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.  

 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.  

Ralph's sunflowers

 

Painted from a reference photo Ralph sent me last summer.  Trying for a more pixellated look in order to keep myself from over working.  

The Manhattan project

Nothing quite like a good Manhattan.  This is one my friend Clay made for me in the Before Time.  He gets credit for teaching me that the secret to a good Manhattan is the vermouth--specifically, Antica Formula.  Cheers.

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.

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.

Tybee beach

This is the first painting I've done in nearly a month, except little things in my sketchbook.  It's from a photo I took on vacation at Tybee Island in Georgia last summer.  I had an odd size frame that I picked up along the way somewhere--12x15 plus/minus--so I cut a piece of gatorboard and glued canvas to it.  Somehow not quite working but can't quite put my finger on what the problem is here. 

Beetle bug

Did this quickly last night from a photo I cut out of a magazine long ago.  Trying to focus on values and using as few strokes as possible, which is much harder than is sounds or looks on YouTube..

Poppies, pleasing to the eye...

I believe it was the wicked witch of the west who said "Poppies.......pleasing to the eye...".  This is loosely based on a picture I saw on the wall of our rental house in Tybee Island this summer.

Two different calla lillies that I did for my sister's birthday--i decided to send her the one on the left.  6x6 and 5x10 inches.

Leonard's Cows

My old high school friend Leonard was out feeding his cows one wintery morning a couple of years ago and posted a photo to FB which I thought was pretty cool.  I did this in a larger size and have it hanging in my office at work now.