Still Lifes from 2019

My previous blog posts have shown still lifes I've painted since late 2016 through 2018. For most of 2019 I was focusing on landscape paintings. During the spring and summer I went plein air painting a number of times. Back in the studio I was focusing on 5 larger studio paintings. Though I did paint one still life in July with a student of mine, in early September I started still lifes again.

First I began with several cupcake paintings. These were painted alla prima within an hour. If time permits I prefer to paint my still lifes alla prima. For larger works that may take days or weeks to complete, I try to paint each individual object in one go if time permits.

My 19 year nephew Dylan who lives in San Antonio, TX is becoming something of an art collector, or at least patron of my work. Every Summer since he was 12 he would visit me in Seattle and he often saw me working on paintings during his visit. Last summer I painted an alla prima cupcake and after I posted it on Instagram he immediately bought it. He was interested in my mint chocolate chip cupcake but it was bought by another collector. He currently has his eyes on another recent still life I just completed.

Funfetti Cupcake, 2019, Oil on Panel, 7 x 5, Private Collection

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcake, 2019, Oil on Panel, 5 x 7, Private Collection

Red Velvet Cupcake, 2019, Oil on Panel, 5 x 7, Private Collection

Cupcake with Cherry, 2019, Oil on Panel, 6 x 6, Private Collection

Lighting whelk Shell with Pigments, 2019, Oil on Panel, 8 x 10, Available through https://www.goetzeartanddesign.com/

In 2019 I also acquired some new still life props! These were taxidermy squirrels, a rabbit, and mice. I will post the mice still lifes next time.

Red Squirrel with walnuts and Roemer Glass, 2019, Oil on Panel, 12 x 16, Available through https://www.goetzeartanddesign.com/

More still lifes

In a previous blog post, I posted still lifes I have painted since 2016 through November 2018. Here are more!

Oranges with Rhino Beetle and Carpenter Bee (Detail)

 Oranges with Rhino Beetle and Carpenter Bee, 2018, 8 x 10, Oil on Panel, Private Collection 

Still life with Horseshoe Crab, Crayfish, Berkemeyer Glass and Vole Shell; 2018, 11 x 14, Oil on Panel, available through https://www.goetzeartanddesign.com/

Seashells, 2018, 6 x 9, Oil on Panel, Private Collection

Florida Fighting Conch Shell and Striped Fox Shell, 2018, 6 x 9, Oil on Panel, Private Collection

Lemon with Roemer Glass, 2018, 12 x 9, Oil on Panel, Private Collection

In 2018 I painted a handful of other still lifes I didn't post. In my next blog post I will show the still lifes painted in late 2019.

Still Lifes from the past Two years

Back in 2016 I posted a still life that I had painted from life, and not a reference. Since then I have painted dozens of still lifes using a number of props from my collection. These props include replica 17th Century Dutch Roemer glasses, preserved insects, taxidermy animals, and crustaceans I've had in my freezer since August 2017.

Here are some of my favorite still lifes painted over the years. As you will see, 2018 was quite a productive year.

Song Dynasty Cash Coins and Vermillion Pigment, 2016, 6 x6, oil on panel, available through https://www.goetzeartanddesign.com/

Shell Still Life II, 2016, 6 x 8, oil on panel, Private Collection

Reliquae Romanae I, 2016, 6 x 8, Oil on Panel, 2016, Private Collection

Crayfish and Berkemeyer Glass, 2018, 8 x 10, Oil on Panel, available through https://www.goetzeartanddesign.com/

Pomegranate and Berkemeyer Glass, 2018, 8 x 10, Oil on Panel, Private Collection

Doughnut and Anole Lizard, 2018, 5 x7, Oil on Panel, Private Collection.

Blood Orange and Roemer Glass, 2018, 9 x 12, Private Collection

Pomegranate and Lizard, 2018, 10 x 8, Oil on Panel, Private Collection

For my next update I will post other still lifes painted since late 2018.

30 Paintings in 30 Days, Part 3

Here are the last ten paintings from lasts year's 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.

