Pears with Small Copper Lantern

 

This post is a little light on (with an addition in pear-enthesis).

Oil on canvas board, 10" x 8"

Pears with Small Enamelware Teapot

 

Three pears and tea ware

Oil on canvas board, 12" x 16"

Still Life with Lemons and Enamelware Kettle

 

Po-zest by an enamelware-wolf

Oil on canvas board, 20" x 24"

Letterbox on Sidonia Road

 

Despite being a pacifist, I'd say that if anyone's daughter has pugilistic dreams, letterbox.

Oil on canvas board, 10" x 12"

Still Life with Mandarines and Red Enamelware

 

Everything's just about ready

Oil on canvas board, 20" x 24"

Figure Study of Woman Wearing Robe

 

Painting a garment such as this might be referred to as a robic exercise.

Thanks to @victoriaamuse for being a model model.

Oil on canvas board, 16" x 12"

Still Life with Ladle and Green Apples

 

Still life is often the cores of de-ladles.

Oil on canvas board, 10" x 24

Garden Shed, Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens, Daylesford

 

It's impossible for me to avoid reviving the obvious pun (used many, many moons ago) when this subject is about a shed, and light, and therefore it's about shedding light.

Oil on canvas board, 10" x 12"

Boathouse Restaurant, Daylesford

 

The restaurant cut a picturesque figure beside the lake that should have been easy to paint, but I think I made a meal of it.

Oil on canvas board, 8" x 10"

Still Life with Bosc Pears and Stoneware Jar

 

The ware and pear of daily life

Oil on canvas board, 16" x 20"

Portrait of Gabriel Gaté

 

It was a privilege to have popular chef and author Gabriel Gaté sit for our portrait group.  He proved to be a commendable model, helping many a seasoned artist to cook up a chef d'oeuvre.

Oil on canvas board, 20" x 16"

Portrait of Elsa

 

Whilst I enjoy making puns about my artwork, I do my utmost to avoid making fun when a model is involved.  This often poses a challenge.

Thanks to Elsa for posing so well.

Oil on canvas board, 16" x 12"

Mandarines with Willow Pattern Tea Caddy

 

Orange pekoe

Oil on canvas board, 12" x 16"

P.S. This tea caddy would once have had a lid -- like a convertible American car, it's what the caddy lacks.

Still life with Calla Lilies

 

Wasteful and ridiculous excess.

Oil on canvas board, 16" x 12"

Portrait of a Painter

 

Portrait of a young man as the artist.

Thanks to @rodrigo_lifemodel for enduring somnolent legs in order to hold the pose.

Oil on canvas board, 20" x 16"

Quinces with Silver-Plated Jug

 

A silver platter, fit for a quince.

Oil on canvas board, 12" x 16"

Green Apples with Biscuit Barrel

 

Careful work was required on each item of fruit in this painting as I was acutely aware that one rotten apple would spoil the whole biscuit barrel.

Oil on canvas board, 12" x 16"

Figure Study: Woman of the Belle Époque

 

A scene with more than a few em-belle-ishments.

Thanks to model Jane who heroically held this cross-legged pose.

Oil on canvas board, 16" x 20"

Mandarines and Lemons with Enamelware Saucepan

 

Mand'rins are orange, lemons are lemon,
Now I'm off the sauce(pan), I've delirium tremens.

Oil on canvas board, 16" x 20"

Lemons with Enamelware Ladle

 

Ladle down for a z(i)esta

Oil on canvas board, 12" x 16"

Still Life with Eggplant and Garlic

 

A make-auber for Gene, including a fresh set of cloves.

Oil on canvas board, 10" x 12"

Tomatoes with Brandy Bottle

 

All vine and brandy

Oil on canvas board, 8" x 10"

Bosc Pears with Vintage Spray Bottle

 

St. Jerome at Pear (or St. Jerome spraying) by Hieronymus Bosc

Oil on canvas board, 8" x 10"

Figure Study of Leaning Man with Dreadlocks

 

Whilst I enjoyed making this painting overall, I approached the hair with a certain amount of dread.

Many thanks to robbiiray for leaning into the pose.

Oil on canvas board, 16" x 20"

Dam at Pipers Creek II

 

This is the same subject I painted over six years ago (Dam at Pipers Creek).  Like the subject, I've had a bit of time to reflect.

Oil on canvas board, 8" x 10"

Off McPhersons Lane, Pipers Creek

 

A well-known search engine tells me that this eucalyptus tree is an Apple Box, and while I'm not entirely sure it's correct, I do agree that it's a box of some kind -- there's no thinking outside the box here.

Oil on canvas board, 10" x 12"

Quinces with Small Enamelware Bowl

 

This was painted just before the winter solstice, which like the equin(ce)ox, is often considered to be symbowlic.

Oil on canvas board, 8" x 10"

Pears with Ceramic Jug

 

Fitting more than a pair of pears into the frame required a bit of juggling.

Oil on canvas board, 8" x 10"

Persimmons with Stoneware Jar

 

Thou shalt write this is stone, in the second persimmon.

Oil on canvas board, 8" x 10"

Mandarines with Enamelware Mug

 

William of Orange was on the throne for a-rind about thirty years, but not everyone was enameled with the idea of his mug on the currency.

