"Green Grapes"

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"Green Grapes"

9 x 12 in

Oil on Masonite Board

I started with a dry brush, this was a little more intricate to draw out so I could not just state some areas and move on.  I had to get a lot of information down in the drawing stage in order to have the shapes in the right areas.

I went straight into the grapes, going from dark to light.  I dabbed the colors where they needed to go I did not worry about rendering it to perfection, just state the overall information to see if everything is working in the beginning stages before you commit yourself completely to the rendering.

After I was satisfied with the grapes I moved onto the wood board it was laying on.  I wanted to get a general feel of it, again not worrying about the smaller shapes or details.  I painted the wood board the same way I did with the grapes from dark to light.

The blues in the background are not visible in this picture, I did add color to the background and the table the wood was laying on.  It was tricky painting on masonite I haven't painted on it for a while, it's a slippery surface in general, it doesn't have the grooves as canvas would.

This is the finished painting, I went back into the grapes and added more details with the shift of hues of yellows and greens.  I also went into the wood and added more details to it, the reason I did that is to differentiate the table from the wood.  It was a fun painting to make, to go back into masonite and enjoy the process was better than I thought.  I hope you enjoyed this one!

"Butternut Squash"

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"Butternut Squash"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I started with just a dry brush, again I use no mediums for these small paintings.  This is a rough drawing it serves just for placement and measurements.

I filled in the squash first because I knew the background was gonna be dark, I formed the big forms first making it turn with the light.  I did not go too dark, its tricky painting in this way without putting the darkest darks first because its harder to judge the true value and chroma.

This is the finished painting, I know I know I skipped a lot of steps from the previous pic to this one.  I thought I took more pics but apparently I did not, what I basically did after filling in the background and base is go back into the squash and state the smaller shapes.  In the final touches I added the highlights and also put some more indentations to make it feel more authentic.  I hope you enjoyed!

"Red Anjou Pears"

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"Red Anjou Pears"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I start the painting with a dry brush approach, you can see that using this method I am able to go thick and thin with the lines as if I was drawing with a pencil.

I went into the pears first not the background because I wanted to state the dead coloring first.  You can see from this pic how I lay the first stages of the painting down, it looks sloppy but it's quickly hinting where the main colors will be.  I'm constantly making sure not to use too much paint or it'll get muddy pretty quick.

After I have hinted the main colors, I start forming the shapes with their correct values and hues.  I went pretty far in this stage I was having fun putting those indentations on the pears, oh well.

I then filled in the background and base, after stating those I went back into the pears and its edges.  Edges are so important you have to know when to push it back to the background and where to put the hard edges.  They are a lot of fun to do as well but a bit tricky, you can see with the horizon line I usually blur it more than it needs to be but I do it so the main objects in the middle ground can catch your eye.

This is the finished painting, after pushing the edges to where I wanted them too be I went back into the pear.  I stated more of the smaller shapes within the pears and emphasized the highlights.  I hope you enjoyed this one, take care!

"Grapes"

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"Grapes"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I started this painting with a dry brush, no mediums just a little of burnt umber on the brush.  What I like about drawing this way on the canvas it feels as if I was drawing with charcoal, my values are pretty easy to control.

Sorry for the yellowish tint of this picture, I had to recharge the battery of my big camera and resorted to the point and shoot camera.  I guess you can see from this picture that I filled in the background first, going from dark to light and also put dead coloring on the base.

Then I filled in the grapes and vase, in all these areas that I started to paint I think of going from dark to light and also making sure the forms turning according to the light.

Then I went in to the flower and had a lot of fun painting it.  I went really thick on the pedals, I love it when you can see the paint emerge from the painting I think it gives it a whole new dimension to it.  With the flower there was not much of big forms to model or the light turning it was just a play of light into light.

This is the finished painting, after stating the flower I went back to the base and added more of the lights.  When adding those lights to the base it ties in more with the grapes making the relationship more apparent.  Then I went in and filled in the little vase and clarified certain areas, I also treated the edges of the vase and grapes.  I went into the grapes and added hints of purple and light blues, kind of bouncing colors around, I had a lot of fun painting this one I hope you enjoyed it as well!

"Heirloom Tomato"

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"Heirloom Tomato"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I started with a dry brush again not using any mediums through out the whole painting, really trying to gain control of the paints without relying on the mediums.

After the rough drawing is done I went in and added the local colors, not diving into much with the intricacy of colors just stating a general feel.  I am also making sure the form is turning and the values are right.  The biggest thing in the first stage is making the form turn, if you put it off till the end you'r painting will never look right.

After the form is turning and I am satisfied with the general colors I start stating the background and the base.  I chose to have a black background so the colors of the tomato can be more vibrant, with the base I just put a general color not putting too much details yet.

I then started adding smaller shapes to the tomato, making sure the smaller shapes are turning with the bigger shapes.  At this stage I ran into difficulty getting the glowing colors that were hidden in the tomato, it seemed like they were trying to get out.  It was a challenge to convey that in the painting.

