Sunlit salt and peppermill

 

Sometimes in the winter when the trees to the west are bare and the sun is out, we get a brief blast of warm sunlight in our kitchen window. 

Figure drawing practice

 

Winter in the pandemic for me means I've tried to polish up my figure drawing skills.  It's a lot more fun when you get a little better at it, and if I say so myself I've improved over the past two years of Covid craziness. 

Gladioli

 This is a little 4x6 oil I did over the holidays from a photo reminding me of warmer times.  Kind of proud of the composition of this one, and what Kevin MacPherson calls the "magic grid" effect wherein the verticals of the flowers are echoed in the trees, and the horizontal elements are more or less parallel.  

Ann and Kent's Place

 Last year I painted a picture of our friends cabin in Wyoming, as a thank you for letting us stay there en route to Yellowstone.  They liked it so much they asked me to paint a picture of their house here in town, which I've been pecking away at all summer off and on.  This is the almost final version--I may tinker with it some more although I'm pretty sure I've reached the point where it's probably more likely I'll make it worse instead of better.  It's 11x14, oil on Raymar linen panel. 

 This is one I did trying to use my left (non-dominant) hand as much as I could.  It really makes you slow down and consider every stroke, which is good (but sometimes frustrating).  It about 9x12, oil on museum board--"about" because I bought a cheap frame at Hobby Lobby and then cut the piece to fit it before I painted.  I'm actually not so poor that I can't afford standard sized frames, but the bargain lover in me can't resist a low price sometimes. 

One glass left...

 

Earlier this spring I was walking through my kitchen as the sun beamed through to west window, striking this bottle of chardonnay sitting next to my toaster on the butcher block.  I was struck by the light as it moved through the bottle and the way the reflections bounced off the toaster, so I snapped a pic and painted it last night.  I'll probably give this to my wife for mothers day--don't spoil the surprise!

Angie's chickens

 I painted this from a photo my boss Angie took of her chickens.  I find chickens to have a lot of personality and a certain presence.  

 One of the last marigolds from a prolific pot on the front walkway that I diligently watered all through the summer heat.  Even thought I did it from a photo reference this painting brings just a little bit of that warmth back when I see it.  

 From a photo taken on our vacation to Montana in July. 

 Produce at our local farmers market is especially beautiful this time of year, and yesterday I brought home this gorgeous pepper.  

Florida clouds at dusk

I fine tuned the one I thought was a little better, and am generally pleased with the result.  Available for $75 by clicking the Purchase link above--price includes shipping.

Seeing double

I did this one twice, the one on the left first.  Not sure that the second one was much better than the first, but it was a learning experience.  Based on a photo I took from a friends place in Florida a few years ago. 

Red onion and shallot

Some time ago I was chopping an onion and a shallot on my cutting board and paused to admire their beauty.  I took this snapshot and painted it later in my downstairs mancave. It's available for purchase for $50--click the purchase link above.

Abstract calla

Trying to do abstraction in the style of an artist I much admire, Hiroshi Sato.  I'm trying to look at is as a learning experience even though the painting doesn't really work in my opinion.

Tybee Island screened porch

This is from a photo I took while on vacation at Tybee Island Georgia last summer. 

Mark opens the barn

We had a wonderful evening in early October at a gathering for my wife's business (Milkworks, a Breastfeeding Support Center) at our friends Mark and Kay's house, including a genuine tractor pulled hayrack ride.  I took this photo of Mark getting the barn open to get out the tractor in the golden fall light. 

Cheesecake

Literally, not figuratively, a cheesecake picture.  (At one time, a cheesecake picture was one with some prurient appeal, generally a scantily clad female.)  This is from a photo I took as I finished my dessert at Kasia's a couple of weeks ago.  Struggled with the elipse of the plate until it seemed I was making things worse instead of better so I may tinker a bit more with it once it's dry. 

I took another crack at this subject over the weekend and was mostly happy with the result.  For me the handle is always the hardest part of a coffee cup.

Kasia's cappucino

This is a little 5x7 card I made as a thank you for our dear friends with whom we often share dinner on Sunday evenings. 

Aunt Dottie

When I was going through my mothers personal items I came across a 2x2 black and white snapshot of her youngest sister Dottie, now deceased.  I'm guessing it was taken about 1936 or so, probably on the farm where they lived at the time.