52 Weeks 100 Paintings #60 Radishes on Paper Plate

 

52 Weeks 100 Paintings - #60 Radishes on Paper Plate
10" x 8"

Oil on canvasboard

$60

Friends Mark and Sarah were kind enough to bring us fresh radishes from their garden. Thank you Millers.

They were delicious. With the exception of these four, which were sacrificed on the altar of art.

Figure Painting Workshop Day Two

I've gotten used to painting still lifes by myself in my studio. Inanimate objects are nice to paint. You can put them exactly where you want them and they just sit there. You can leave and come back and they're still there waiting for you. Painting by yourself is nice. All your own stuff, working at your own pace, and when it comes time to compare yourself to the other painters in the room, you usually end up pretty near the top. Painting a live model with others was something I hadn't done for a really long time. I've been affiliated with this particular group of painters online for awhile, but I hadn't had the opportunity to paint with them in person. Life is rich as we like to say, and between the family and the day job and the other day job, it was hard to make it work logistically. But, finally, here I was, brushes in hand, hoping I didn't embarrass myself too badly. Surrounded by really good painters. Under the watchful eye of amazing painter Eric Bowman. No pressure, right?
Turns out the other painters were as kind and supportive as they are talented. Carol, one of the owners of the studio where we were painting, and a really good painter herself, repaired my paintbox, completely unsolicited, which had literally fallen apart midway through the first day of the workshop. And Eric Bowman is as magnanimous in his instruction as he is a virtuoso in his painting. All things said, I couldn't have had a better group of people to paint with. My best work? Far from it. But it was a good start. Thanks, everybody.

Figure Painting for the First Time in a Long Time

in a workshop with the amazing Eric Bowman. Surrounded by a bunch of really good painters. Here goes...

The First One

 

The Second One

The Third One

 

All in all, apart from being exceedingly nervous at first, not bad.

Tulips, January

 

Tulips, January
11 x 14

Private Collection

52 Weeks 100 Paintings - #58 Mount Rainier from I-5, Federal Way, Washington

 #58 Mount Rainier from I-5, Federal Way, Washington
8" x 10"
Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold
 

It's okay. Texting and driving will get you a ticket.
They don't say anything about painting.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #57 Daffodils

 

52 Weeks 100 Paintings
#57 Daffodils
11" x 14"
Sold to Pamela Wisneski

One of the things I liked best about living in Minnesota was that onset of spring, when, after a long winter, the green tendrils of the bulbs we had planted the year before would begin to poke through the snow.

Unfortunately, more times than not, this meant that it was May.
One of the many things I love about living in the Pacific Northwest; early-onset Spring.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #56 Target Cart

Painting #56 - Target Cart
8" x 10"  (new size!) 

Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold

They say it's the little things. And for some reason, right now the little things
for me are the new carts at Target. I realize that's not profound or anything,
but as I get older I'm realizing that a lot of times, the best things aren't.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #55 - Fisher Price Dog

 

52 Weeks 100 Paintings

Painting #55 - Fisher Price Dog
5" x 7"
Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold
 

I don't have much to say about this, but I'm sure that all
of you have your own memories about this little guy.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #54 - Macarons

 

Painting #54 - Macarons
7" x 5"
Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold

Angela told me I had to try a macaron. I thought macarOOn. Coconut? Shaped like a haystack? Okay I guess, but not the sort of thing you go out of your way to recommend. Little did I know. Macarons are little french cookies made with ground almonds with a filling in the middle. Actually, just go to http://www.laduree.fr/en/histoire/macaron. I can't do them justice. Those featured in the painting are pistachio, white chocolate, hazelnut and peppermint, but they come in more flavors than you can imagine. Salted caramel is our personal favorite. If you're in the Vancouver/Portland area, they've got them at Pix Patisserie or Elephants Deli. If you're not in the Vancouver/Portland area and are a fan of perfect little things, Google it. Trust me.

