Working on Still Life

After spending a few weeks on larger paintings, I'm taking a breather and painting some simpler still life pieces. Wow, what a change of pace.

The key to success in anything is constantly working on your craft. Painting anything is an opportunity to improve, experiment and refine. I get squirrely when I'm away from the studio for to long. Being in the studio and painting makes me happy.

Below are some photos of my subjects and a shelf in my studio where three pieces in the works wait patiently for their turn at the easel.

Another Artist in the Making

I've written about my daughters interest in the studio, but my son has taken me by surprise over the last week or so with his own creative endeavors.

Where my daughter will make art for the sake of making art. My son, however, needs a little more black and white approach. There has to be a concrete purpose behind it. It has to be very linear and tell a story. And nothing does that better for a kid than a comic strip.

So now my studio has early drafts of comic strips hanging around. And the best part is it's entirely his own doing.

Painting in Progress: Manual of Psychology

Today I began a painting with a book, the "Manual of Psychology" as one of the subjects. By an author who's last name is so similar to mine that I was thinking I could be very sly and sneak mine in instead, we're just one letter off. But I won't because I claim no authority on the subject of psychology.

I'm fortunate to have an antique shop a block from my house. However, I'm a little worried about how long it'll continue business, as the fellow who runs the place looks like he's been at it for about, oh, 150 years. When you enter the shop you have to courteously announce your presence because I'm not so sure he can actually turn to see if someone has entered. If I were a portrait painter I'd try with all my might to capture this fellow. I recently read The Lathe of Heaven in which a tortoise-like alien owns and operates an antique shop... well, lets just say that entering the shop near my house leaves you wondering if you're trapped in a science fiction novel and your dreams are coming true.

I picked up the book "It's Story Time" at the aforementioned shop. I think its title and subject contrasts perfectly with the thick, heavy subject and title of the "Manual of Psychology". I'll put that down in the notebook with ideas for future paintings.