Bad Apple

Bad Apple

Oil on linen on hardboard

130x100mm

$150

Three Pieces of Fruit on a Shelf

Three Pieces of Fruit on a Shelf

Oil on linen on MDF

150x162mm

$300

sold

Three Fruits

Three Fruits

Oil on linen on MDF

100x136mm

$150

Small Bottle With Two Pieces of Fruit

Small Bottle With Two Pieces of Fruit

Oil on cotton on MDF

103x86mm

$100
sold

An Orange Compared to an Apple

An Orange Compared to an Apple

Oil on cotton on MDF

100x162mm

$120

Ugly Little Apple

Ugly Little Apple

Oil on gessoed MDF

75x70mm

$100

Well, it is.....!   Not the conventional way of selling things I guess, but I always find truth and honesty to be far more beautiful than a candy coated lie.

Small Apple

Small Apple
Oil on linen on MDF
70x66mm

$80
sold

This absurdly undersized apple was the entire crop from my apple tree. "By their fruit shall ye know them"...?

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.

Apple With a Bite

Apple With a Bite

Oil on gessoed board
$150

sold

The same apple as yesterday with a bite taken out of it. Perhaps I should sell them as a pear.

An Apple With It's Shadow

An Apple With It's Shadow

Oil on gessoed board
115x95mm

$150

sold

How do you paint an apple in this day and age?

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.

Apple on Wooden Block

Apple on Wooden Block

Watercolour on Abaca Rice Straw (Light)

$80

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.

Bowl of Mixed Fruit

Bowl of Mixed Fruit

Oil on gessoed board

205 x 230mm or 8 x 9"

$400

I was initially attracted by the different kinds of fruit all in the one bowl, kind of like a "ship of fools" sort of thing. Or something. I liked the symetrical balance of the two red tomatos echoing the decorative handles on the bowl.

Apple in Shadow Box

Apple in Shadow Box
Oil on gessoed board
185x150mm

$300
sold

There is this small rectangular opening cut into the heat resistant material surrounding the woodburner in my studio. On a whim I placed this apple in there and thought it looked good enough to paint.

Small Apple

Small Apple
Oil on linen on MDF

65x67mm

$100

For purchase info click here

sold


I used the same apple as for the quick study, but this is a lot smaller at less than 3 inches square. I also spent a considerable amount more time on it.

Quick Big Apple

Quick Big Apple

Oil on paper

$100

150x150mm

sold

One of the reasons I started this project was an attempt to get away from my obsessive dendency to overwork paintings. It seems to be quite a stumbling block for most artists. There are no hard and fast rules and no right or wrong answers. It's one of those thorny problems that actually gets more prickly the more skillfull you get. I've heard it said that skill is the enemy of art. The more skillfull and sophisticated your craft, the further you can potentially take a painting. The further you take a painting the more risk you have of loosing that initial vision. I'm sure that I will no doubt wrestle with this conundrum for the rest of my life! So with this painting, I just decided to paint it as quickly as I could and without thinking too much. I put on a music cd and told myself that I had to stop painting when the cd was finished. I cheated by about five minutes..! It's not a particularly good painting but it was an interesting excersise non-the-less.