My Still Life Rig

The vast majority of my painting for a long time was plein air, which is to say painted on site. Urban or otherwise, landscapes had become my subject matter of choice. There is an immediacy to painting that way that really appeals to me. The downside to that, though, is the fact that when you want to paint, you have to pack up all of your gear, hope for decent weather, and head out to your painting location. The problem is that, with a full-time day job, a thriving business that I run with Angela which is another full-time job and being a full-time parent, trying to find the time to paint can be a real challenge. I found that I wasn't painting as much as I needed or wanted to. To that end, I decided to switch to still life for awhile. I could paint on a daily basis and still be close to home where I needed and wanted to be. The one downside to painting at home is that the light in my 'studio' aka 'the garage' isn't the greatest. To that end, I came up with a system where I could control the light and set up my subject matter exactly the way I wanted to. If, by 'came up with a system' you mean 'stole from Carol Marine, who is my new favorite artist and inspiration as a daily painter and can be found at http://carolmarine.blogspot.com '.
Here, then, is the place where all the magic comes from, and how it came to be.

The materials

The Boy, added for scale

Bottom and backing panel added

 

 

 

The Final Setup

So there you have it. Thanks again, for all of you that have signed up for my mailing list and have been along for the ride with 52 Weeks 100 Paintings. I'll be picking back up with painting #54 when I get done with all of my painting commissions and other assorted holiday projects.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #53 - Cake

52 Weeks 100 Paintings
#53 - Cake
7" x 5"
Oil on Canvas Panel
$53.00

This painting is available. Click here for details.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #51 - 3 Bowls, 1 Spoon

52 Weeks 100 Paintings

#51 - 3 Bowls, 1 Spoon 

5" x 7" 

Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #50 Sprinkles

 

52 Weeks 100 Paintings 

#50 - Sprinkles
7" x 5"
Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold

Number 50. Wow! Halfway there. Time flies. It's been an adventure, and I thank all of you for being here for it. Thanks to you, thanks to Stephanie at Treat for the amazing cupcakes, and thanks most of all to Angela, for all the love and support and for helping me carve out the time from our already crazy schedule to do this in the first place. I look forward to the next 50, and I'm glad y'all are along for the ride. Thanks again for your support! Cheers!

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #49 - Fall Color

 

52 Weeks 100 Paintings
#49 - Fall Color
5" x 7"
Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #47 - Tomatoes

 

52 Weeks 100 Paintings
#47 - Tomatoes
5" x 7"
Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold to Laura Flores

 Sometimes when you don't know what to paint, something just falls in your lap. In this case, it was a bunch of Roma Tomatoes from the backyard garden of Bobbi, Molly's piano teacher. Thanks, Bobbi.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings Painting - #44 Tiny Pumpkins

Painting #44
Tiny Pumpkins 

7" x 5" 

Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold

It's that time of year again, so this is the first in a series of
Halloween-themed paintings. We're getting to that odd point
as parents, where Sean has decided for the first time to
stay home and hand out candy instead of trick-or-treating.
Molly's still all in, though. So am I, but that's
a different conversation.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #43 - Sunflowers II

 

52 Weeks 100 Paintings
#43 - Sunflowers II
5" x 7"
Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #42 - Pears 5" x 7"

52 Weeks 100 Paintings

#42 - Pears 5" x 7"
Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #41 Salt Shaker

 

Painting #41
Salt Shaker 5" x 7"
Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold

Design is one of those things that you tend not to notice unless it's bad. Which is unfortunate, because there are lots of examples of really nice design that just sit there unnoticed because they just sit there doing what they're supposed to do and looking like they're supposed to look. This salt shaker is a perfect example. I've been picking one up exactly like it for over 40 years now, and until recently, I never really looked at it. That's one of the things I really like about this painting series. I'm starting to look more closely at a lot of things that have always just kind of been there. And I'm finding that there are a lot of really cool things all around me, if I only take a second to enjoy and appreciate them.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #37-Apsco Giant 6 Hole Pencil Sharpener

 

Painting #37
Apsco Giant 6 Hole Pencil Sharpener
7" x 5"
Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold

 New pencil sharpeners don't do it for me. No number of double AA batteries can provide the proper amount of power necessary for me to get the point I need. That's where the Apsco Giant 6 Hole Pencil Sharpener comes in. 6 holes to accommodate everything from golf pencils to pastel pencils to those giant starter pencils we had in kindergarten. Packed full of gears and blades working in perfect harmony to make short work of anything stupid enough to makes its way into one of its holes.

It weighs about 15 pounds. It could be used as a murderweapon in the game of Clue. And for some reason,it is a device that makes me very happy.