Avocado Painting

I am starting a new series of still life paintings. This one is oil on panel, measures 12*12.

Olive Oil and Egg

Another quick painting. I attempted this scene from life a few days ago and failed. I just did not have it in me to take on all of the greens, ambers, and other colors in the olive oil bottle. I think this one worked out fine and I am pleased with the color work and the lighting. This was from life and the colors turned out much more realistic than from working from a photo. The still life was set up near a window to allow natural lighting to hit the objects. The background is my daughter's blue shirt.

Real Light.

This small painting is from Ruidoso, New Mexico. We went to one the trail heads of Lincoln National Forest. I was with my family so I didn't paint on site but we did hike a little so I was able to snap some photos. What a peaceful place so quiet and removed from our "big city" life. 

My desire to paint has been on the up recently. I decided to set up a small still life. I so much appreciate painting from life where the true colors and light remain. What a difference over photos, not to say that photos cannot be a good option for the painter because they can and sometimes they are a necessity. But you have to take the opportunity as an artist to study nature and participate with it, enjoy it and learn from it. 

Crucible

I recently finished this painting keeping with the unique still life theme. I setup the scene in my garage against the unpainted wall. The vase is a find from an antique store. It was small, delicate and had an interesting color and reflecting qualities. The wood "chunk" that the vase is sitting on is a block of Brazilian cherry that I intended to create a carving from. That hasn't happened yet but test carving marks were made on the edges. I wanted to create a sense of atmosphere and ambiguity in the background. Is it a wall or some sort of landscape? I titled the piece "Crucible". The intense red of the platform of wood, the turbulent background caused me to think of such. The work is to be entered into an upcoming "Artists who Teach" show here in San Antonio.

Some Daily Paintings

These two paintings were quick observational "studies", each taking 3 or so hours. This type of technique has become appealing to me lately; kind of like plein air painting, done on the spot with quick decisions as opposed to longer studio paintings where decisions are planned and paint is mixed in a sort of long ritual. Both are valid methods used to achieve different ends. I do like the spontaneity and life of the quicker observational work, these both measure 9*12. Let me know what you as the viewer thinks of them.

A Few More