Teapot and Mandarine

Mand'rins are orange, but an orange they ain't; this teapot is white, and is damned hard to paint.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Pink Rose and Whisky Glass

I bought a bunch of cheap roses on the weekend, so I've wound up with a bunch of cheap rose paintings.  Unfortunately the single malt whisky that inhabited the glass prior to painting wasn't cheap.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

St Peters Eastern Hill from Parliament Gardens, Melbourne

I joined my fellow Victorian Artist's Society members on Sunday morning for a paint out in Parliament Gardens.  Painting in public always involves making conversation with curious passers-by, and Sunday was no exception; after posing for a photograph and talking at length about my pochade box, I even found time to whip up a small picture.

Oil on canvas board, 5" x 7"

Milk Jug and Rose

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.  Milk, by any other name, should be approached with caution.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Glass Vase with Flowers

I'd hardly call this subject matter a flowering of new ideas, and while I'm not always a glass-is-half-full kind of person, you could, at least, say this painting is almost half full of glass.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Pear and Coffee Jar

Instant coffee is much maligned; it certainly isn't as good as its noteworthy espresso superior, but I believe it is a passable caffeinated drink nonetheless.  Those who can't stomach it need to grow a pear (because they're unarguably tasty).

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Medicine Bottle with Measuring Cup

One of the aims of an artist must surely be to imbue one's work with a sense of self, and following this, it seems I may have inadvertently succeeded: I was feeling fairly ordinary (take note of the subject matter), and I've produced a painting that can, at best, be described as fairly ordinary.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Skull with Yellow Roses

Life (plastic flowers) and death (plastic skull); neither is real, and this painting is an illusion.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Tomato with Jar of Olives

A jar of crushed olives, and an uncrushed tomato.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Light Bulb

Obviously I was having a light-bulb moment.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Rainy Afternoon, Yarra Bend

A very damp and grey Saturday afternoon at Yarra Bend Park, Melbourne.  The reflections in the water were regularly broken by canoeists, so I asked one to keep still so that I could put him in the picture; for some reason he didn't oblige.

Oil on canvas board, 5" x 7"

Black Bottle with Red Roses

Roses are red, bottles are black; if I write you a rhyme, then frankly I'm slack.  And er, these roses are actually sort of orange, but orange doesn't lend itself to poetry.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Pear and Vase

A pair of objects, but only one is a pear.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Onion and Bottle

An onion and an earthenware bottle.  The bottle is much less scary than its full-moon counterpart, the earthenwere-bottle.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Copper Jug and Zucchini

My brand new second hand copper jug and a historical record of a zucchini (it is now soup).  And er, does a painting of a copper object qualify as Copperart?  What would Pete Smith think?

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Red Pepper with Flat-Bottomed Torpedo Bottle

This is the first pepper I've painted; perhaps I should have done a little more pepperation.  Conversely, the boring bottle has been done to death.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Mandarine and Glass

A mandarine (that I later enjoyed for morning tea) and a glass of air (that I breathed deeply when I returned from work in the evening).

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Green Bottle and Copper Vase

As a child I was an avid bottle collector, and I found this green bottle in an old dump near where I lived in Pipers Creek.  A discussion was held--by my friend and me--as to the wisdom of taking the bottle home, given that on its side it clearly stated it was NOT TO BE TAKEN.  Needless to say, we took it anyway.

Conversely, there was no trepidation when I took the vase home from the second-hand shop.  I'm sure the proprietor was more than happy for me to take it, so long as I handed him the requisite amount of cash.

Tea Cup and Banana

I'd rather pour a cup of tea and peel a banana than have a poor cup of tea and an unappealing banana.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Silver-Plated Vase with Tea Towel

A disrobing vase that would make a Victorian blush.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Egg and Cup

This egg--as depicted--was an odd shape; it's not artistic licence.  If it was artistic licence, I'd be liable to lose it.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Lemon and Milk Jug

Milk and lemon: a perfect curdling combination.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Castor Oil Bottle with Plastic Flowers

Roses are pink, bottles are blue; couplets like these almost make me spew.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Garlic Bulb and Dried Chillies

Garlic and chillies: a meal by itself.  Not a very nice meal, but a meal nevertheless.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Onion and Willow-Pattern Bowl

I don't think I'm going to bowl anyone over with this caption.  You'd think I'd have shallots of ideas.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"