Postcards From The Easel A Blog about the Art and Artifice of Still Life Painting
Green Apple No. 3
Red Onion No. 3 “Red Onion No. 3” Oil on panel, 4×4 inches, 2010In a simple painting, even the small details can become important. With so few elements in this painting, the fibers of the root and stem became expressive: The angles and the way the light fell upon them became a small drama in […]
Red Onion No. 3
Red Onion No. 3 “Red Onion No. 3” Oil on panel, 4×4 inches, 2010In a simple painting, even the small details can become important. With so few elements in this painting, the fibers of the root and stem became expressive: The angles and the way the light fell upon them became a small drama in […]
Sushi on Green Marble
Sushi on Green Marble “Sushi on Green Marble” Oil on panel, 5×6 inches, 2013 (sold)Sushi must be the most beautiful and artful food in its own right. I started painting sushi long before I started eating it – it took me a long time to acquire the taste. But even now, when a plate of […]
Red Apple No. 3
Red Apple No. 3 “Red Apple No. 3” Oil on panel, 4×4 inches, 2010 (sold)It’s not always a good idea to pull back the curtain and reveal what’s behind it. In fact, with art, it’s usually not wise. But this time, I will. I needed a small cylindrical column to wrap the green cloth around […]
Teacup and Teapot on an Oriental Rug
Teacup and Teapot on an Oriental Rug “Teacup and Teapot on an Oriental Rug” Oil on Linen, 10×8 inches, 2012 (sold)Sometimes a painting is only meant to do a very simple thing: Conjure up the memory – real or imagined – of one very specific moment, and all the emotions and feelings that moment held. […]
Lemon No. 1
Lemon No. 1 “Lemon No. 1” Oil on Panel, 4×4 inches, 2010 (sold)Perhaps more than any other form of painting, still life encourages a slow, careful, and thoughtful approach. Rather than quickly dashing things off, colors and forms are studied and considered at length. The painter who adopts this approach soon realizes – for instance […]
Eggshells, Tankard, Orange
Eggshells, Tankard, Orange “Eggshells, Tankard, Orange” Acrylic on Panel, 5×6 inches, 2015 (sold)At a certain point, many artists come to realize they’re not painting people, places, or things – they’re just painting light. They love to study what is before them to discover the story that the light tells as it flows through the scene, […]
Sushi No. 28
Sushi No. 28 “Sushi No. 28” Oil on Panel, 5×6 inches, 2012 (sold)The real star of this painting isn’t the sushi (although sushi can be one of the most beautiful things to paint). It’s the stone slab that the composition rests on. Almost impossibly colored, with rich veins and contrasting tones shooting off in all […]
Pear, Egg, Wineglass
Pear, Egg, Wineglass “Pear, Egg, Wineglass” Oil on Linen, 6×8 inches, 2013 (sold)I light the majority of my compositions from directly above – we call it top light. It creates some of the most beautiful and subtle effects as it gently moves down the scene. In fact, it’s often helpful to think of the light […]
Lemon on a Silver Candlestick No. 1
Lemon on a Silver Candlestick No. 1 “Lemon on a Silver Candlestick No. 1” Oil on Panel, 4×4 inches, 2010 (sold)The silver candlestick in this painting came from a small workshop in Cuernavaca, Mexico. After I asked a few questions about it (in my terrible Spanish), they invited me out back so I could watch […]
Orange, Glass, Silver
Orange, Glass, Silver “Orange, Glass, Silver” Oil on linen, 8×10 inches, 2007 (sold)It’s really magic what a simple glass of water can do. When viewed from the right angle, it begins to act like a mirror. Towards the edges of the glass, though, it begins to distort the image in interesting and dramatic ways. And […]
Red Plum on Green Silk
Red Plum on Green Silk “Red Plum on Green Silk” Oil on panel, 5×5 inches, 2013 (sold)The best part of doing this paint was the bluish film that you find on the surface of many plums. It’s actually a wax – called Epicuticular wax – that appears on many fruits to help conserve moisture. To […]
The Debate
The Debate “The Debate” Oil on panel, 6×11 inches, 2010 (sold)A little tongue-in-cheek humor formed the basis for the design of this painting. I’m not sure who had the better points, but there were undoubtedly beautiful elements on both sides. The old piece of barn wood they sat on was actually the most gratifying passage […]
Silver, Wine, and Cheese
Silver, Wine, and Cheese “Silver, Wine, and Cheese” Oil on panel, 24×24 inches, 2012 (sold)In terms of sheer detail, this is probably the most complex painting that I have done. The cloth that flows through the whole painting was a daunting piece of work. Not only was it constantly shifting in terms of how light […]
Vessels and Cloths
Vessels and Cloths “Vessels and Cloths” Oil on canvas, 20×16 inches, 2016 (sold)In a way, this painting is really about the way colors can be used to unify a painting: See how the colors of the red cloth are picked up in the small vase at top, the green cloth almost flows into the jar […]
Fragment: Bottle and Tibetan Carpet
Fragment: Bottle and Tibetan Carpet “Fragment: Bottle and Tibetan Carpet” Oil on panel, 4×4 inches, 2009 (sold)This simple miniature painting features two favorite objects from my studio. The rug – a small meditation mat – was purchased during a visit to a Tibetan monastery in India. The bottle is quite old, and has an uneven, […]
Sometimes It’s a Struggle
“Yellow Teapot, Porcelain Cup” • Oil on Panel • 5×5 inches I can’t usually find much to say about the day to day activities of making paintings in the studio. I know it’s something inherently interesting, and people always want to learn more about it. But to me, it’s just what I do every day, […]
Spending Time With Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer, “Young Woman with a Water Pitcher”Oil on canvas, 18×16 inches, painted circa 1662-1665 A teacher once told me that the way to study was to pick one artist – just one – whose work you love and feel a special affinity with. Then, for a period of at least a few months, immerse yourself […]
Rewriting An Artist’s Statement
“Feather and Creamer”, oil on panel, 5×5 inches(Click to see more images) Artists’ statements are strange little pieces of writing, which every artist is more or less expected to present to their audience. They are an opportunity for the artist to encapsulate and explain their goals, aesthetics, and sometimes working methods. And it should all […]
Peacock and Dragon
“Peacock and Dragon”, oil on panel, 5×5 inches (Click to see more images) The title of this painting – “Peacock and Dragon” – comes from the decorative images on the teapot and teacup, respectively. When I decide on a title for a painting, I usually do a quick search for the words to make sure there […]