Pre-flight painting

What better way to while away the pre-flight hours than work on tomatoes?
First - yesterday worked on the handle and rivets of the knife, and added the seeds lying on the black marble tile.

Today I sharpened up the seeds and the bakelite handle of the knife on this one

Added the gold band and rim to the plate, and deepened the joints between the wood.


If I can figure out how to load photos from my camera chip to the iPad, I'll try to post some of my sketches during the trip.

Tomato progress

Added the tomatoes and the Kramer knife blade. First layer done except for the gold band on the plate. All about getting things placed right.


Another layer on everything, particularly the plate. Still not sure about the white background above the plate.


Next Wednesday I'm leaving on a month-long trip to London, Edinburgh, and York. It's part of my continuing art education. I made the executive decision not to start two of the big, more complicated paintings before I leave, since I have these to work on. Tomorrow I'll work on the Vampire Diaries knife, maybe do the drawing for Gripland.
I've been sketching in the morning, limbering up. When I'm on the road I mostly sketch, take photos and soak in the juice one can only get when standing right in front of works of art. I'll haunt the hallowed halls the National Gallery, the Tate, The Wallace Collection, etc. DOubt I
ll catch the bouquet, but you never know.

New day, new tomato painting

I've never put so much paint down so quickly, but that is probably due to the amount of black.
Tomatoes & Vampire Diaries Knife, day one.

One tomato, two tomato, three tomato, four.

Started the commissioned Tomato & Kramer Knife today. Worked on the wood background, the cobalt ellipses of the plate and the knife handle.

Into the drying box it goes. I've put the tomatoes on the aqua plate on hold. Thinking about changing the background.

I have another - Tomato & Carpenter Knife - on a blue willow plate, and Tomato & Vampire Diaries Knife - with the delicious flaming skull mat knife - on standby. This afternoon I'll stain two more canvases with a thin coat of burnt sienna, hoping to grid and draw them tomorrow. No way they'll be finished before I leave for London, but it's nice to have things in progress.

I've come up with a title for the series of portrait based paintings - Hardwired.
The common thread of those works is how they look at the push-pull of environment and heredity, the combination of chromosomes and circumstance. Though I am a fan of free will, I suspect that destiny is just another name for DNA.

All done

Sanctuary, 16x20", oil/canvas



Drawing two more tomatoes and mixing the color for Aftermath.

Tomato & Hambidge Knife

Day after the show, and off went the Tomato & Hambidge Knife to a new home. It''s a lovely feeling to see my work find its place in the world.

The Realism show opened last night at Mason Murer Fine Art

Thanks for the good wishes, y'all.
I went early and got to meander around and really look at all the other work. I was moved and inspired by my fellow artists.
I'm always surprised by who turns up and this show was no exception. I saw people from all corners of my world - coffee and bookclub, painting class, church and family. I met a couple of Facebook friends for the first time, and even some of the film techs made it out (they are usually still working on a Friday night, but I got lucky)
My three pieces in the show were spread out, so I didn't have to stand in one spot. The tomato painting was on an easel a the reception desk, and Death Takes A Holiday was on the wall next to the bar so I can safely say everyone saw it. The other piece selected was one of my very first, Cafe Ricci. I found the cafe across the Arno, in a shaded square on one of my first trips to Florence. Love the fig pie and the Raphael postcard of la fornarina. That's hot chocolate in the cup, by the way.


Stumbled home went to bed. Nothing to do now but paint, draw and go to London in two weeks.

The El Cap Swing in Yosemite

Back in front of the easel. Worked on El Cap Swing, which I started in last May (yep, a year ago) only to grind to halt as something wasn't right. Finally decided to pop the canvas off the stretcher bars and re-stretch, making the composition tighter. It took a while to recover from that.
Yesterday I took on the rock formation on the right hand side of the canvas, El Capitan itself, and today I tackled the valley floor and most of the pine trees. Tomorrow I'm working on the Cathedral Spires in the background.

I realized after a mere three days out of town and away from paint and the feel of a brush in my hand, I have a serious painting Jones. No surprise to you guys, huh?