Tuesday 31 March 2015

Mandarines on Saucer

Oil painting of two mandarines on a willow pattern saucer.
I've scanned this painting before it's fully dry (I'm off to the country for the Easter break), so it could be called a drying saucer, especially given it's attended by seasonally-alien mandarines (new-season mandarines at least).

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Monday 30 March 2015

Nashi Pear with Blue Castor Oil Bottle

Oil painting of a nashi pear beside a blue castor oil bottle.
A nashi pear is a pear that's a bit like an apple (though not related); conversely, a blue castor oil bottle bears very little resemblance to an apple.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Sunday 29 March 2015

Plastic Tulips

Oil painting of three plastic tulips: one white, one dark red and one apricot.
I bought some plastic tulips from the $2 shop and painted them the following day.  I was so unhappy with the painting that I came very close to rubbing it off, but instead I thought I'd leave it to dry, just in case it grew on me.  After three days I can confirm that it has grown on me only slightly less than the flowers themselves.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 8"

Saturday 28 March 2015

Self Portrait

Oil painting of the face of a bald man with moustache and beard.
The model was hopeless: he wouldn't keep his head still.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Friday 27 March 2015

Onion with Teacup

Oil painting of a brown onion beside a willow pattern teacup.
Eating raw onions isn't my cup of tea, even if the same can't be said for Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Tuesday 24 March 2015

Monday 23 March 2015

Red Pepper with Antique Poison Bottle

Oil painting of a red pepper beside a green antique poison bottle marked NOT TO BE TAKEN.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, but when Peter Piper a pint of poison preposterously partook, Peter Piper promptly puked.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Sunday 22 March 2015

Zucchini with Silver-Plated Jug

Oil painting of a zucchini beside a small silver-plated jug.
Zucchini's are technically a fruit (or so I'm told) but generally eaten as a vegetable.  Silver-plated jugs, to my knowledge, are not generally eaten.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Saturday 21 March 2015

Whisky Bottles

Oil painting of two full bottles of whisky, one legibly marked Clynelish 14.
A site so rare in my flat that it needed to be recorded in paint for posterity: two unopened bottles of single malt Scotch whisky.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Friday 20 March 2015

Wooden Artist's Model

Oil painting of the top three-quarters of a wooden artist's model in front of a green background.
I told my friends I've been dating a model--I'm guessing it was manufactured in about 2012.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Tuesday 17 March 2015

Pear with Silver-Plated Vase

Oil painting of a green pear beside an Art Deco period silver-plated vase.
Pears and vases are common subjects in my still life paintings; in fact, they are so common as to be almost pearvasive.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Monday 16 March 2015

Carrot with Blue Mug

Oil painting of a carrot beside a dark blue porcelain mug.
Some days I can't help but wonder if daily painting is a mug's game, so every now and again I need to dangle a carrot in front of myself.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Sunday 15 March 2015

Apple with Old Fashioned Glass

Oil painting of a Pink Lady apple next to an old fashioned glass.
An old-fashioned glass with a contemporary apple.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Saturday 14 March 2015

Tomato with Glencairn Whisky Glass

Oil painting of a bright red tomato beside an empty Glencairn whisky glass.
I've just discovered that some folks combine tomatoes with whisky to make a sauce (known unsurprisingly as tomato and whisky sauce).  Sounds like the source of all madness to me.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Friday 13 March 2015

Copper Vase with Tea Towel

Oil painting of an Art Deco copper vase nestled amongst a white tea towel.
Flourless cake seems to be very fashionable in inner-city cafes these days; conversely, flowerless vases are somewhat lacking in popularity.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Wednesday 11 March 2015

Woman with Green Hat

Oil painting of a woman with silver hair in a short purple dress holding a light green hat, sitting in a chair with a red covering.
I could attempt to outline the finer points of portraiture, but I'd be talking through my hat, or the model's hat at least.

Oil on canvas board, 12" x 16"

Tuesday 10 March 2015

Milk Jug with Onion

Oil painting of a white porcelain milk jug beside a brown onion.
It's no use crying over spilt milk, but sometimes when dicing onions you've very little choice.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Monday 9 March 2015

Bathroom Window at Rosebery Hill, Pipers Creek

Oil painting of an apricot-coloured building with a red-roofed verandah, surrounded by shrubs and creepers.
I think it was Paul McCartney who sang: "I came and drew the bathroom window, protected by a steel bassoon."  Maybe it was actually something about coming through the bathroom window, but there's definitely something about a bassoon.

Oil on canvas board, 8" x 10"

Sunday 8 March 2015

View from Gooch's Lane, Pastoria, Victoria

Oil painting of a poplar and a willow tree, with fence posts in the foreground and rolling hills in the background.
The most prominent tree in this painting is a poplar, and observant followers of this blog (possibly all three of you) might have noticed two poplars in the previous day's picture.  You might say they're becoming increasingly poplar in my work.

Oil on canvas board, 10" x 8"

Saturday 7 March 2015

Looking Across the Dam Towards Mount Macedon from Rosebery Hill, Pipers Creek

Oil painting of a farm dam bank in the foreground, with a small eucalypt and poplars in the middle ground, and a distant mountain range below a cloudy sky.
Some paintings are better than others and this one definitely falls into the other category--I just couldn't seem to get the dam thing right (nor the tree thing, nor the mountain thing, nor the cloud thing).

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 8"

Friday 6 March 2015

Lemon with Leather-Bound Book

Oil painting of a lemon on top of a red leather-bound book.
According to the ancient Aztecs, lemon juice can be used as a cure for appendicitis, which is just as well, because this book has an enlarged appendix.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Wednesday 4 March 2015

Garlic Bulb with Jar of Mustard

Oil painting of a purple garlic bulb in front of a jar of Maille-brand Dijon mustard.
Another terrible addition to a string of garlic puns, and I'm sure you're not so keen on this mustard joke.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Tuesday 3 March 2015

Monday 2 March 2015

Copper Jug with Nectarine

Oil painting of a small copper jug beside a yellow nectarine.
Padaung women of the Kayan people in Burma (Myanmar) are sometimes recognised for the custom of wearing copper neck rings; somewhat rarer is the custom of painting copper and nectarines.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Sunday 1 March 2015

Antique Medicine Bottle with Apple

Oil painting of a brown antique medicine bottle and an apple on a window sill.
If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, it is supposedly some type of medicine or perhaps something that repels doctors.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 8"