Oils

Row of Cherries

It took me the longest time to figure out a composition for these cherries, mostly because I kept eating them! They were so delicious!!!

In all seriousness, I managed to get a better lighting for these ones and kept a good ratio of light and dark tones. I especially love how the skin of a cherry can reflect so much light. These almost look like Christmas ornaments, which is quite fitting I would say. And their lovely dark red color makes it all better.

Row of Cherries, Oil on Wood, 6 x 6 in., 2011

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Gala Apple 3: Demonstration

I figured I should shoot pictures of the process for at least one of these "Apple" paintings, just in case anybody out there is interested. I have been painting these on some new wood panels I bought recently. The main difference between these and the old ones and that these are raw wood and I take care of the priming, which I like in this context.

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Gala Apple, Oil on Wood, 6 x 6 in., 2011

Sky Etude


The sky is always on the background. It's kind of a given. Well, not anymore! I have not painted many skies before (I wonder why) and one day I just took my camera and started shooting this gorgeous sunset down at the Santa Monica Pier. I found myself forgetting the horizon, the sea, the land altogether! The sky was just too beautiful!!!


Sky Etude, Oil on Wood, 6 x 6 in., 2011

I wanted to paint this one in one sitting, but it was pretty evident right from the start than this painting would benefit more from a layered approach. In the future, I will pace myself and let these little paintings cook slowly. I use layers all the time with acrylics, but it's been a while since I painted this way with oils. I see a new mini series of paintings in the horizon!

Gala Apple 2

After my Thanksgiving break, these apples were the only thing left in my fridge. So I painted them before I ate them!

I had never painted one of these in this position before. It was tricky and I should definitely do it again in the future. The multiple sources of light also gave it a nice quality (although they did dime the dark tones a little bit) and allowed me to use the shadows as elements in the composition.


Gala Apple, Oil on Wood, 6 x 6 in., 2011

I think this is going to become a good template for future still life paintings. I like the minimalistic quality of this composition. Maybe I should go grocery shopping and get other kinds of apples, too! That's an interesting idea...