Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Hay Bales at Puniho



Hay Bales at Puniho
Oil on gessoed board
87x147mm
sold
Another of my "backdoor paintings" - literally the rural Taranaki scene viewed from the doorway, and painted using the door as a makeshift easel.

Pecked Plum


Pecked Plum
Oil on gessoed board
100x130mm
$120
As usual there is an over-abundance of fruit on the plum tree and it just falls to the ground to rot, or like this one, gets pecked by birds. I liked the red gash which looks like a wound.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Three Bent Nails


Three Bent Nails
Oil on gessoed board
60x60mm

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Last Match


Last Match
Oil on gessoed board
$80

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Billy's Apple


Billy's Apple
Oil on gessoed board
48x58mm

$80
sold

This apple had been sitting around in my studio for a couple of months or so and I knew I'd get around to painting it sooner or later. I'd never dream of eating it! The apple came to me as part of a "goodie bag" that was handed out with strict Po-Mo irony to guests at an exhibition opening of the famous NZ artist Billy Apple. There were many other apple related objects included and at one point I had the idea of painting the entire contents as an arranged still life, however it never eventuated. This tiny composition is based on the traditional Chardin School much favoured by Daily Painters.

Friday, January 09, 2009

Two Nasturtium In a Small Vase


Two Nasturtium In a Small Vase
Oil on gessoed board
80x100mm
sold
I like the way Nasturtium flowers writhe towards the light. You have to paint them very quickly.

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Three Marbles in a Dish


Three Marbles in a Dish
Oil on gessoed board
50x95mm

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

A Piece of Wood Chewed By My Dog


A Piece of Wood Chewed By My Dog
Oil on gessoed board
100x100mm
There were all kinds of subjects I could have painted. Or felt that I perhaps should have painted. But for some reason on this day I couldn't make up my mind. In the end, I just looked at the studio floor and picked up this bit of wood my dog had chewed. I thought I'd try and make a painting out of it. It's not just contrariness or being perverse, I hope. I'd like to think that in my own humble way I'm asking that same perennial and thorny question that contemporary artists have been struggling with for the past century or so - what is a painting, and what is worth painting?
Or maybe I've just got a chip on my shoulder...

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Graphite Stick


Graphite Stick
Oil on gessoed board
80x55mm
Sigmund Freud once famously said that "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar". But then, of course, he himself smoked cigars. Well, I use graphite sticks to draw with.

Monday, January 05, 2009

Open Rose



Open Rose
Oil on gessoed board
60x80mm
$100
sold

Saturday, January 03, 2009

Rose Bloom in Small Bottle


Rose Bloom in Small Bottle
Oil on gessoed board
80x60mm
$100
sold
The same rose as yesterday opened up a little . I painted it in a much looser fashion.

Friday, January 02, 2009

Pale Rosebud


Pale Rosebud
Oil on gessoed board
60x60mm

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Dandelion Seeds


Dandelion Seeds
Oil on gessoed board
60x80mm
sold
This is a fun one for the first day of the new year. They are some of the seeds from the dandelion clock I painted the other day. I thought it was somehow appropriate. It's kind of illustrative rather than being a painting I guess. I've put it up on NZTradeMe for $1 if anyones interested.

Pohutakawa



Pohutakawa
Oil on gessoed board
135x100mm

$100
sold



I've long been meaning to paint some of the pohutakawa trees in flower with their dramatic crimson blossoms. Usually I miss the opportunity by leaving it too long, however this season I decided to just go for it and paint the one outside my studio. I literally stuck the painting board to the back door with buetac and painted it in situ. It was a windy day and the branches were being tossed around a lot and the sun came and went so it was constantly changing. But that is all par for the course with plein air painting!


Here it is stuck to the door: