to keep viewers coming back and seeing more and more each time. Thanks for viewing my painting.  

Original Oil Painting Hidden Crock

Hidden Crock

 12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

My main goal in this one was to put the paint down with out messing with it too much. So much easier said than done. This is the fifth or sixth still life I painted working with a wet on wet painting technique. I still find myself blending with a soft brush or palette knife along the edges of different color values. I guess this is my preferred style. Old habits that work well for me are hard to break but I do see my edges are improving.  

Original Oil Painting Vintage Creamer

Vintage Creamer

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

Here is another painting I made of a creamer. I love finding these vintage creamers and other things at Goodwill. In this painting I worked hard at keeping the strongest highlights on the center of interest which means making the grapes, orange and dish in the background more subdued. That orange kept wanting to jump into center stage but after painting it three times I am satisfied where it is: strong but silent?

Original Oil Painting Creamer with Fruit

Creamer with Fruit

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

I painted this from a still life that I put together. I wanted a warm harmony but found that the objects I was viewing were not all warm. The white creamer and plate were a cooler white. I added yellow ochre and lemon yellow to the white areas to warm them up. I tried to change the petals to a darker green but then they blended with the green leaves in the background. I knew if I tried yellow green or brown petals I would run into the same problem. So I compromised and use a combination of blue with yellow green accents. The blue tints here and there are a discord to my warm harmony but they also make the warms they are next to pop. I posted a photo of the still life I was working from. I hope you can understand my struggle. 

Original Oil Painting Glass with Fruit

Glass with Fruit

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10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

My goal in this still life was to limit my number of brush strokes painting the fruit. To keep the colors bright and deliberate. It worked out well with the oranges, plum, cherries and even the silver bowl but the glass bottle was a different story. There was too many colors blending together for that to work for me. 

Original Oil Painting Orange Glow

Orange Glow

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

To create this yellow / orange glowing affect, I painted with lemon medium in all the oranges, greens and whites. The orange of course was done with the most intense oranges I could mix: permanent rose with cadmium lemon and Rembrandt's permanent red medium with cadmium lemon. The compliment of yellow: violet at the bottom only enhanced the intensity of the yellows more. I posted a photo of the still life I painted from below. I only had these bright shocking pink daisies to use but it helped with the drawing . I changed the color of the daisies to white and gold to work better with the other objects. Shocking pink would of competed too much with the center of interest: oranges. I hope you can feel the warm glow.

Original Oil Painting Flour Sifter and Apples

Flour Sifter and Apples

11" x 14"
Painted on gessobord.

Here is a painting of my reflective flour sifter with apples and daisies. Painting reflections is like painting a puzzle. You have to go by each piece of color. Then you step back and see which piece needs to be enhanced and which piece is not essential.

 I worked hard on keeping the viewers' eyes focused on the center of interest which is the apple pieces. That is where you will find the strongest and largest highlights. I posted a photo of the still life I was working from below. I left the pattern off the table cloth because it would draw too much attention away from the center of interest and would make the painting too busy. Thanks for viewing my painting.

Original Oil Painting Amphitheater in Drakensberg

Amphitheater in Drakensberg

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11" x 14"

Painted on a stretched linen. 

I painted this using Marna Buys' photo posted below. My goal in this painting was to concentrate on the reflective surfaces. Does the surface reflects the sun, sky, water, etc. What the surface reflects decides if the color is warm or cool. With hot and cold color placement all around, the colors become very vibrant. 

Marna's photo has a perfect composition so I could concentrate on my goal. The foreground deals with the transparency and movement of the water which I love and draws the viewer's eye into the rocks on the shore and up to the mountain tops.  Thanks Marna for a excellent photo!