bartlett #2 7x5.5

Jill Mendelsohn, our science teacher, brought this in for me to paint. She was attracted to the reddish blush on one side which is the same thing that I liked about this pear. I always like it when other people bring me subject to paint. It's particularly fun when we are drawn to an object for the same reason.

lemon cucumbers 7x5.5

These lemon cucumbers are from the garden at school. Their deep golden color is very striking. All of the lemon cucumbers that I have seen up until today were quite pale in comparison.

I'm on Blog Interviewer...

Blog interviewer has featured my blog. You can check it out here if you are inclined.

carrot 8x4

Once again I'd like to thank Marissa Lindsley for bringing in a wonderful subject for me to paint. I really like near complimentary combinations like green and orange. when I was painting signs I used to try to incorporate combinations like this into my designs. They are just as attractive to me when they occur in nature.
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tomatillo 5.5x7

One of my students picked this wonderful tomatillo from her garden at home (thanks Marissa!). It's really nice to show up at school and have something waiting to be painted. I'm glad that some of my students are starting to view their world with an eye toward that sort of thing.
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jimson pod 6x6

A fellow teacher gave me this to paint this morning (thanks Pollyanna!). Jimson is also known as "locoweed". My students had all kinds of crazy stories regarding its use and urged me to not eat it alone. They were concerned that I have someone around to monitor me in case I had a bad trip. It actually never occured to me to eat the crazy looking thing in the first place.

carabiner 5.5x7

This is an old Chouinard oval cararbiner . I've always though these ones were the most iconic even though other designs are probably more popular. I am reminded of the story of the pop artist Jasper Johns who was making a bronze cast of a common flashlight. Johns had this idea in his head of what a generic flashlight ought to look like but when he set out to find a light that fit his mental image he was unable to find one. They all seemed to have some element of individuality that set them apart from the others. The story goes that he had to search for several days before he found what he considered to be a "common" flashlight. Anyhow, although this is an old design and even in its day it was probably not the most popular carabiner on the market, it is what I instantly think of when I hear the word carabiner. My apologies to non-climbers who may have suffered through the preceding paragraph looking for something to care about ;-)
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nozzle 5.5x7

We have two or three of these spray nozzles laying around the house. I've had my eye on them for quite some time. The brass surface has a lot going on, color-wise. It was a fun challenge.
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amaranth 4x8

We have a bunch of these amaranth plants growing in the garden at school. It is a very visually striking plant and it has a ton of uses.
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sunflower #2 5.5x7

There are several varieties of sunflower growing on our campus. I had a student go out and pick one for me and he came back with this two toned specimen. It was a bit more callenging than a plain yellow one. Lots of fun to paint though. I'll probably be doing a few of these while they're around.
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ballpeen hammer 4x8

I am really developing an appreciation for hammers. They are very individual and theyseem to take on a personality of their own as they age. I found this one in storage closet in the office at school. I am painting on a different material on this one. It's painted on 1/8" masonite. I primed it with 4 coats of gesso. It's quite a bit smoother than the wooden panels I was using and required much less sanding.
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glazed donut 6x6

I bought donuts for my first period class today. I know it's not very healthy but they had fun. Next time I'll get some fruit for them.

Art and Critique

I just want to post another reminder that Elija over at Art and Critique has posted several interesting explorations of my paintings as he has done with several other daily painters who's work I admire. If you find painting interesting I think you will enjoy his blog.

tomato #4 6x6

The garden at school is packed with produce. I picked this tomato there this afternoon. They're delicious.
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thistle #2 4x8

I found this thistle on the side of the road near school. Most of it had already gone to seed although the leaves were still green. I think these plants are quit beautiful although they can be, quite literally, a real pain.
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lemon water #2 6x6

As is probably obvious to anyone who visits this blog regularly, I like to paint glass. I av very attracted to the distortions that class can create. Those distortions are amplified when a glass container is filled with some transparent loquid. Add a lemon, and I'm in heaven. Yellow paint is, for some reason, a very appealing pigment for me to work with. I like how it looks and how it slides off the brush.
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three figs 7x5.5

School has started once again. I discovered a fig tree out in our garden. The purple green color scheme is one of my favorite combinations.
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palm tree #2 6x6

I painted one other palm tree a year ago. My painting has loosened up a lot since then. I'd like to do a whole series of palms some time. I found this one in McKinley park in Sacramento.
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liquid amber pod 6x6

Liquid amber trees are everywhere and these little pods are all over the place all year long. I like painting them. they're always a little different. The hooked stem is what caught my eye on this one.

