I had been looking forward to painting an orchid for a long time, as they really are stunning flowers. I chose a slender leaf variety for this particular painting as I wanted to contrast the sturdy
New Painting – Pink Orchid & Vase
New Painting – Lime & Cilantro Vinaigrette
This was an enjoyable still life to paint. I had this lovely old glass bottle and needed something nice and contemporary to fill it. Vinaigrette’s were a good choice because of all the different colours
New Painting – Pecan & Blueberry Pancakes
This was my 5th attempt at making pancakes and I finally achieved the look I was after. I think it is probably best if I keep what happened with the other attempts to myself. The end result is a painting
New Painting – Victoria Sponge Cake
I have never made as many different culinary things as I have in recent times with my still lifes. This cake is a prime example as I have never baked a cake like this before. I was after a cake
New Painting – Perfect Delight
This painting is a Commission piece for a gentleman called Jacob. A big challenge of a commission like this is balancing what the client wants, whilst making sure the still life matches the style of
New Painting – Summer Punch
This was the last of the big still lifes for the 2016 exhibition. One of the things I love about still lifes is that you can approach a subject in so many different ways. Take for example the punch itself,
New Painting – Jug & Conference Pears
This is the final exhibition painting. I had the Wedgewood Jug for a while and was always planning to paint it with some fruit. I chose the Conference Pears in the end but it would have worked with quite
New Painting – Chocolate Cake
This was an enjoyable still life to paint, the soft spongy cake contrasts with all the harder surfaces – who would have thought a Chocolate Cake could look so yummy as a painting! I wonder what cake I will
New Painting – Vase and Roses
This is a larger scale still life – I try to work life size and you can see the benefit of that in this painting. The subject matter is a little different to my normal still lifes but I really wanted to paint some flowers
New Painting – Yoghurt Parfait
I have seen a few of these yoghurts and I always thought they would make an interesting still life painting. I had a couple of attempts at making this creation as the first yoghurt was too runny and lost
New Painting – Red Wine & Stilton
I have painted a Red Wine and Stilton painting before so it was important to come up with a different look for this painting. The really rustic cheese board and the shadow cutting across the table helps to
New Painting – Chilli Oil
I like to approach paintings in slightly different ways, in this case I knew I wanted to use shadows in the background to add more structure to the painting. The end result is a quirky small still life full of light
New Painting – The Gardener’s Break
This is the biggest still life that I have painted so far. The Trug Basket is pretty big so it gave me the opportunity to fill it with lots of lovely vegetables, I am pleased to say that some of them were home
New Painting – Sicilian Lemonade
I like the summery undertones of this still life, you can almost taste that cold and refreshing lemonade. The lemons used in this painting are actually genuine Sicilian lemons. They are a little bit bigger than
New Painting – Choc Chip Cookies
I like the contrast between the hard smooth glass and the rough and crumbly texture of the cookies. Luckily there was a few surplus cookies left and yes I did polish them off – very tasty!
New Painting – Breakfast Croissants
No still life is easy but this one was relatively straightforward, as it is just a detailed study of Croissants and a ceramic pot. I think both the Croissants and the pot have a really interesting
New Painting – White Wine and Camembert
This cheese and wine still life is one of a pair, the other still life painting is of red wine and stilton. In this painting I like the paper that the Camembert is wrapped in as it just adds another texture to the
New Painting – Bowl & Cherries
This was an enjoyable small still life to paint. I like to paint life size so that it really feels like you can pluck a cherry out of the painting. The cherries have a fleshy translucent quality to them which makes them
New Painting – Bottle and Satsumas
I have had the idea for this painting for a while, it was just a matter of sourcing the right bottle. There are 3 main texture variations in this painting, wood, glass and fruit. I think it is how they all
Catto Exhibition November 2014
Iain (one of the owner’s of the gallery) and me just before the exhibition opened. I walked into the exhibition space and was blown away seeing my paintings displayed together for the first time in