Pussywillow and Bottles

8 x 8 inches, oil on panel

Pussywillow Leaning

6 x 8 inches, oil on panel

Apple a Day

6 x 8 inches, oil on panel

I've recently been in contact with two old friends from RISD and discovered they have also started exprimenting with the small daily painting practice. Be sure and check out their amazing paintings: Scott Conary and Shawn Kenny.

Tarnished Cup SOLD

5 x 7 inches, oil on panel

Orange Slices in a Dish SOLD

6 x 8 inches, oil on panel

Champagne Cork

5 x 7, oil on panel

I worked a few hours on a new tissue paper painting today, but it was taking too long, I'll have to finish it tomorrow. I did this one as break from the tissue paper series and really enjoyed it.

This was the cork from the toast at our wedding in Italy last year. Nowell aimed it off the loggia and it sailed away into the dark. The next day he hunted the lawn for it and found it.

Aqua Bottle in Tissue SOLD

6 x 8 inches, oil on panel

This is a little square glass ink bottle wrapped in tissue. I love how the aqua glows through the tissue on the right side, so I cropped the composition to focus on this area.

Box Still Life - SESSION 2

8 x 8 inches, oil on panel, work in progress

I think I'll do one more session in black & white, and then start with the color.

Not sure I can manage keeping up with the "dailies" while working on a larger piece at the same time, although I know some artists do.

Two Wrapped Stones SOLD

5 x 7, oil on panel

Process shots:

Artistic crisis

Some days, I feel like I will never paint the way I want to.

Like today. And yesterday, too.

Hopefully, soon I will paint something I want to post.

Box Still Life SOLD

8 x 8 inches, oil on panel, work in progress

My goal for 2007 is to complete 10 larger, more detailed works, 11x14 and up, in addition to several dailys a week. To start off I am warming up with this painting, which is still small, but will be more detailed and will take several days to complete.

A major difference with this painting is that I am using artificial light, so I can paint after dark from life. I have one light source pointing at my still life, and another light source lighting my easel. I have never done this before, so it is an experiment for me. But it's a good way to get more painting hours into the day.

I am starting with a monochromatic underpainting, and will add color with glazing after another session or two. For this monochromatic phase I am using only raw umber, ultramarine blue, and titanium white.

In-progress shots:

Phase 1
Raw umber only, with a medium of 2 parts linseed oil, 1 part turp

Phase 2
Adding in the white and ultramarine. I threw in the highlights on the bottle too early, they are in the wrong place.

Phase 3
Adding more mid-tones. Neck of the bottle is still too long.

Phase 4
More details within the shadows of the tissue, starting to show some of the depth of the composition. Bottle is closer to correct proportions, but still maybe too narrow.

About the composition:
The bottle, the tissue paper, and the box are all elements I have started working with in my daily paintings these last couple months. Before the daily painting practice, I never would have set up this composition. I am really enjoying all of these elements: my little amber pharmacy bottle casts a really great glow you will see when I add the color.

The tissue paper I am really enjoying for the dramatic qualities, I spend quite a bit of time "sculpting" the paper before I start painting. And the box I think makes a better composition - instead of just an object floating in the black, the positive and negative spaces are more interesting. The box also gives a feel of an environment to enter, making a mysterious little space to explore.

This painting is slightly larger than life, and I think a really large painting of a similar composition would be especially interesting; the intimate made huge, a tiny space enlarged. It's the kind of thing I would have loved as a child, imagining myself small and exploring the dollhouse. I never played with dolls, but I loved to make houses for them.

Bottle in Tissue

5 x 7, oil on panelToday's painting has a looser style and a more expressive brushstroke, which adds a lot of movement. But I think some of the transparent feeling of the tissue paper is lost when the paint strokes are more evident.

I'm thinking of starting a large one of these "tissue paper" paintings, and am wondering how to approach it - chunky paint and loose brushstrokes, or soft, transparent glazes without visible brushwork. Stay tuned.