Wednesday 22 February 2017

Under Siege

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here

I've missed painting sprouts! They're great to depict, with all their tightly furled, veiny leaves. But my favourite thing about this painting is how strong and bright the light seems, shining through the plate and onto the clementines!


Tuesday 21 February 2017

Safe In Here

7x5" acrylic on canvas. $40. Available here

Here's another painting featuring one of my new plates; this time, the lemon is taking refuge from the tomato gang. I really enjoy the colours in this one, and the vertical composition.


Monday 20 February 2017

Pepper In Pursuit

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here

I recently bought a few of these little plates in different colours- they're a ton of fun to paint! I love the way the light shines through them and the rippled edges send streaks of colour across the surface below. Here, they provide a safe haven for the tomatoes as the pepper chases them...


The Goblet

6x8" oil on canvas board. $45. Available here

Here's a still life in oils! I was in the mood to do something a bit more traditional than the colourful acrylic compositions I've been working on lately, and when I dug this old silver goblet out of a cupboard, I knew it had to be the centre of the piece. I found a slice of melon in the fridge which I was eager to paint as well- and blueberries, I love capturing the way the light reflects off them. The trickiest part was the lettuce leaf, the way it curls and folds over took a lot of squinting and re-painting to get right.




Almost Invisible

7x5" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here

I really enjoy painting glass- it's a lot of fun to capture the subtle reflected colours and spots of light that suggest its form.


Friday 17 February 2017

The Green Jar Returns

6x8" acrylic on canvas board. $45. Available here

I dug this green glass jar out of a drawer today- I'd been wondering where it had disappeared to. I used it quite a bit in my early daily paintings, so I thought I'd try it out again. This is my last attempt at the Chunked Challenge (simply because I don't want to swamp the page with my own entries!) something a little lighter and brighter than the previous one, the items have a bit more room to breathe here!


Thursday 16 February 2017

Chunky Jug

 5x7" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here

I tried to push the 'blocked in strokes' really far for this attempt at the Chunked Challenge. I realised that keeping the subject simple, and using a really strong directional light to create lots of contrast, makes it a lot easier!


Huddled Together

6x6" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here

The first of a series of attempts at the Chunked Challenge. I didn't quite manage to simplify the forms as much as I'd like... I realised afterwards I probably should have chosen a slightly simpler subject to start with. But I do like packing lots of things into the canvas! It's so fun to create these compositions with lots of pops of light and colour.


Wednesday 8 February 2017

Blue Vase

8x10" acrylic on canvas board. $65. Available here 

I wanted to try painting a backlit still life. I'm really happy with the vibrant complementary colours here!


Summer Light

10x12" acrylic on canvas board. $75. Available here

A return to one of my favourite subjects, sunlit paths through trees. I bought myself a larger pochade box recently, and I'm looking forward to going out and capturing the local nature reserve on a larger scale this spring/summer! So I'm trying to practice completing paintings at this size.


Saturday 4 February 2017

Loch Doine

8x10" oil on canvas board. $65. Available here

I've been painting a lot of wintery scenes and nocturnes lately, so I decided to take a break from those subjects and paint something vibrant and green!





Fog and Pines

6x8" oil on canvas board. $45. Available here

I'm finally getting back into using oil paints a bit! They work really well for these cold, foggy scenes. Here, the path led up a hill which was lined with pine trees; the fog was quite thick, and you couldn't see that far ahead, but it created a really beautiful, eerie atmosphere.




Pine Trees, Autumn

8x10" acrylic on canvas board. $65. Available here

I've painted these pine trees before, in summer, when they were surrounded by green trees and chervil. Here they are at the end of autumn, while everything around them turns gold.




Misty January Morning

10x12" acrylic on canvas board. $75. Available here

Trying to capture that cold, winter morning feeling. I really enjoyed how this path curved through the landscape!