The First 500 Paintings*

(click picture to enlarge image)

I was preparing material for a post on inspiration and influence, and collected an overview of the small work I've done over the last few years into a single image. This link will take you to a large JPEG for a closer look. The images are arranged in rough chronological order. Hope you stick around for the next 500! *It's not actually 500 paintings-- it's more like 513, but you get the idea.

Honeycrisp with Ganado (sold)

Honeycrisp with Ganado, oil on masonite, 5" X 5", 2007

sold

I grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the confluence of some amazing cultures: indigenous, and a couple waves of Western European expansion (starting with the Conquistadors). I have a few pieces around to remind me of home. The Navajo rug in the background (the Ganado of the title) is one such piece.
The apple is a Honeycrisp. Yum.

Micro Pail (sold)

Micro Pail, oil on masonite, 5" X 5", 2007

sold

This held some brown rice that was quite tasty...

Devil Ducky #2 (sold)

Devil Ducky #2, oil on canvas, 5" X 7" (approximate), 2007

sold

Medicinal Aloe (sold)

Medicinal Aloe, oil on masonite, 5" X 5", 2007

sold

This was posed in the corner of my studio, on an overcast day here in Seattle. The light was even, which made a nice change from what normally happens to me when I paint under daylight conditions--- I chase the light.

Needs More Salt (sold)

Needs More Salt, oil on canvas, 5" X 7", 2007

sold

I'm not 100% convinced that the color here is the best I can get, but it's not so far off that I wouldn't post it (there's more blue in the shadow in the actual piece than what I see here on the monitor). Perhaps I'll re shoot it when it dries a bit more.

In the meantime, I probably ought to refill the salt shaker...

Palette Knife

Palette Knife, oil on canvas, 7" X 5" (approximate), 2007

$100 USD

e-mail me for purchase information

I was setting down to paint something else when this palette knife in the sun caught my eye. The light was cool and fleeting, and I started to chase the light a bit before I called it done.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (sold)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, oil on masonite, 5" X 7", 2007

sold

Sometimes it's hard to find painting subjects that inspire you that aren't also being covered perfectly well by other artists. Pastry for example. There's lots of phenomenal pastry paintings out there. Here are a few examples to name a few:

Justin Clayton

Duane Keiser

Shawn Kenney

Will I ever paint a piece of pastry? Sure, probably at some point.

Just about everything you think to paint has been done by someone else, but you do try to be original.

So I thought "hey, what about books? I haven't seen a lot of paintings of books..." and I had a perfect tome picked out: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. So what happens? I immediately come across Michael Naples. Who of course has been painting books...

Here's mine anyway.

Paper Airplane#2 (sold)

Paper Airplane#2, oil on masonite, 7"x 5," 2007
(sold)

I'm the art director for the game studio that makes Microsoft Flight Simulator (among other titles), and had to find a way to honor a little bit of that history. So I set on the idea of working paper airplanes into my still life exercises. You'll probably see more crop up as things progress...
Next up: Trains? ;)

Mariposa (sold)

Mariposa, oil on masonite, 5" X 5", 2007

sold

Blue Bottle

Blue Bottle, oil on canvas, 5"x 7", 2007

$100 USD
e-mail me for purchase information

Clementine (sold)

Clementine, 4" X 4", oil on canvas, 2007
sold

Winged Lever Style (sold)

Winged Lever Style, Oil on canvas. 7"X5", 2007

sold

Have Another Bite (sold)

The last of my birthday cake!
Have Another Bite, oil on canvas, 7"x 5"(approximate), 2007

SOLD

Sake Vase #3 (sold)

Sake Vase #3, oil on masonite, 5"x 7," 2007
(sold)

I love strong complementary color schemes, and the detail on the vase is a good challenge of observation and patience in painting.

Yellow Bath Salts (sold)

Yellow Bath Salts, oil on canvas, 5"x 7"(approximate), 2007

sold

Duane Keiser made a really lovely image of a cut glass vase with flowers in it. I thought of that image when I bought this little vase of bath salts, knowing that it was going to be a challenge. I'll no doubt paint it again, as it was as hard as I thought!

Bust of Kwan Yin #2 (private collection)

Bust of Kwan Yin #2, oil on masonite, 7"x 5," 2007

(private collection)
This small alabaster bust of Kwan Yin is fascinating to me. The soft white features take on aspects of whatever its surroundings are-- in this case a green background and cool natural light.

Fiskar's Bypass Pruners

Fiskar's Bypass Pruners, oil on canvas, 7"x 5," 2007
$100 USD
e-mail me for purchase information

I set out to clip a rose from the garden to paint, and ended up painting the pruner's instead.