Sunset Oil Painting

My blog should be called "A painting occasionally"; but yay! today was occasionally. From a photo
9x12" oil on panel

Oil Painting Chloe the Sheltie

Just finished in time for Xmas, a commissioned oil painting, 16"x12" of a relative's adorable Sheltie. Chloe is beyond cute and full of life; she even enjoys posing for photos! What a good girl!

Orchard Paintings Accepted into Show

My two olive orchard paintings done for the Extraordinary Ordinary Show at Avenue 9 Gallery were accepted by the owners, yay! The show runs from Dec. 11 thru Jan 16th. Avenue 9 Gallery is located on ninth ave, just off the Esplanade, in Chico, Ca.
Both oil paintings are 8"x10" done on masonite and will be for sale at the show.

oil landscape painting, "Manzanita in the Yard"

Oil painting in the morning, ahh, it smells like art! 8x10" oil on a raymar panel. The morning sun lights up the rugged golden fields here in Lake California; I'm really feeling the beauty today!
$95.00 thru paypal. Includes US shipping.

Matt portrait update

More or less finished, this was the most difficult one of my recent portraits, think I was overly invested in making it look "right". But I enjoyed doing it nonetheless, and feel it has a renaissance connection, the beard and robe adding to that I'm sure.

update on matthew portrait in oil

I made some progress on the portrait, not finished, tho. It takes real concentration to paint a likeness, more focus required. A challenging and rewarding exercise in painting!

Matthew portrait in oil, unfinished

I started this yesterday, but the proportions were off so I scraped it off and began again today. Think this one work out. One of the nice things about oil paint is that is malleable, you can smooth, mix and push paint around to get it to be where you like it , more or less.
Went to BestBuy with my niece this a.m. so got a late start.

"Painted Lady" portrait of my sister in oil

Believe I have finished this one, but for the sig. Really love the way this turned out, and plan to do more portraits as a result. Allowing the raw sienna underpainting to show thru adds some interest, as does the pose I chose.

Title: "Painted Lady"
Size: 14"x11" oil on wrapped, stretched linen.
NFS

Painted Lady, a Portrait of my Sister in oil

Suddenly, faces are fascinating to me. So I took a few photos of my sis the other day and decided to try painting her, since I am pleased with the one I painted of myself. Needs some touch-up, but overall I am satisfied. She will see it later today, hope she likes! 14"x11" oil on stretched linen.

Self Portrait 2009 oil on linen painting

Had a good time photoshopping, then painting 3 of me for a new self-portrait. 10"x20" oil on stretched linen. Still tape on the canvas, will remove when the painting dries. I like the variation amongst the 3, didn't work too hard on "likeness". I think my recent color explorations from the book "How to See Color and Paint It" by Arthur Stern had an influence on this painting.

"5 Green Apples" oil painting study

It is cheering to paint these colorful studies of fruit in the middle of our gray winter days. This one is about 10"x12" oil on unstretched linen.

Copper Bowl study oil painting

Concentrating on the warm reflective surface in this painting study. It really helps to focus on painting these seemingly simple studio set-ups. All the recent studies have been painted with a knife to avoid fiddling unnecessarily. This one is 12"x10" on a reused raymar canvas panel.
Not thrilled with the light on the photo, will try to get one with more accurate color another time.

tangerines color study painting

Still working on color and value studies. I had forgotten that it's enjoyable to focus on painting a still life. Comparing the shapes and shadows and adding the accents and highlights is what painters have done for maybe thousands of years. Definitely feels like something larger than myself...
about 9x12, oil paint on unstretched linen.

color exercise pink grapefruit oil painting

It surprises me how much color influence I see when I look closely. oil paint on canvas board. The book called for an orange as model, but I used a pink grapefruit cuz I ate the orange. One of the hazards of using food as a painting subject.

Tree study with yellow ochre on linen

Studying structure, value and pigments. Pleased with the yellow ochre used here, in addition to raw sienna, burnt sienna, pthalo blue, chromatic black and flake white. A limited palette helps to establish a baseline for the values, and I feel I have made some progress in my description of trees with a brush. About 10"x8" oil on loose linen taped to a board. bargain priced at $80.00 for the holidays.

plein air oil painting "Grandmother's House"

Another painting from my backyard; I love the dark house and the warm fall colors surrounding it. This house belongs to my niece's neighbors grandmother. I employed a vignette style more commonly seen in watercolor, where the paint is not applied all the way to the edges. It feels softer and more harmonious to me, particularly suited to this type of canvas which needs no frame. Oil paint on gallery wrapped stretched linen, 11x14".
$210.00 thru paypal, free usa shipping!

Oak limbs oil painting

I enjoy painting the many oak trees we have out here in the country. The board was toned orange and I let that peek thru to represent the fall color in the leaves. 9x12" oil on masonite.

150.00 usd thru paypal. free ship usa. email me for availability.

skyscape oil painting "Clouds"

Had a few hours one afternoon this week so I painted in the backyard but looking up. ;) 9x12" panel in the guerilla painter box, limited palette of ultramarine blue, chromatic black, pthalo blue and flake white.
finished painting at top.

150.00 thru pay pal

"Black Walnut" plein air landscape oil painting

It was a beautiful morning for outdoor painting in Lake California. 9x12" oil on masonite.

Then, in the evening, my son and I were invited to join my sis and niece at a "Star Party" in Shingletown. We looked at stars and planets thru big telescopes shared by their generous owners, it was interesting, and FREE! The sky looked fantastic, just filled with stars. I see inspiration for Van Gogh's "Starry Night"!

"Trees with Blue Sky" oil painting

I got to take my new Guerilla paint box out for a test run, it was wonderful, the sky was clear, and I am happy and this painting is the result. A plein air landscape delight! 9x12" oil on cradled birch panel.

135.00 thru paypal, free shipping in USA!