Five Live Matches

Five Live Matches

Oil on ivory mounted on rosewood

 $120

Matches in Box

Matches in Box

Oil on ceramic tile

24x24mm

 $60

Two Stacked Matchboxes

Two Stacked Matchboxes

Oil on linen on MDF

92x95mm

$150

Matchbox Cover

Matchbox Cover

Oil on linen on MDF

98x98mm

$150

Tammuz

Tammuz

Oil on linen on MDF

88x88mm

$120
sold

This one was painted during the same session as the Dead Leaf.  I have grown particularly fond of the pigment Nickel Titanate  recently. It is a yellow colour.  Normally I tend to use the cadmium yellows and at first I didn't like the nickel titanate at all. It always takes a while to appretiate a pigments intinsic qualities. Compared to all the other yellow pigments available to artists, it seems to be relatively opaque, and I find myself almost using it like a white pigment to mix tints with other colours. For the pale green background of these recent paintings (which is in fact a small sheet of note paper), I am mixing the titanate yellow with green earth, another subtle pigment I once could see no use for.

As for the subject, I deliberately aranged these matches in the form of a cross. Many people will view this as a strongly Christian religous symbol, but like many other Christian symbols it is a lot older than Christianity.The Babylonians had a god called Tammuz and the cross, in the form of the initial "Tou" or our "T", was a natural association.  He was seen as a life/death/rebirth diety.  All my painting is largely autobiographical in nature and I do seem to have this theme of the

transition between life and death a lot on my mind lately. 

Two Blue Matches

Two Blue Matches

Oil on museumboard

55x95mm

$100

Two Paper Matches

Two Paper Matches
54x80mm
Oil on cotton mounted on MDF 

I've put this one up on NZTrademe. To view auction click here. 
sold

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.

Another Dud

Another Dud

Oil on gessoed board
$100
sold

Dud

Dud

Oil on gessoed board
38x80mm

$100
For purchase info click here

Stillife With Matches

Stillife With Matches
Oil on gessoed board

70x87mm
$100

sold
click here for purchase info

Another tiny miniature. The major reason I've been doing these miniatures is because I've been waiting for more paint to arrive from my supplier. In many ways they take as long as larger paintings to do. You just use smaller brushes. And less paint. I always think of Morandi when I do these kind of clustered compositions.