Day 5 - "E" is for Eggs

6"x6"
Oil on Canvas
$60.00
Click here to purchase

I was up late finishing this one, but managed to get it done. The most challenging part of painting in this smaller format is leaving enough space around the objects. I tried using a viewfinder (made of a mat board and a piece of acrylic) to help with the composition. See the illustration below.
On to the letter "F"......
I have 25 more paintings to practice getting it right.

still life photo          viewfinder drawing         underpainting

                                          

A fresh Start

11"x14"
Oil on Panel
$60.00
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Continuing on with my breakfast series, I thought setting up a healthier selection of foods might be a good idea. The last 3 paintings I have done were painted from photos, so this time I wanted to paint from life. I started the painting with the intention of really trying to vary my edges, and paint with limited brushstrokes; however, somehow I always wind up smoothing things out and painting over the same area several times. The bulb of the flower was the only area that I managed to not overwork; I guess baby steps are better than no steps.
For all of my artist friends, check out the book by Greg Albert, titled "The Simple Secret to Better Painting"; Carol Marine recommended it recently during her interview with Leslie Saaeta on Artists Helping Artists blog talk radio show. I have also purchased of few of Carol's ArtByte Tutorials from Daily Paintworks and they are very helpful too.

Nutella

12"x12"
Oil on Canvas

Mmmmmm. Now, that's my kind of breakfast.

Click Here to Purchase -$225.00

Three's A Crowd

12" x 12"
Oil on Panel
Click here to purchase-
$225.00

Here is my entry for this week's DPW's, "The Raw Meat Challenge".  I think my family and friends will find this amusing since I was a vegetarian for years, and I still don't eat red meat. I was surprised at how much I actually enjoyed painting the vibrant reds of the T-Bone, and had more difficulty painting the eggs. Painting everyday things helps us to see the beauty in the ordinary, or even in the ugly; I was once repulsed by the sight of red meat and now I can appreciate it's beauty. Charles W. Hawthorne said, "We must teach ourselves to see the beauty of the ugly, the beauty of the commonplace. It is so much greater to make much out of little than to make little out of much - better to make a big thing out of a little subject than to make a little thing out of a big one." (Hawthorne on Painting, Dover Publications, Inc.)

*This painting won first place in the Johnston County Arts and Food Festival.