Oil on canvas board, 8" x 10"

Reclining Figure

 

For this painting, I took a more laid-back approach.

Thanks to model Khya.

Oil on canvas board, 12" x 16"

Mount Macedon from Carlsruhe Station

 

My technique for painting trees is to define the mass, and in this case, my technique for painting a distant hill is to define the Macedon.

Oil on canvas board, 8" x 10"

Carlsruhe Station Road

 

Having slept in, I arrived late at this location to paint with friends.  It was a Carlsruhed awakening.

Oil on plywood, 9" x 5"

Vintage Kitchen Scales with Green Apples

 

I have to admit that I never quite know how to approach the depiction of scales, but I always seem to find a weigh.

Oil on canvas board, 20" x 24"

Persimmons with Blue Enamelware Jug

 

The persimmons were not exactly cheap, and although I thought this painting could have worked with fewer pieces of fruit, I didn't want to be persimmonious.

Oil on canvas board, 20" x 24"

Portrait of Bearded Man with Brown Cloak

 

Our model Paul wore a long-flowing, brown garment which might be referred to as a cloak, or possibly a robe or a cape; I can't say for shawl.

Oil on canvas board, 16" x 20"

Quinces with Enamelware Coffee Pot

 

Some of the quinces depicted here are the same as appeared in my last painting of quinces; or for the potted version, one might simply say "quince and repeat".

Oil on canvas board, 16" x 20"

Exhibition: Remains to Be Seen

 

As part of the Victorian Artists' Society IMPRINT 2026 program, I'm exhibiting about 30 still life paintings that reflect this year's theme of "What Remains" (hence the very bad pun for the title).  The first half of the program kicked off this week with a number of excellent solo exhibitions, so get to VAS now for a squiz, but please return for the second half when my little daubings will be gracing a number of the walls (along with the art of a bunch of great artists).

Oh, and there's an opening on the evening of the 30 April if you're looking for a glass of something to help you forget the economic climate and spend recklessly on artworks.

When:

29 April – 10 May 2026

Where:

Victorian Artists Society

Opening:

Thursday 30 April, 6pm

I also wrote a bit of art self-gratification that I must confess to actually believing in (sort of) which might interest you if you're inclined to sport designer glasses and a turtleneck:

Nostalgic reflection has been described as a “peopling” of the mind through symbolic ties to loved ones. By depicting nostalgic subjects, this collection of works represents an unashamed attempt to pull at the heart-strings of viewers, though it is primarily a reflection of the yearning of the artist for the certainties of childhood.

These certainties existed, in a material sense, in the inanimate objects that adorned the kitchens of the artist’s grandparents – items that lasted generations and, prior to the pervasiveness of planned obsolescence, were expected to last generations more. Rather than dilapidated things to be discarded, these objects were imbued with character – perhaps even personality – shaped by familiarity and age.

By portraying scenes in a realistic manner, it is hoped that the viewer might share, if only for a moment, in the artist’s visual experience and be transported to another time and place. It is also hoped that once cherished objects are contemplated for their simple beauty and functionality – may it remain that there’s still life in the old dogs yet.

Portrait of Bearded Man in Hat with Still Life

 

A still life model and a modelled still life

Oil on canvas board, 16" x 20"

Poplars on the Campaspe River, Kyneton

 

Soon after starting this painting, I realised I'd disturbed a wasps' nest, so I made a fairly rapid decision to move -- it seems I was less than poplar with the local residents.

Oil on plywood, 9" x 5"

Mill Street, Kyneton

 

A run of the mill painting

Oil on canvas board, 10" x 12"

Quinces with Stoneware Jar

 

For more than a decade I've been painting quinces and making bad quince puns, and I'm struggling to come up with anything original.  I suppose I'll simply present you with this pot-boiler and stop stewing over it.

Oil on canvas board, 16" x 20" 

Forest Redgum, East Metcalfe

 

I wrestled a bit with this painting, partly due to changing light conditions.  But I determined to stand there, by gum, and try to get a finished picture.

Oil on canvas board, 12" x 16"

Old Barn, East Metcalfe

 

The placement of the shed in the composition took some consideration: should I raise the barn or set the barn low?

Oil on canvas board, 10" x 12"

Still Life with Small Green Apple

 

Sometimes it's the little things in still life

Oil on canvas board, 10" x 12"

Croissants with Red Coffee Percolator

 

I must confess (spill the beans if you like) that this was a more difficult painting than anticipated and therefore took longer than normal -- it felt like I was working at a snail's pastry.

Oil on canvas board, 16" x 20"

Portrait of Bearded Man with Hat

 

Keep things under your hat and above beard

Oil on canvas board, 12" x 16"

Hyland Reservoir from Lancey's Lookout, Arawata

 

Hyland from even higher land

Oil on canvas board, 10" x 12"

Power Pole near Waratah Bay

 

This pole is essential to the painting's composition.  It provides the power balance.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 8"

Cows near Waratah Bay

 

Because this painting is relatively small, I thought that by selecting this subject I'd given myself a bum steer, but I decided that what heifer will be, will be.

Oil on plywood, 9" x 5"