9 x 12 Oil on Masonite Panel

Continuing the overcast day themed paintings, this one was inspired by areas near Berkeley and Westover Plantations in Charles City, County. 

12 x 9 Oil on Masonite Panel

In these paintings, the humidity of Virginia Spring and Summers influences the atmospheric effects. The figures have been added not only for scale, but to create a narrative. Kudzu covers the trunk of the tree in the foreground, which is a common sight of this invasive plant throughout the south.

8 x 10 Oil on Masonite Panel

Forest creeks in Prince George County inspired this scene along with some Corot paintings. Bailey's Creek and Wall's Run were two creeks I've explored a bit growing up. When I was a kid my father told me about a large prehistoric shark's tooth that was in Bailey's creek on Fort Lee. Whenever I would explore the creeks I would search the gravel for artifacts. 

6 x 12 Oil on Masonite Panel

This sky was inspired skies I had seen in Seattle last year. I decided to take memories of those skies and put them in a Virginia landscape.

5 x 7 Oil on Masonite Panel

Getting back to twilight tonalist painting on this one, I used Rublev Colors' Orange Molybdate for the red/orange glow at the horizon.

6 x 9 Oil on Masonite Panel, Private Collection

This painting was among my favorites I had painted during the 30 day challenge. I loved the colors so much I want to do a painting in the future with similar lighting and color.

6 x 9 Oil on Masonite Panel

Springtime in Virginia during a shower. I wanted to push the atmosphere in this painting not only to create depth, but also to capture the effect of a springtime shower while keeping the focus on the tree and figure in the foreground.

6 x 9 Oil on Masonite Panel

This one was inspired by a sunrise I saw on December morning, during a run in Seattle at Maple Leaf reservoir park. It was amazing watching the sun appear through the early morning fog in pink and lavender colors. Once again I put the sky into a Virginia landscape.

6 x 9 Oil on Masonite Panel, Private Collection

George Inness inspired this painting which I set among young pines in Virginia. The figure and dog walk through tall grass as the day ends. Chrome Green, Chrome Yellow Medium, and Orange Molybdate dominate the scene along with darker tones which were created with either a burnt umber or Bone Black.

6 x 12 Oil on Masonite Panel

This was the final 30th painting in the 30 day challenge. By this point I was exhausted. Coming up with ideas from my imagination and memory was not easy. I would like to do the 30 day challenge again, but this time paint a variety of subjects such as dogs, still lifes, portraits, and of course landscapes.

30 Paintings in 30 Days, Part 2

This post covers paintings 11 through 20 of last year's 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge. I talked about it in a previous post. For these paintings I continued to explore tonalism, but I also was inspired  by Corot. Once again here are ten paintings with some commentary on each piece.

8 x 10, Oil on Masonite Panel

This one was the first of larger paintings during the 30 Day challenge. Up to this point I was painting 5 x7 and 6 x 8 paintings. In fact the day I painted this one I also painted a 5 x7 which is the last painting seen in my previous post. For this one and the 5 x7 I began to use Rublev Colours Wilson's Medium. I think I continued to use it for the rest of the paintings. I'll talk more about that medium in a future post.

5 x7, Oil on Masonite Panel

This one was inspired by George Inness. I didn't talk about my palette yet but some of the key colors I was using for many of these paintings was Rublev Colours Chrome Green, Cinnabar Green, Chrome Yellow Primrose, and Chrome Yellow Medium. The Chrome Green was used to create the green/blue skies and dark green foliage. It is a green I recognized in many George Inness paintings.

8 x 10, Oil on Masonite Panel

Most of the paintings were from my imagination, inspired by rural Virginia. This one is of City Point, Virginia based on a plein air watercolor I painted in April 2017 and memory. It shows a view on the James River looking south towards Jordan's Point. I wanted to get more atmospheric with this one. I did repaint it last summer, and I'll post that one as an update to this post in the future.

6 x 6, Oil on Masonite Panel

I had just received Rublev Colour's Orange Molybdate which I had never tried before. Two of my painter friends recommended it and I decided to give it a try. It quickly became a staple on my landscape painting palette, replacing Rublev's Minium. I'll talk more about this lovely red-orange in a future post.