This is the finished painting, I added the darkest darks in the base and also clarified the colors within the tomato.  I went back into the base and brightened the chroma and value.  This painting was a lot of fun and challenging to do, I learned a lot from it.  Hope you enjoy!

"Golden Bosc Pear"

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"Golden Bosc Pear"

6 x 8 in

Oil on Belgium Linen Panel

I started with a dry brush, there is no medium used in these small paintings.  I have found that the painting dries much quicker when I use no medium.

I applied the local colors of the pear and formed the big forms first.  Not getting too much into the deep darks, just getting a general feel of the big form turning.

Then I went into the background and base, I made the line where the background meets the base a bit more blurry so the focus stays on the pear.  Then I went into the edges of the pear and blurred some areas and kept others hard.

This is the finished painting, I went back into the pear and added the smaller forms or details.  I reinstated the blacks so the form can be complete, I also lightened some areas of the base so it will flow better visually with the pear.  I hope you enjoyed!

"Red Plums"

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"Red Plums"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I started with a dry brush and did not go too detailed with the drawing, I wanted to add more details with paint rather than painting within the lines.

I then added the background when I was satisfied with the drawing, I also introduced the cast shadows from the plums.

Then I started with the first plum just indicating the basic colors or the local colors.  At this stage I apply the paint pretty thin so it does not get muddy and its easier to blend in the end.

Then I moved onto the second plum, as you can see from the previous pic I altered the drawing so the second plum was closer to the first one.  I don't know how I missed that with the initial drawing but I'm glad I caught it or it would have been a boring painting composition wise.  After modeling the form with the local colors I introduced more the darks in the cast shadows and also in the plums.

This is the finished painting.  I went back into it and started chipping away at the smaller shapes or the details, towards the end I apply the darkest darks to tie the piece together.  I kept the background rather simple, I really like how it works with this painting.  I hope you enjoyed!

"Kate"

"Kate"

18 x 23 in

Oil on Canvas

(Detail)

This painting I did for the Portrait Society competition, I really like how the painting came out.  My only dislike is how it came out in the picture it's not the same, I wish it was.  I am asking everyone if they can give me any tips in taking good shots of paintings, I believe thats my biggest thorn right now.  As far as cameras go I have a canon 40D, it's a great camera for all types of pictures.  There's got to be something else to it?
I just posted these new pics, I took the old ones down and replaced them with these new ones.  I like these much better I have been learning new ways to take better pics of my paintings, it's a fascinating world taking photos of paintings really challenging though.

Any ways this painting is of a good friend of mine, she was so nice to pose for me.  This painting was a lot of fun to do, I hope you enjoy!

"Habanero Peppers"

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"Habanero Peppers"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Board

I started with a dry brush, I took the drawing a bit further than usual which helped to get my local tones in there right placements.

I applied a very thin passage my first go around, I went from the mid tones to the lighter tones.  I did the same with the stems.  You can see that I left the lightest lights untouched, I didn't add any color to the area.  I figured there's nothing whiter than the canvas itself so it gives me a good indication how the lights will look in the final result.

I then proceeded and filled in the base and background, I applied thin paint to just get a general feel what colors I'll be playing around with.

I then put more information with the base and went around the peppers and handled the edges in different manners.  I went back into the peppers and started to add the smaller shapes work on the highlights and subtleties.  I was about to leave it in this stage and call it a day but thankfully my girlfriend got a look at the painting and said the dark edges of the peppers where to hard.  I agreed with her 100%, thats why it's a good idea not to work on a painting straight through, well for me it's not.  I think its better when I take a mini-break and come back to it with fresh eyes and see what I have to improve on.

This is the finished painting, I messed around with the colors in photoshop to bring it as true as I can to the original.  I think the original looks better but I guess that goes with any paintings you see in person.  This was a fun painting to do overall, I usually don't work on the weekends but today was just a laid back day and wanted to produce another little painting.  I hope you enjoyed it!

Thai Eggplants

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"Thai Eggplants"    
12 x 12 in

  Oil on Canvas Board

I started the same way as I usually do with a dry brush and took the drawing a little further.

Then I added the local color and did a little bit of big form modeling, primarily I keep it loose in this stage.  I did the same with the stem but did not add any of the mid tones or lighter tones, I figured with the slight hint of the darks should be enough to give it form.

Then I added the local color to the base and started the background as well.

After adding the local colors overall I then went around the edges of the eggplants and made some areas blurry and some hard.  I did the same with the base, then I went back into the eggplant and worked on getting the modeling right with the big forms.  If the forms are not turning no matter how much paint you put or highlights you add its just not going to look right.  After I felt comfortable with the big forms being modeled I then moved onto the stems, I applied the same level of attention as I did with the eggplant.

This is the finished painting, I went back into the eggplant and smoothed out some areas added a couple details that gives these little guys their character.  With this painting I was constantly pushing the edges further than what they were to give the illusion of going back into the distance and coming forward.  Usually I do not like having hard edges with my paintings, once you have a hard edge it becomes a highlight your eyes are constantly going to it.  Now don't get me wrong there are some areas in the painting where hard edges are a must, but you have to know when to use them.  Hope you enjoyed this one!