Still Life of Onions with Knife

Still Life of Onions with Knife

oil on canvas panel

6" x 6"
SOLD

I love the sense of accomplishment you get when a painting is done. I finished this one last night and I have to say that I am really pleased with how it turned out. I think it is my favorite so far.

Still In Progress

All day I was looking forward to getting into the studio tonight and working on the "Onions" painting. But at 4:45, right as I was getting ready to wrap it up at work I got an emergency project that had to be completed tonight. So instead of painting, I am designing. Oh well, at least we have a long weekend coming up. Work has been pretty crazy recently. So I haven't had the time or energy to paint very much. Next week I hope to get back to a more regular schedule of painting.

Above is a shot of the "Onions" current progress. I haven't settled on a title yet, so for now I'm calling it onions. I've been using Gamblin's Neo Megilp for my medium on this one and I have to say that I'm digging it so far. I usually use Liquin which is great, but I wanted to try some other mediums so I decided to give Megilp a try. The consistency is pretty close to Liquin out of the bottle but when mixed in with the paint it seems to be a little more buttery. The peaks and valleys in my brushstrokes seem to melt away, leaving a smooth glossy finish. One downside is that it seems to dry a little slower. Instead of drying overnight like Liquin it takes a good two days to dry completely. Since I'm not currently painting every day this isn't a problem.

Not sure if I am ready to make the switch from Liquin yet, but it does have some great qualities. I also want to try some more traditional mediums like linseed oil, which I have never used. I think for my next painting I will try some stand oil + turps.

Work In Progress

Here are two in progress shots of my current painting. It's a still life setup with two onions and a knife. I am painting this from a photograph that I shot of the arrangement. This is the first time since starting back into painting that I have not painted from life. I'm viewing the photograph from a small laptop that is setup in my studio. The reference image on my monitor is a little dull and faded from reality, but I think it will work.

Tomato

Tomato
oil on canvas panel
6" x 6"
SOLD

The tomato seen in this painting came from the garden my wife started this summer. We have at least twenty tomatoes sitting on our windowsill waiting to be eaten. I figured she would never know if one was missing, so I borrowed this one to paint. I wanted to finish this piece in one sitting, but that didn't happen. I ended up doing an additional layer on the tomato and the background.

Garlic with Silver Cup

Garlic with Silver Cup
oil on canvas panel
6" x 6"
SOLD

Just put the finishing touches on the "Garlic with Silver Cup" piece. It took me a while to get a decent photograph of this painting. It seems I always lose subtle color variations and detail in the photographs. All my paintings to this point have had a dark background, which reflect a lot of light back at the camera. Do any of you have tips for photographing dark paintings?

Garlic with Silver Cup - In Progress

Wow! I am exhausted. I just wrapped up an all-nighter. Looked at my iPod when I finished, and it had played 190 tracks during the night. Tonight was one of those sessions where you get into a groove and you don't want to quit. Little did I know my wife had plans to go shopping with her Mom this morning so I need to stay up to watch our two year son. Looks like I will not be getting any shut eye for a few more hours until my wife gets home.

Since I'm up, I might as well post some progress shots. I have to say I'm really happy with how this painting is turning out. It has been a fun piece to work on and I feel like I have learned a lot.

Garlic with Silver Cup - In Progress

I've been sick with a cold so this painting hasn't changed much since the last update. Now that I am feeling better I hope to wrap it up pretty soon. I contemplated pulling an all-nighter tonight to make some headway into finishing it, but I have decided to head to bed and leave it for another day.