Heinz Ketchup III
8x16 Acrylics on canvas

This is my third version of the classic Heinz ketchup bottle. Each time I paint this bottle, I see more detail that I haven't noticed before. Light coming though my vertical blinds make for some pleasing reflections on the glass.

This is another one ready for my show.

I can't believe it's been almost a year since my last post. I apologize for my absence, but I was dealing with some pretty heavy personal matters. Things are looking up, and I have moved into a loft apartment with lots of light and room to paint. I picked up my brushes again in early Februrary. I have much more time to paint now and I'd like to take things to the next level. I'm preparing for a show and I've approached a couple of galleries within walking distance of my studio.

Stir Me (Coffee Cup and Spoon)
12x16 Acrylics on canvas

Here is the next painting in my series of coffee cups. One of my purposes in painting the same subject many times over is to become very familiar with the anatomy of the objects involved.

I didn't follow the Flemish Technique this time, and the first thing I noticed was how there was a very definite "ugly stage" while I was blocking in the basic shapes. I didn't enjoy that stage of the painting, but I managed to smooth everything and I'm more than satisfied with the results.

There's a local diner near where I live and I decided to take the opportunity to shoot my subject "in the wild" as it were. I've been preparing mock restaurant settings at home and was longing for something more natural looking. I think the window and strong backlighting in this view from Table #1 at Spud's helped achieve that, even though I did move things around a bit for a good composition.

This painting was completed entirely in Black & White following the Flemish Technique before glazing several thin layers of color. There are surprisingly few colors applied, but glazing produces additional colors optically by overlapping layers.



Spud's Griddle: View from Table #1
12x12 Acrylic on canvas
SOLD

Sunny Side Up
8x8 Acrylic on hardboard panel

Here are a couple of eggs, sunny side up. I actually prefer scrambled, but the egg yolk is such an interesting color and texture to paint.

This will be a gift for my aunt who is recuperating from surgery. I hope it helps brighten up her kitchen and lift her spirits.

Stainless Steel Tea Kettle (Dead Layer)
8x8 Acrylics on birch plywood panel

Metal objects are a source of great fascination for me. How can mere paint take on the appearance of shiny metal? The trick to painting metal is to paint exactly what you see. You must get lost in the abstract shapes and patterns that are reflected in the object. You can't think about the object you are painting, just the shapes.

Once you step back and take a look at the entire painting, your brain will take over and make huge assumptions based on your past experiences with viewing and handling metal objects. The reflections in shiny objects follow the contours of the object's surface. The color hue will give you a sense of what kind of metal it is. You may subconsciously know that the object would feel smooth and cold if you could touch it. And I'm certain there are many more complex things going on in the brain that deal with perception and reality.

This painting is a WIP (Work in Progress) and is at the Dead Layer stage. It's painted on birch plywood panel. When I paint on panels, plywood or hardboard (Masonite), I like to build up texture when I apply gesso to make up for the lack of texture that canvas gives. I also apply matte gel medium between painting sessions to further build texture and seal the painting for further ease of glazing.

Next stage is color...

Dixon No. 2 HB Pencil

Light Bulb
6x6 Golden Open Acrylics on canvas
Bid on this painting

This light bulb was surprisingly simple since it was 98% grayscale with only a hint of color. The blending went so much easier with the Open acrylics.

Anyway, there isn't much I can say about a simple light bulb, so I won't try to stick bunch of meaningless filler here.

Oh, I finally got my Internet connection. No more exciting capers in the library parking lot.

Heinz Ketchup 2
5 x 10 Golden Open Acrylics on canvas
SOLD

I painted for most of the day today. This is a Heinz ketchup bottle that I've painted before, except larger with a different background. Red is one of my favorite paint colors, probably from painting so many apples when I began painting still life.

I'm still trying out my Golden Open Acrylics. I'm really enjoying them. One thing that I appreciate about them is the slow drying time on the palette. Even if I haven't used a color for an hour and there's only a small dab remaining, I can scoop it up with my brush and use it as is.

The blending capability with these acrylics is noticable in the background where I've done almost no glazing which I typically do. And there's a small amount of glazing on the bottle.

Tomorrow I should have my Internet connection set up, so that will be nice. I'm typing this on my laptop in the parking lot of the local library. It's past closing time, but they don't turn off their WiFi, which is great for a freeloader like me.

I don't know where I was when this new product from Golden came out, but I just had to try them. I can't give a fair review yet, but I can tell you that these paints are very interesting to work with and I can see lots of potential for using them in my work. They are not buttery like quality oil paints, but they do stay wet long enough to blend like oils. They get tacky a bit faster than Liquin and oils, so you do have to blend right away. The gloss medium and thinner that I purchased with the paints seem to have the ability to soften tacky paint on the palette to make them usable again. I haven't tried the thinner on the canvas yet. I've completed one small painting with these, and it does appear like an oil painting. I can mix my normal acrylics with them, but it's not adviseable to use normal acrylics over wet Open Acrylics. I expect you'll get a nice crackle effect. Golden Open Acrylics.