The first task of the painter is to make a flat surface give the appearance of a body standing out from the surface -- and whoever outstrips others in this respect is most worthy of praise. This science, or rather this peak of our knowledge, depends on light and shade.
- Leonardo Da Vinci
3/27/2010

Heinz Ketchup III

Posted by Anonymous

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.

3/25/2010

I'm back!

Posted by Anonymous

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.


Here is the first painting I completed. It's one of my favorite kettles sitting on my stove.

Stove
8x10 Acrylic on canvas


4/12/2009

Stir Me (Coffee Cup and Spoon)

Posted by Anonymous

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.

3/07/2009

Toy Blocks

Posted by Anonymous


Toy Blocks
6x8 Acrylic on canvas
I was looking at these toy blocks that my father had and a block with a really cool dog stamped on it caught my eye. I decided to see if I could find enough blocks to spell the word dog and I eventually came up with this setup.
This painting is all about shadow and light, and some memories of happy childhood days.

2/12/2009

Light Bulb

Posted by Anonymous



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.

2/06/2009

Open Acrylics - Onion

Posted by Anonymous


Onion 2009
by artist Mark T. Woodland
6x8 Golden Open Acrylics on canvas

Here is my first painting using Golden Open Acrylics. They definitely blend much better than regular acrylics, and similar to oils. They don't flow as well as oils, but that's where the thinner and medium help, somewhat like terps and linseed oil for oil paints. The colors in the onion skin and the gray area around the onion blended very nicely and effortlessly. Normally I would be scrubbing my regular acrylics with a bristle brush or glazing much more to get the effect of blending. It may take some time to take full advantage of this paint's blending property since I am not accustomed to having it.