I'm not stopping!

Hi everyone, and thank you all for the kind notes of congratulations. I just want to make it clear that I am not ending my practice of posting a painting every day. The 17th century samurai Tesshu made a practice that lasted 1000 consecutive days and painting is far less rigorous than what he did. It is also said that he produced over one million pieces of calligraphy in his lifetime. Obviously he became very proficient at what he did. I'm trying to pick up a little bit of that spirit.

cinnamon nut roll 7x5.5

Tomorrow will be the one-year anniversary of the beginning of this blog and this is the 365th painting. I made a commitment to give my best effort each day and I think it's paid off. I'm painting much closer to how I want to be painting now. In the last year I've learned a lot. Taking time to observe something carefully each day has been a great experience. I've managed to paint a few pretty dreadful pieces as well, but sometimes you learn more from those than from the ones you like. I'd like to thank everyone who visits this blog and especially those of you who took the time to make a comment. I don't always reply to them, but I always appreciate getting them. I'd also like to thank all of the other painters out there who are regularly posting their paintings. There are quite a few blogs that I visit for inspiration. This is really fun. I think I'll keep doing it.
I picked this up at Karen's Bakery over in Folsom. Her shop is filled with wonderful baked goods, that are great for painting. They happen to taste great too. They also one of my favorite breakfast places.
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visiting hours 6x6

Yesterday's strawberry was sort of a warm up for this. I'm really enjoying this little series of captive fruits a vegetables.
The blog art and crtitique is featuring an analysis of some of my pieces right now. The writer, Elijah, is observant and insightful. He has also written about several other daily painters who's work I admire. His blog is worth a visit.
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strawberry #2 3x4

Strawberries are kind of hard for me. There's a lot of surface detail and it's easy for me to get real finicky about it. I have to really focus on restraining myself. I'm trying to develop more economy with my brushwork.
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bartlett 6x6

I was attracted to all of the different colors in this pear.
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cell mates

I really like this idea of containing these objects for display. They're already being displayed on these small formats like specimens and the jars and glasses serve to further accentuate that idea. It's sort of like a zoo.
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lemon wedges #2 6x6

One of the nice things about painting produce is that there is an infinite way to chop it up and arrange it. I really enjoy painting lemons (I think I just like using yellow paint). I could paint the same lemon 50 times and probably not have any two of them look alike.
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trapped pepper 5.5x7

The idea behind this is the same as the single grape tomato in the jar that I painted a few days ago. I like the idea of the pepper being contained for our viewing.

opo squash 4x8

My sister went to see Nick Cave in San Francisco a few days ago and all I got was this strange vegetable! She picked it up in Little Saigon. She liked the colors and thought it would make a nice painting.
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salt and pepper 5.5x7

I told the waitress at the resaurant that I wanted to borrow these shakers to paint. She told me to go ahead but to not let anyone know that she said it was okay. Amazingly it still felt a lot like stealing. I'm going to bring them back. I hope I don't get caught.
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safety pin 3x4

My son suggested I paint one of these. he just bought a box of them so he could attach a Clash back patch to his jacket.
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marmalade 6x6

I grabbed this little marmalade tub after breakfast this morning. I was attracted to the underside of the foil top.

wheat grass 5.5x7

I have never purchased wheat grass before and I have no idea how to prepare it. I have always admired its bright, healthy green color though, so I bought some and transplanted a little bit in a shot glass.
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pencil #3 4x3

I really like painting pencils. A pencil is so inexpensive but you can make anything you want with it.
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corn-cob pipe 4x8

I picked up this pipe at the Curiosity Shoppe in Old Town Folsom. The owner, Dee, is a very nice lady who is always on the lookout for interesting subjects for me. I actually purchased this pipe several months ago but only just got around to painting it.