Thursday, May 29, 2008

Empty Black Bowl With Big Spoon



Empty Black Bowl
Pastel on Black Khadi Paper
105x150mm
Another couple of "samples". The simplest subjects like this empty bowl always seem to give the most trouble. After I'd finished I thought I'd do a spoon to go with the bowl. It took about three minutes. If anyone wants both together I'll sell them at $150.

Big Spoon With Shadow
Pastel and watercolour on Khadi - Stone
150x105mm

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Four Quick Sketches


Apple and Bottle at the Window
Watercolour on paper
150x105mm

White Mask on the Floor

Watercolour on paper

Aprox 150x90mm



Self Portrait

Pastel on paper

150x105

Tin Can With Pink Peg
pastel on paper
150x105mm
This motley collection of quick sketches was done on various sample papers. I love paper and it's fun trying out different kinds. I did these the same afternoon after the Guavas, one after the other. I just chose random subjects in the immediate vincinity. If anyone wants one - $80.

Six Guavas


Six Guavas
Watercolour on Rag Paper
85x210mm
$100

Monday, May 26, 2008

Apple on Wooden Block


Apple on Wooden Block
Watercolour on Abaca Rice Straw (Light)
Sold
I spent a couple of hours labouring over an apple. It was a bad apple. Out of frustration and a sense of lack of achievement, I grabbed this little paper sample and painted a very quick and spontanious apple that I was much happier about.
It's often the way - you have to spend the hours doing the labourious and uninspired in order to do something quickly and more lively.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Match Box and a Toffee




Beehive Match Box
Watercolour On Velin de Lana
130 90mm
$100

This is one of the old Beehive boxes. I don't like the new ones which are just red, white and black. I botched the lettering of "Beehive" and it looks like it could almost be "Beehave". I also stuck my signature on the box.


Wrapped Toffee

Watercolour on paper

110x110mm

$80

I got some new tubes of watercolours and in the package from the art suppliers they always include a couple of toffees. I couldn't resist trying out the new colours on a toffee.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Late Capsicum


Red Capsicum Pepper
Watercolour on Velin de Lana
90x255mm

This was a small capsicum I grew. I thought I'd found them all, but I saw a gleam of red amongst the weeds the other day and there this was.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Cotton Bud and Match

Cotton Bud
Watercolour on Velin de Lana
95x130mm or 3.5x5"
Diagonal Match
Watercolour on Velin de Lana
95x130mm or 3.5x5"

Cotton Bud With Match
Watercolour on Velin de Lana
95x130mm or 3.5x5"
I painted a cotton bud I'd been using to smudge pastel. I wasn't very happy with the first attempt so I abandoned it and started again resulting in the version at the top here. Then I went back to the earlier version and worked on it some more and added the balancing match. Then I felt like painting a match by itself.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Two Small Watercolours

Surf Highway With Cows
Watercolour on Velin de Lana
130x180mm or 5x7"



Pink Peg
Watercolour on Saunders Paper

130x180mm or 5x7"
$80

A view out the window and another go at the pink plastic clothespeg.

Friday, May 16, 2008

4B Pencil


4B Pencil
Watercolour on Velin de Lana
130x180mm or 5x7"
sold
This one's got my name on it.

Camelias in Crystal Vase


Camelias in Crystal Vase
Watercolour on Velin De Lana
370x270mm or approx 14x10.5"
Not sure about this one. I didn't really work quickly enough and the camelias opened out and dropped their petals. I'm not really happy with anything I'm doing at the moment.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Two Sketches of My Parents


Dad, Mum
Watercolour on paper
NFS
I did these rapid sketches of my parents the other day.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Red Capsicum


Red Capsicum
Pastel and watercolour on paper
170x160mm or approx 6.5x6.5"
Another of the oddities I've been doing recently. It was started in watercolour but didn't go very well and I reworked it with chalk pastel, another interesting medium I havn't used for about ten years or more. Click here to see some early work in pastel. It may not be a great work of art but it's a nice feeling to reaquaint myself with these mediums.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Lost Marbles

A bit of an odd assortment. I've been struggling a bit with the watercolour medium and I'm finding it a bit unnerving, and feeling a bit insecure about learning as I go whilst maintaining my postings here. But I've come to the conclusion that that is partly what the philosophy of Daily Painting Blogging is about.


White Marble
115x115mm or 4.5x4.5"
Watercolour on Saunders Paper
An aspect of watercolour is you've got to decide where the white highlights go from the outset. This is pretty much the exact reverse of oil painting where the final highlights are put in towards the end. I got some frisket masking medium to try out. The idea is you paint this rubbery stuff where you want the paper to stay white and peel it off at the end. I tryed it on the marble but wasnt at all happy with it and ended up resorting to using an opaque white, effectively changing the painting to more of a guache style. This painting itself was painted on the verso of this other aborted attempt. Just little slightly laboured studys. So if anyone wants to purchase this piece of paper, you can show it either way around, but one way or another you're going to lose some of your marbles...


Verso

Marbles
190x115mm
Watercolour on Saunders Paper

Monday, May 12, 2008

Nasturtiums in Small Vase


Nasturtiums in Small Vase
Watercolour on Velin de Lana paper
165x175mm or 6.5x7"
$100
sold
Painting small watercolours of flowers is possibly the most radical thing an artist can do in this day and age...
With or without the "u".

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Five Burnt Matches


Five Burnt Matches
Watercolour on Saunders Paper
180x95mm approx 7x4"
$120
sold

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Burnt Match With Shadow


Burnt Match With Shadow
Watercolour on Saunders Paper
90x90mm or 3.5x3.5"
Burnt Match With Shadow #2
Watercolour on Saunders Paper
90x90mm or 3.5x3.5"
Top one sold

There's something elemental about painting burnt matches in water colour. Fire to burn the match, water and earth pigments to paint it, and air to dry it.

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Star Cookie Cutter


Star Cookie Cutter
Watercolour on Saunders paper
170 x 170mm or 7x7"
$90

Friday, May 02, 2008

Two Small Watercolours

Wishbone
Watercolour on Saunders Paper
Approx 120x140mm
sold


Small Pencil Stub
Watercolour on Saunders Paper
Approx 120x140mm
sold
Yesterday I had a bit of a puddle around with watercolour. I havn't used the medium for many years, although it was the first medium I fell in love with. My father painted in watercolour and I remember him teaching me how to paint with transparent washes. I've still got the old Winsor and Newtons paintbox and a beautifull red sable brush he gave to me when I was about eight.

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Twice Shy


Twice Shy
Oil on gessoed board
165x95mm
$150
sold

Another burnt match duet. These are bigger, longer burning matches.
And just to mix things up a little bit, here's a small pencil drawing.