Apple and Book

Oil on Canvas 14"x11"
I had this antiquarian book on painting and decided to capture the worn look and the slightly beveled edges on the paper. The apple is a classic prop, perhaps next time I'll take a bite out of it. I like this book so much I'm going to be using it for a while in my paintings.

Workin' Boots

Oil on Canvas 10"x10"
I've had these boots in the closet for years and they caught my eye. They have seen a lot of beach time and the salt water has taken its toll. The texture and the contrast between the rubber toes and the rawhide made the painting a lot of fun to work on.

Avocado Study

Oil on Canvas 10"x10"
This is a one day painting. In this piece I was after texture, both in the avocado and in the background.

Pepper with Onion

Oil on Canvas 10"x10"
This is a one day painting, my goal was to get the basics and not be too fussy. Red on a dark background always grabs my eye, and I enjoy working with those colors.

Red, Green and Yellow

Oil on Canvas 22"x28"
This is a work still in progress. In this piece, I wanted to emphasize the shadows, to make them an important part of the image. In intense summer light, the shadows are crisp, and fairly dark, giving a high contrast. I'm playing with composition as well, cutting off the basket and having it come into the painting, actually enhances the roundness of it. I've done a few fruit bowl paintings and in the past I loaded them up, but in this one I was after a sparcer, airier look, working in negative space to make the image more interesting. Since the basket and the fruit is fairly textured, I thought that a simple, flat, ground would set everything off. I hope you agree.