Daily Painting Practice - Painting an Island

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Island

6"x12"

oil on masonite panel

Every now and then I paint for a week or two and end up with  nothing much more than a few canvases full of false starts.  Last week I had a few and I was headed that way again until the end of this week, then I managed to paint this small  Northwoods scene in the nick of time.

Hopefully next week I will be back on schedule and have a painting worth  showing.

Daily Painting Practice - Shells

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Shells

8"x10"

oil on masonite

I started this a while ago and only finished it this past weekend. Originally I had a third shell in the middle, but I found it was too much of a distraction to the composition. Sometimes you have to make decisions that eliminate characters that don't get along with the others. 

Daily Painting Practice - White Peony and shipping paintings

I was recently asked via email about  how I send paintings to galleries or shows. Perfect timing! I was just notified that my painting "Cowboy Dave" was just juried into the ( 2010 C.M. Russell Art Auction.) They also informed me that the painting needs to be shipped this week.  This is a first for me to ship  to a big art auction so I wanted to do it right.

The Auction suggested that we use a re-usable strong box for shipping. I decided on a lined strongbox by  (Airfloat Systems Inc.)

Here's a picture of the box....and my helper.

The plastic liner on the box top is an extra protection against a puncture. It is very easy to size and pack the painting. The foam inset is perforated in 1 " increments.

You just outline the frame and rip out the foam. Then place the painting in the box ( it is a good idea to cover the painting with plastic or paper) And  replace the top layer.

Clean simple and hassle free. Ready to tape and ship. I'll let you know how it does at the show in March.

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White Peony

8"x8"

oil on masonite

Before you go, here's the latest painting. This one is for a show at my N.J. gallery, ( the desChamps Gallery), in December. Finished it just in time.

Daily Painting Practice - Wicker Still life

It has been a long week, lots happening out of the studio. I surprised myself in getting as far as I did on this one.

This painting has already had several incarnations. I originally started it on a larger horizontal canvas, with apples and the light coming from the left. It never made me feel like it should, so I let it sit for months.  This square canvas already had a painting on it, (one of those things I wanted to forget I painted) So I covered it up with a thick coat of paint. 

After playing with the composition in a square format I felt like it started to work. My composition editor/wife suggested changing from green apples to pears....(she's gets it right every now and then).

The hardest thing about this painting is the counting...counting the blue squares, counting the white squares, counting the rows of wicker cane. I was so tired of counting but it was the only way I could keep track of the detail. It was very hard not letting it get away from me.

I liked the way the light was hitting the basket. Wanting to keep the focus on that spot of the basket I tried keeping all of the other elements  muted and soft.

I have all the pieces painted but now I need  to make it work together.

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Wicker

20"x20"

oil on canvas

Almost ready to sign it. I'll need to let it rest and look at it with fresh eyes next week.