...for the road

For the Road   oil   12 x 12

is a post-holiday work...one designed as a bit of practice, a return to the rigors of painting. And this particular set up involved a re-familiarization with the difficult ellipses. 

I have a family of coffee-lovers and, during the holidays, these beans abound:  those who prefer a winter spice from Trader Joe's, those who love a cup of McCafe, and those who relish grinding their own beans, the darker the roast, the better.  OK.  There are a few tea-lovers as well.

And, yes, we certainly do need a cuppa for the road.

Ode to Peppermint...

Ode to Peppermint   oil   9 x 12 x .5

...is another small still life designed to help me get back into creative decision-making, color decisions, and to just "feel" the paint as the brush touches the surface.  What could be better?  The remnants of all manner of peppermint treats fit the bill!  I set up this small scenario and set to work.  As the whipping cream kept melting, I did succumb to photographing the copper mug before I ran out of cream! 

Actually, the most difficult passages were the pine branches....they are, at the same time, quite delicate, yet strong, and very very complicated.  Each stroke was just too strong, until I pulled out my rigger brush and thinned the paint substantially.

A final passage was required to strengthen the reds and whites, especially at the intersections of the two.  I am happy, as this small scene captures what I felt during this very special season.

The Red Onion Gang

The Red Onion Gang   oil on canvas   5.5 x 5.5 x 1.5

is a small ditty...painted between projects...using the onion left over from a watercolor still life.  I use these small paintings as practice, for combining colors, for switching from a large format to small, and for using smaller tools and less sweeping brushwork.  In essence, I paint these small works to stay in touch with reality, for observation of what is directly in front of my nose.  My larger works tend to spin off from these goals into my create::destroy mode where I create new and larger problems to solve, where an altered reality becomes a desired state.

While never easy, painting sometimes needs to be, for me, just a simple exercise.  Not every meal needs to be gourmet.