Priming board day!

Wednesday was spent taking a trip into my Magnet Mart to purchase a huge sheet of MDF which they then cut into panels for me. 30cm x 30cm (12x12in) and 20cm x 20cm (8x8in). I then brought them home, put on a Midsummer Murder DVD and primed all the panels for the rest of the day. Phew! Should keep me out of trouble for a while!
I prime my panels with 2 coats of gesso tinted with burnt siennna.

Woody study

Sheriff Woody doll - study
Oil on board
30cm x 30cm

I have been wanting to paint the kids toys for ages and had a real battle on my hands trying to do this one. Even though this Sheriff Woody doll had been buried at the bottom of the toy box for months, as soon as I dug it out and set it up my son suddenly wanted to play with it!
After the third day I gave in, he played with it for 5 minutes, then I found Woody balancing precariously on the edge of the toilet seat - nice!
I used a light box with lamp light coming directly above through hole in the top, Woody blu-tacked to a glass behind his back to stop him slipping!

Happy New Year!!

I know, a little late but you know what they say... I forget, what do they say?
Anyhoo, I was working on this little number end of last year using the carder method. I abandoned the method and finally finished it today. The image is cropped a little so the edge of the saucer isn't actually right up against the canvas edge.
Getting married in 4 weeks so if i'm not around for awhile, you know why.
Enjoy my hardcore fan base of 2!! You know who you are.

Tomato in a Box

Tomato in a Box, oil on canvas, 20 x 20cm, 2009

Here's another from my box series, man I feel like I'm wasting my time here. I've seriously got to increase traffic to my little blogarena. I'll keep painting though because that's what I do.
If ANYONE would like to comment, feel free.
And for christ sake, will someone feed the fish!

Milk Frother Pot

Milk Frother Pot, oil on canvas, 25cm x 25cm
SOLD.

Yes, a milk frother pot. You put hot milk in, pump the top up and down and it makes delicious frothy milk perfect for DIY cappuccino's.
Wanted to try painting something really shiny. How did I do?

Trompe L'oeil Box

Have been playing around with the idea of creating more realism by painting still life objects in a painted box - to give it depth. Yes, I need to learn how to take photo's square!

Wine decanter and soapstone jar

Finally, I purchased a new camera! Nifty little thing too.
The kids were away at their grandmothers for a week during the school holidays and I was able to paint up to 6 hours a day. It was great.

After I'd set up this still life, I really wanted to concentrate on subduing my colours. I recently read that an amateur always exaggerates colour. When I'm working on a piece from my imagination I do this allot but I want to be accurate when I'm painting from real life.

I used a colour checker which is a handy little tool developed by Mark Carder. www.thecardermethhod.com

Hope you like it.