Yeah, here comes the Rooster...

 

No we ain't gonna die-e-e-e... And I'm not dead, either! Alas, this post is not about Alice In Chains, but there is a rooster - two of them, in fact, or if you prefer, one rooster shown two ways. This is a matched pair of 9" x 12" paintings on panel:

 


 

9" x 12" oils on gessoed panel...

"Rooster & Grapes" on Etsy

"Rooster & Nectarine" on Etsy

I've decided to move away from small daily paintings and start producing larger pieces. In consideration of those days when the daily 6x6 isn't any good, or when the non-art world rudely intrudes on my work routine - a Category of Pain under which I place the phenomenon of "economic collapse", by the way - my lack of an explicitly "daily" update makes a mockery of the word. I'm going to expand and change up things a bit, so I plan to make some changes around here over the next week or two. I've found a good place to acquire nice flowers at a reasonable price, so I will have some flower paintings in addition to other new stuff (flowers are a subject I've wanted to explore for a while, and with spring coming up, I'm that much happier to wander afield from small fruity things).

"Strawberry Pair"

 

 

Click Here to Purchase on Etsy!

 

6" x 6" oil on gessoed panel

 

I apologize for my lack of posts lately - I came down with some sort of sickness last week. It must be something going around the entire country, because I know of multiple people in different states who have been ill in the past two weeks. Thankfully I am now back underway, (relatively) healthy again and apparently free from January doldrums.

 

I've never painted strawberries before. I like them. They are of course pleasantly red, and good strawberries on home-made shortcake with real whipped cream is a pleasure fit for kings. Such was the post-painting fate I had planned for these, but the lady roommate decided to eat them plain while watching television. Next time, my pretties... Next time you will be shortcake...

"Green Apple Present" - SOLD

 

 

SOLD!

 

6" x 6" oil on gessoed panel

 

I once had a color theory teacher who harbored a silly hatred for chartreuse. We were actually told that we would be penalized for using it in any assignments, because "It had no use anywhere" (It's safe to say this woman knows nothing about the original 1970s Lamborghini Miura and has never seen any nightclub flyers). Since taking that class years ago, I like to keep an eye out for chartreuse-type greens in daily use. The latest appearance was on last Sunday's "Thanskgiving Showdown" episode of Iron Chef America. Besides a really wicked Indian Pudding dessert cooked by Bobby Flay, the show featured a chartreuse ICA "crossed knives" logo on the judge's table.

 

For my part, I picked up a delightfully retro green background cloth at a fabric store the other day, and I decided to put it to use with a yellow-green apple and a small gift box from the roommate's jewelry cabinet. Green is my all-around favorite color to begin with, so it was fun to throw together various blues with my two mainstay yellows. The downside is that it was hard to adjust the photograph of the painting, with all the subtle yellow-greens in play.

"Nectarine In The Mountains" - SOLD

 

 

SOLD!

 

5 "x 7" oil on gessoed panel

 

Another arrangement discovered at random. During setup I put the nectarine down on my green cloth while I was organizing something else. When I looked back at the pile, I realized that I liked how the highlights had fallen on the cloth. I felt that there was only so much I could do with nectarines on a cheap glossy table, and the fruit I had purchased was getting over-ripe, so this is the last nectarine painting for now.

"Nectarine On Green"

 

 

Click here to purchase on Etsy

 

6" x 6" oil on gessoed panel

 

In the interest of economy, I endeavour to choose fruit for painting that will also be good for later eating. The large, soft fruits featured in the local stores are usually not very good, but this past week the nectarines were a fragrant, tasty exception. This being my first-ever painting study of a nectarine, I decided to keep it simple.