Out of the Dark

8x10" oil on stretched canvas. $80. Available here

I have this mug which I have painted once before- it's so dark, and not particularly reflective, and can become a bit of a "black hole" in compositions, so I don't use it a lot. But here, I found some lighter subjects to surround it with- some dried flowers, and clementines, which actually bounced some light and colour off it! Here, everyone gathers around a fallen leaf, speculating on its fate...

Not Quite Oranges

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

These little orange fruits are just sold as "easy peelers" so I'm not sure what particular species of citrus they are. But they look great accompanying my little copper jug- lovely warm colours that really make the greens pop!

Clementines: Blue Vase

4x4 inches, acrylic on canvas board. SOLD

Another installment in my ongoing clementine series. In this one I've used a small blue vase I found at a charity store while looking for interesting painting subjects. I like the way the wedges reflect in it.

Clementines: Quarters

4x4 inches, acrylic on canvas board.  $25  Available at Daily Paintworks

The hardest bit of this painting by far was mixing the right colour for the blade of the knife. I really like the shape of the clementine wedges, I'm happy with how they came out. Cutting up the fruit takes this series in a slightly different direction.

Clementines: Safari

8x8 inches, acrylic on stretched canvas. $65. Buy with Paypal

Here's the largest of the Clementine series so far- I found this zebra-print tissue paper and was eager to use it in one of my paintings.

I’ve been working at all different sizes this year- massive paintings on A2 paper for college, and tiny ones, like my 3x3 paintings. I think I prefer smaller sizes for oil and acrylics- 8x10 inches and under is good. There’s an attitude of ‘bigger is better’ in some parts of the art world, but I tend to disagree. Small paintings are easier to store and to display. They’re more affordable as well- I’m slowly building a collection of smaller pieces I’ve bought at local galleries. And I like to think small paintings can still stand out and make an impact visually. That’s something I’m trying to achieve with these little ones.

Clementines: Premiere

6x8 inches, acrylic on stretched canvas. $50.  Buy it Now

Another installment of my Clementine series. When I was arranging this set up, the strip of red paper reminded me of the red carpet at movie premieres, thus the title. I really love the black and white patterned paper I used in this composition, and I will be using it more in future- it adds drama to the arrangement and it's a very fun challenge to paint!

Clementines: Queue

6x8 inches, acrylic on stretched canvas. $50   Click to Bid

Part of my ongoing Clementines series. I think this is the best of this series so far in terms of capturing the form of the clementines. I tried a slightly different process here, working a little faster into wet paint and letting the colours blend initially. I will have to try it again in future.

Clementines: Diamonds

6x6 inches, acrylic on canvas board. SOLD

Here's the next clementine painting: this one features a metallic diamond patterned paper. I really liked how the gold reflected the orange in places.

Clementines: Stripes

6x6 inches, acrylic on canvas board.   $20    Place a Bid

This is the first in a series of paintings I've been working on. I got the idea while wrapping a present last night- why not use patterned wrapping paper in the background of my still life paintings? Then I discovered a bowl of clementines in the dining room and it fell into place.

I've already done a whole bunch of clementine paintings using different papers- and I still feel excited to do more. It's great when you're in the midst of a wave of motivation!