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 – Summer Punch
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
New Painting – Egg & Soldiers
This is a very small still life painting, working at such a small scale allowed me to take my time……. Anything that is white is tricky to paint so that extra time on the egg and cup was put to good
New Painting – Cheese & Biscuits
This is another large still life painting, the big benefit of scaling up is I can fit a lot of content in the painting – see below. I was after a rich warm glow for this particular painting to balance all the different
New Painting – The Artisan Baker
This is the largest still life painting that I have completed – most of my still lifes are very small so it was a nice change to have so much space to work with. I had the idea for this composition a while ago,
New Painting – Pesto
I really enjoy painting the cooking themed still lifes and this one was no exception. There is a good range of textures in this still life – for example look at how the glass bottle is holding the cork snugly in
New Painting – Strawberry Preserve
In my garden just next to my studio is a small veg plot. These strawberries were carefully grown in it, with the sole intention of starring in a still life. I expect more of my produce is going to feature in my