Monday 30 November 2015

Jageurs Lane near Gatehouse Street, Parkville

Oil painting of a laneway bordered by brick buildings, iron fences and overhanding trees.
This painting singularly fails to portray the extreme conditions under which it was created: the afternoon sun beat down as gale force winds tore at my pochade box (not to mention the fool lashed to it, doggedly trying to steer the brush) and all sensible folk sought refuge inside.  Relief from the sun was only occasioned by the arrival of storm clouds which destroyed all traces of reflected light and proceeded to dump their watery contents on the surrounding streets.  Alas, enthusiasm waned once the rain's domain extended to the lane.

Oil on canvas board, 10" x 8"

Saturday 28 November 2015

Elm Avenue, Fitzroy Gardens, East Melbourne

Oil painting of a figure on a path between tall trees illuminated by shafts of sunlight.
A sunny Saturday afternoon in the Fitzroy Gardens afforded many an appealing vista for painting; this scene is just one particular avenue I might have explored.

Oil on canvas board, 8" x 10"

Wednesday 25 November 2015

Pear with Willow Pattern Bowl

Oil painting of a green pear in front of a blue and white porcelain bowl.
Lawn bowls may be played in singles, triples, fours or pairs.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Tuesday 24 November 2015

Yellow Box, Royal Park

Oil painting of several eucalypts beside an asphalt path.
From where I was standing, I had an unimpeded view of this tree; had I been sitting, you might have said I had the box seat.

Oil on canvas board, 8" x 10"

Monday 23 November 2015

Corner of Morrah and Wimble Streets, Parkville

Oil painting of a Victorian-era building on a street corner with various street signs, front fences and trees.
After embarking on this subject, I realised it was slightly more difficult than I'd imagined.  In the end, however, I didn't so much paint myself into a corner as paint a corner myself.

Oil on canvas board, 10" x 8"

Saturday 21 November 2015

Concrete Plant, Footscray

Oil painting of a concrete plant with an office building and some loosely sketched concrete trucks.
Whilst a concrete plant might sound like a contradiction in terms, this striking building certainly planted a concrete image in my mind.

Oil on canvas board, 10" x 8"

Friday 20 November 2015

Lighted Candle

Oil painting of a lighted candle in a ceramic candlestick.
This candle is known as Wayne, for when his flame is in the wind, he waxes and wanes.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Tuesday 17 November 2015

Nectarine in Wine Glass

Oil painting of a yellow nectarine in a large wine glass.
A dry wine with robust stone fruit characteristics.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Monday 16 November 2015

Laneway off Fitzgibbon Street, Parkville

Oil painting of a car in a laneway with green bins towards the foreground and Victorian-era houses on either side with overhanging trees.
Usually I steer away from including cars in my paintings due to their propensity to move before the work is finished; however, in this case I was driven to include it.

Oil on canvas board, 8" x 10"

Sunday 15 November 2015

House on Gatehouse Street, Parkville

Oil painting of a double-storey Victorian-era terrace house with trees and shrubs and a street light in the foreground.
'Tis not the gatehouse from Gatehouse Street, for you would know it by its gate.

Oil on canvas board, 8" x 10"

Saturday 14 November 2015

Maribyrnong from Steele Creek Reserve Essendon

Oil painting of a series of small trees and buildings, with suburban houses and a communications tower in the background.
After some Google Maps research, I've discovered that the building in the foreground belongs to the Department of Defence, and the tower in the background is a mobile phone base station.  In these days of high security, authorities often take a dim view of the photographing of such structures; however, I hope they're somewhat less defensive about simple artistic interpretations (standing on a hillside with an easel for two hours is hardly a clandestine activity).

Oil on canvas board, 8" x 10"

Friday 13 November 2015

Vibration Study

Oil painting of several trees viewed beyond the horizon line in front of a pink-grey sky.

Recently I've read a series of lectures given in the first decade of the twentieth century by L. Birge Harrison (whose wonderful tonal work I discovered through the Google Art Project), and in one particular section he mentioned the use of broken complimentary colours of equal value (tone) in order to render atmospheric vibrations.  This was a quick Friday morning experiment in said methods using an imaginary landscape (which is a thinly disguised version of the Royal Park native grassland circle) and is accompanied by an imaginary pun.

Oil on canvas board, 5" x 7"

Thursday 12 November 2015

Still Life with Lemons and Brass Teapot

Oil painting of several lemons, a brass teapot, two bottles and a small earthenware jar.
Still life is hard, but even if you're brassed off, there's no reason to be sour.

Oil on canvas board, 20" x 16"

Wednesday 11 November 2015

Tuesday 10 November 2015

Monday 9 November 2015

Plaster Cast: Female Torso

Oil painting of a female torso plaster cast beside a window.
Perhaps I used a few too many warm colours in trying to portray plaster in sunlight, but there's not much I can do about it now because the dye is cast.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Sunday 8 November 2015

Jageurs Lane, Parkville

Oil painting of a narrow laneway bordered by a Victorian-era house and several electricity poles.
As I was painting this scene (the laneway behind my flat), a little girl--who was passing by with her family--stopped to tell me how much she liked my painting.  I suppose this means I've got street cred.  Well, lane cred at least.

Oil on canvas board, 8" x 10"

Friday 6 November 2015

Jar of Chillies with Blue Castor Oil Bottle

Oil painting of a jar of chillies beside a blue castor oil bottle.
A polite euphemism that springs to mind is Montezuma's revenge.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"


Tuesday 3 November 2015

View of Pipers Creek from Rosebery Hill

Oil painting of farm buildings and paddocks with tree-lined roadways and distant rolling hills.
A lovely afternoon painting paddocks in the sunshine.  You could say I had a field day.

Oil on canvas board, 10" x 8"

Monday 2 November 2015

Old Stable with Tasmanian Blue Gum and Atlantic Cedar at Rosebery Hill, Pipers Creek

This was actually my second choice of scene for the day: the earlier spot was abandoned after I disturbed a particularly large fanged-reptile in the nearby grass.  It's a shame really, as the previous location offered a wonderful sense of scale.

Oil on canvas board, 10" x 8"

Sunday 1 November 2015

Self Portrait

Oil painting of a middle-aged bald man.
An obsession with self is one of many poor traits.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 8"