Cup Artwork

August 14, 2025

I was getting fatigued from painting too many large paintings, so I had to switch it up. Took advantage of that by trying several new things at once. The first is testing out watercolor ground on a canvas panel (and sanding it smooth). The next new thing was to use the grisaille technique and glaze color over a completed black and white painting. I actually stayed pretty loose and the painting went incredibly quick. The final step of adding color presented some problems but it’s giving me more insight in to the transparency and values of pigments I stick to. And using a honey binder watercolor brand, like M. Graham, on top of the smooth ground gave it some magical qualities that are similar to oil. Which I absolutely loved. It was a fun little break from my more serious work.

June 26, 2024

This painting has everything you need. Cute cats, funny hats, and a dark sense of morbid humor. It features my long haired domestic black and white cat, Princess. Stuck in a scene of her by my side as I paint. Adorning my Faber-Castell Collapsable Water Cup on her head. Her favorite Penn tennis ball resting not far away. Peering on to the cold press cotton paper watercolor block, that is painted with my late dog, Izzy, along with family. I know deep down Princess shares in my miss of Izzy. The stick figures childishly painted on the exposed cotton paper, integrated in a method of inception in to the painting. Adding to the silliness and partly dry humor.

February 6, 2024

The Citrus Study painting features a still life composition with three objects that appear on a table. On the left is a green lime, partially blending from green to a yellowish hue, indicating ripeness or a variation in color typical of certain lime varieties. In the middle, there’s a red mug or cup with a visible handle on the right, suggesting it’s meant for a right-handed person to pick up easily. The mug’s rim is white, indicating the inside color and the reflection of light. On the right, there’s a lemon with a bright yellow color, indicative of its ripeness and tartness. The background and surface are in muted dark tones, with the surface reflecting a bit of light, giving a sense of a shadowed room. The painting style is textured, with visible brushstrokes marks, which give it a tactile quality. The color palette is quite naturalistic, with a strong contrast between the brightly colored objects and the dark background, drawing attention to the subjects of the still life.