February 7 Trompe l'oeil Scene

I rather liked the color scheme of yesterday's painting. I used the same colors today on a much larger winter scene. This is an out of the ordinary shape which called for a painted frame since it would be difficult to find one to fit. I've done trompe l'oeil on walls in homes around the area; including mine. It's a fun wall treatment but since this one is on hardboard, it's portable. The detail shows a segment of the "frame."

Approximately 27" at the widest by 30" at the peak. $380

February 6 Farms in February

This looks mighty strange for a teapot and cup. That's what I was going to paint until the first stroke of paint hit the "canvas." After warping the brandy glass yesterday, I was going to warp up a nice tea pot and cup. But then I dipped the brush in the paint and that first stroke laid down such a nice streak of colors that I just ran with it from top to bottom and then decided how to develop it. Nice little winter landscape.

8" x 10" $370

February 5 Apple Brandy

An epicurean friend of mine travels the world, sampling the cuisines in remote corners and popular spots alike. He shares his finds by cooking up culinary delights and uncorking bottles of interesting vintage. He shares a recent experience. "A close friend of mine used to make an apple brandy. Pretty powerful stuff: 112 proof.
He no longer does that and I have not seen him recently. However, last night (my wife)and I shared the last of our cache of apple brandy.

"I served it over ice in a tall tequila glass. The alcohol content was so high that the lower half of the glass was all frosted. On first taste, the brandy was warming (to say the least). After the first blush, there was a strong but slowly emerging taste of green apples."

My friend suggested a painting.

"The image we have to offer is the glass, bottom half frosted, tendrils of smoke rising from the glass, and a green apple floating in space above the smoke."

My intent was to do a fairly straight forward rendition of my friend's idea. As it developed, the effect of the apple brandy called for movement in the glass and effervescence rather than smoke. So, I went with it.

The painting was the quick part of the process tonight. Earlier today, I was marveling at the wonders of technology. Tonight my camera wouldn't transmit my digital photos to my computer, not by cable nor by card reader. I tried Ron's camera but my card reader wouldn't read his either. I finally resorted to cranking up my laptop which has a memory card reader, transferring the photos to a file and then e-mailing them to my desktop computer. Blather ugh. Not my idea of a good time. I'm hoping that a full battery charge will help my camera's transmission problems but am lacking confidence that that's the problem.

8" x 10" $360

February 4 No.1 and No.2

Oof da. Well. It would seem that this thing has become an obsession. It would seem that way. But....damnable cat....crawling where he shouldn't. Sorry. Where was I? Ah, yes, obsessions. Today, I have produced not one but two paintings. Dangerous precedent.

Nearly every painting has a white underground; painted on several at a time so they're ready when I need them. I didn't have any ready today so painted three 8" x 10"s with a 2" brush. I put the brush in water while I prepared the palette. I took it out and blotted it on a paper towel. When I layed the color on the first "canvas" it was too wet and streaked. I applied more paint but the brush was just too wet. So, I opted to spread the paint and wetness out on "canvas" two.

The plan for today's painting was a representation of this third morning in a row of sky variations. This morning was a gray blanket, devoid of color. With two "canvases" already going, I decided to experiment with slight variations in shades of gray. Harold got a little involved on the one and it leans toward purple. So, here's the result: February 4 No.1 and No.2 for the third in a series on the 4th. Got it?

Guess these go as a twofer. Two for the price of one or half the day's price each.

Two 8" x 10" for $350 or $175 each.

February 3 Infinite Variety

The sky is never the same twice. Yesterday was soft, muted and lovely. This morning was a riot of gold and copper trimmed cloud ridges. Yesterday the trees stood out in stark contrast. This morning, the branches were frosted and sparkling.

As we drove home from volleyball at midnight, last night, there was fresh light snow. It sparkled like it had been sprinkled with diamond dust. Oh, and no, we didn't play volleyball until midnight. We played until 9:30 and then drank Coke and ate pizza at the VFW until midnight. Great exercise program, that. A fog must have rolled through along with the snow to create the hoar frost that decorated the trees. I drank Coke. Other beverages were also served. Flat beer, apparently, judging by the complaints of the locals. I wouldn't know since I enjoyed my frosty glass(es) of Coke while nature took care of the trees.

8" x 10" $340

February 2 February Calligraphy

The morning drive to town is a regular source of inspiration. This morning, I noticed the upper branches of a single row of trees. They were silhouetted against the pre-dawn sky of bands of blue-gray and pink.

I painted the sky quickly with a large brush. It's necessary to lay it in rapidly when using acrylics. Otherwise, the paint dries too quickly to get a smooth effect. Working in haste, I managed to knock my palette off the easel's ledge. It landed upside down on my foot with a dollop of paint hitting the base of the easel. Amazingly enough, the paint missed the carpet. I finished the sky and then removed my sock to rinse out the paint before it dried. I haven't taken the time to put another sock on. I feel a little like Diddle Diddle Dumpling's son John. Now, let's stop to analyze that little ditty. No, let's not.

16" x 20" $330

February 1 Tea Pot and Cup

Into a new month.

Influenced by the bamboo and bowl yesterday, my eye caught this Asian influenced tea pot among my collection of tea pots. Since it desperately needed dusting, or rather washing, I had Savannah get it down from its spot high on the shelf.

As I was scumbling paint into the background, I raised my brush and found a wooden nub at the end of the handle as if someone had amputated the bristles. The metal furule and bristles lay on the palette. This was an old brush and it must be time to replace it; or give it a squeeze with the pliers to secure the furule to the handle for a little while longer.

11" x 14" SOLD