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.

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 #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.

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 #48 - Cow Creamer

52 Weeks 100 Paintings
#48 - Cow Creamer
7" x 5"
Oil on Canvas Panel
$48.00 (Plus 5.00 shipping unless within deliverable distance)

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 #46 Pomegranates

 

Painting #46 - Pomegranates 

7" x 5"
Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold

Somehow, over the course of my life, I missed out on pomegranates. I don't

know if it had to do with growing up in the Midwest or always sticking to the more conventional WASP-y fruits- you know, apples, bananas, pears, grapes, etc., but pomegranates were always something I associated more with a Gaugin painting or smooth jazz than something you would actually buy at a grocery store, take home, and consume. Curiosity got the best of me the other day, though. I bought two, not so much to eat, but just because they were so beautiful and red and round and I thought they would make a nice painting. I cut one in half. After watching Angela spoon up some of the seeds, I did the same. I was not prepared for the explosion of flavor. To be honest, I felt a bit like one of the cavemen in 2001 - A Space Odyssey, hooting and grunting in wonder and glee and my newfound, exotic discovery. Of course, the fact that this wonder was a reaction to something that to most people is just another piece of produce made me feel even more Neanderthal. Anyway, it was a nice discovery, and one found better late than never. Embarking on this painting series has been really interesting to me. I've made a lot of little discoveries along the way, everything from different ways of seeing light and mixing color to, well, pomegranate seeds. Thanks to all of you for coming along for the ride.

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 #42 - Pears 5" x 7"

52 Weeks 100 Paintings

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

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.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #36 Campbell's Soup l

 

52 Weeks 100 Paintings

Painting #36
Campbell's Soup I 

5" x 7"
Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold

Life imitates art. Imitates life. Imitates art. Campbell's just came out with 4 different cans
of tomato soup based on Andy Warhol'sscreenprints of Campbell's Tomato Soup.
Which I am now painting. One down. Three to go.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #34 - Crayons

Painting #34 - Crayons
7" x 5"
Oil on Canvas Board
Sold

Next week I'll have a 7th grader and a 4th grader. Yeesh. Meanwhile, the cavalcade of school supplies continues.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings Painting #31 Strawberry Jam

 

52 Weeks 100 Paintings

Painting #31 Strawberry Jam
7" x 5"
Oil on Canvas Board 

Sold

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #33 - Pencils

52 Weeks 100 Paintings

#33 - Pencils
5" x 7"
Oil on Canvas Board

It's that time of year again. Angela's annual facial tic is back and
there are piles of school supplies laying around the house. Must be time for school to start again.
More to come.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings - #32 Cupcake ll

Painting #32
Cupcake II
7" x 5"
Oil on Canvas Board
Sold

Strawberry Cupcake by Treat.
Like em on Facebook here, or better yet,
pay them a visit and enjoy the real thing.

Painting #5 - Adirondack

Painting #5 - Adirondack

7" x 5" 

Oil on Canvas Board

$3

Purchased by Michelle Van Tress

Before we moved to the Pacific Northwest, the one warning I got from multiple people was 'Beware the Gray.' It rains a fair amount here in the fall and winter (and spring, on occasion). Apparently this is a cause for concern and a potential deal breaker to some who considering relocating out here. I have two things to say: 1, I lived through 13 Minnesota winters. I can do 'The Gray' standing on my head. 2, when I experience a pitch perfect day like today and know that I have roughly 5 months' worth of similar days ahead of me, it makes The Gray seem kind of insignificant and, in the big picture, well worth it.

This could have been yours! Just sign up for my Mailing List above to get the first crack at original art, priced to move.

 

Painting #4 - Max

Painting #4 -Max

5" x 7" 

Oil on Canvas Board

$3

Purchased by Andy Miller

Sean was almost a Max. When I was a kid, I didn't know if I would ever be married, or even if I would have kids someday. But I knew that if I ever had a son, I wanted him to be Max. It turned out that Angela, from the same age, wanted the same name for her son. When the time came, and we saw that little spot on the ultrasound, (I had to take the nurse's word for it) we knew that we had a Max on our hands. As we got closer though, we noticed that the name Max kept popping up. When Angela's mom suggested Sean Patrick, we knew we had our name.  And so Max became Sean. Which is a good thing, because he is Sean through and through.

I've had 'Where The Wild Things Are' on my mind this week with the death of Maurice Sendak. It was always on my bookshelf as a kid, along with the Seuss, Uncle Remus, my Bible stories and everything else. But Sendak was always down on the end of the shelf along with Roald Dahl. They were kids' books, but they always made me feel a little older when I read them. Sweet, but a little spooky and sinister at the same time. The musical equivalent was hearing 'Rikki Don't Lose That Number' for the first time when I was 8. There was something going on there that I didn't fully understand, but I liked it, and it made me feel a little more grown up.

Maurice Sendak 1928 - 2012
Requiescat en pace.  

Painting #2 - Kermit Pez

#2 Kermit Pez

5" x 7" 

Oil on Canvas Board

$2 / SOLD

I bought the first Pez when Sean was very small. I can't remember now if I saw it and thought he might like it, or if he was with me at the grocery store and it caught his eye. One led to another, and another, and another. One of those silly little traditions that take on a life of their own. It continued when Molly came around, and now, almost 13 years (yeesh) after I bought that first Fred Flintstone Pez, we have well over a hundred. You wouldn't necessarily think of Pez as subject matter for a still life, but once I picked one up and actually looked at it, I thought it would be interesting to paint. Turns out it is. And, now that Sean and Molly are getting older, they remind me of that very short period of time when they were small. There will be a number of Pez in this collection. And Kermit is the first.