Leaving on a jet plane

16 x 12 inches - Oil on Gatorfoam
SOLD to Ryan Gallery Las Vegas

This is my Winter hat and an old suitcase that I store old video tapes in (so, two lots of antiques ... if you don't include me that is ;-)
I like doing these retro scenes so I may hunt out some more objects that I can use in the junk shops around here.
More lemons and tangerines coming soon - so no surprises there (I'm self indulgent, what can I say!).

Moving pictures (sort of)

If anyone is interested in taking a look, I have added a movie of some of my paintings to YouTube.
For anyone with a Mac and iMovie it is really easy to do so let me know if you want to have a go at one.

Let there be light

12 x 9 inches, oil on Gatorfoam panel
SOLD

I thought I'd try another candle but fill the background in this time to give it a darker feel. I think that I need a lot of time working with this kind of subject to get it the way I really want it to look. If any of you know Joseph Wright of Derby's candle/fire paintings you'll know what I mean ;-)
I had loads of fun painting the very bottom of the candlestick but the background was a nervy time for me and I kept putting it off (so I left it until the very last ;-).

I did something I don't usually do with this one too: I cropped the books. I wanted to do this one in portrait aspect and not landscape so that the candle would be bigger and if I had included all the books the candle would have been too small and insignificant.

Peeled

12 x 9 inches - oil on Gatorfoam panel
SOLD

When you click the image you will see that I left the photo bigger than life size for a change so those of you who revel in getting up close and personal can see it warts and all ;-)
This one has gone to the Elliot Foutts Gallery in Sacramento. They are a big supporter of my work and they are great people too :-)

I like painting on these panels as they are very smooth and unbelievably light, they are also very cheap. I give them three coats of white gesso (sanded with very fine sandpaper between each coat) and then a final coat of Winsor & Newton Galleria gloss acrylic medium to make them less absorbent.
I get the 3/16 inch thick panels.
You can get them here (mentioning my name wouldn't hurt me ;-): windriverarts.com

Wine on the vine

16 x 12 inches - oil on hardboard panel
SOLD

This is quite a big one for me and I started it many months ago but gave up on it, and then I started experimenting with different mediums so I thought it would be good to use this failure as a test (so as not to ruin a new one if the experiment went disastrously wrong).
I think I managed to save it so I'm glad I didn't paint over it or use it as a cutting board (as has happened with other dubious offerings).

I'll be mentioning more about mediums from James Cosgrove in the next post when I hope to have a new candle painting completed exclusively with a new mix I am using incorporating some of his fine products.

I finished all the paintings for the Tallantyre Gallery in the UK so I hope to be posting some new work soon that will be available for sale - when I get around to doing some more photos.
This one may or may not be going to the Mason Murer Gallery in Atlanta as I have a lemon painting going to them for a show in April and may send this along for company ;-)

Candle light

12 x 9 inches -Gatorfoam panel - SOLD

I did the under painting to this one in burnt sienna with the aim of darkening the background with a more opaque black later, but I like the effect of the rough brushwork and the ground showing through so I have left it like this (no, being a lazy devil had nothing to do with it …. honest ;-)
I'm not sure that I will do others like this and am still undecided.

I have ordered some new traditional mediums from James Cosgrove and can't wait to try them so I hope to have a review of them soon. Yes, I probably do have a medium fetish ;-) This painting was just a 50/50 mix of stand oil and gum turpentine with a few drops of cobalt dryer added to the days mix.