8 x 10, Oil on Masonite Panel

More Orange Molybdate in this one. 

8 x 10, Oil on Masonite Panel

My first nocturne, another painting inspired by City Point, Virginia. This time it's a view looking north showing the James and Appomattox Rivers along with the factories in Bermuda Hundred. Rublev's Maya Blue and Blue Black dominated this painting.

6 x 6, Oil on Masonite Panel

With this little painting my landscapes veered off into a different direction inspired by Corot. I became interested in painting cloudy, rainy days depicting the dampness of the landscape.

8 x 10, Oil on Masonite Panel

This one was among my favorites and I would like to paint a larger version in the future. The gray of the sky is warmer because I used Rublev's Black Roman Earth.

8 x 10, Oil on Masonite Panel

Missing fall in Virginia because most falls in Seattle have been wet. I do admit fall 2017 in Seattle wasn't too bad and among the driest falls since I've lived there. The lone figure with his dog reflects the solitude we can find in nature. Though the person in my painting carries a rifle for hunting, I think of the hours I spent metal detecting during falls in Prince George.

9 x 12, Oil on Masonite Panel

I began to paint larger at this point, still inspired by Corot and cloudy days in cloudy days in Virginia.

 It wasn't until recently I had begun to appreciate the beauty of rural Virginia, even on a cloudy day. This painting expresses that sentiment.

30 Paintings in 30 Days, Part 1

Last year about this time I painted several small landscape studies because I wanted to experiment with color, composition, and mood. After making a painting a day for almost a week I decided to challenge myself and create 30 paintings in 30 days. It was a success though exhausting, but I feel it made me a better painter.

Most of the paintings were tonalist, a style which I had been interested in since Summer 2016. The 30 day challenge allowed me to explore tonalism and I enjoyed creating mood and atmosphere in my landscapes. In addition to tonalism I was inspired by Corot whose Barbizon landscapes inspired the later American tonalists.

The landscapes were also inspired by growing up in rural Prince George, Virginia. For the past couple of years I had wanted to paint landscapes inspired by the place I grew up. I created a few paintings, but they were in turn inspired by 18th Century Colonial Virginia. This series of paintings focused on my connection to rural Virginia and the beauty of the countryside depicted in the tonalist style.

Here is the first ten of 30 paintings in the order in which they were painted along with some commentary on each piece.

 6 x 8, Oil on ACM Panel

The first of the 30 paintings, inspired by the farm of a family friend in Prince George, Virginia. I used to metal detect on her land in search of relics from the Colonial period through the early 1800's. Often I'd stay til twilight hoping my metal detector would find something long lost and forgotten. 

6 x 6, Oil on Masonite Panel

This one was inspired by the James River Plantations in Charles City County, looking west across the James river at sunset.

5 x 7, Oil on Masonite panel

Sunrise when the fields are covered in morning dew. 

5 x 7, Oil on Masonite Panel, Private Collection

Summer Sunset in Prince George County.

6 x 8, Oil on ACM Panel

In the past decade parts of Prince George County have seen the development of land cleared for new houses and subdivisions, especially with the expansion and growth of Fort Lee. This painting was inspired by rugged tracts of land that had been cleared of the forests. 

5 x 7, Oil on Masonite Panel

I was inspired by the oppressive humidity of a hot Virginia Summer. I miss Virginia, but not the heat and humidity. 

6 x 8, oil on ACM Panel

Originally was a winter landscape-no snow, but reworked with asphaltum glazes last June.

5 x 7, Oil on Masonite Panel

Sunset during a Virginia Summer.

6 x 6, Oil on Masonite Panel

This one was not a Virginia inspired painting. I wanted to try something with a pond.

5 x 7, Oil on Masonite Panel

This little painting is among my favorites. I love putting people (and sometimes their dogs) into my landscapes. It speaks to the human experience with nature and the moments in which we find peace or behold the evening light in awe.