"Yellow Onion"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx 4.875"x6" SOLD.

This is exactly what I was envisioning before I started. Something different and much more loose then usual. I'm quite happy with it.

"Lone Green Pear"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx 4.875"x6" SOLD.

Well I finally broke out he paints after some very nice time off. This is one of those holiday pears from one of those holiday baskets. You know the kind I'm talking about. This is post number 269 for my Daily Painting blog.

"Wine Cork Trio"

Graphite on 4-ply Strathmore Bristol Board. Approx 4"x6.25" N/A

I hope everyone had a great Holiday. I know I did.
When I was drawing this, I felt like I was back in college because of the strong basic shapes of this composition and the lighting wrapping around each cylinder. Oh the memories of school...good times.

"Simple Pear"

Graphite on 4-ply Strathmore Bristol Board. Approx 4.25"x6.5" N/A.

I have taken some time off to catch up for the Holidays and to also spend time with family and friends. I did have time to sneak away just long enough to do this rendering of the interesting looking pear. I love the shape of most pears they are so unique. Merry Christmas!!

Little Fuzzy Puppies

Oil on 1/4" Board Approx. 8"x10" Commission-NFS

You are going to have to trust me that this painting looks better in person...then again most of them do. The picture didn't capture all the subtleties in the colors. Anyway, posting might be slow going until after Christmas so stay tuned.

"Dragon Roll"

Oil on 1/4" Board Approx. 6"x6" Commission-NFS

"Sushi Line Up"

Oil on 1/4" Board Approx. 6"x6" Commission-NFS

Website Preview

I still have 5 commissions to do before Christmas so I have to get crack-a-lackin'. I'm working on one now and won't be done in time to post so I'm giving a little preview to my new website. I'm in the process of designing it in Photoshop. Stay tuned for that in early '08.

Next on my list of things to cover is this whole tagging thing. I'm usually not into forwards or chain letters but his one is different. I have seen so many fantastic new artists from seeing others tagged. A great artist, Karen Appleton, tagged me so here it goes.

1. When I was five I cried when my cousin (who was older) colored better then me. Who's crying now?
2. My second year in college I was offered a tattoo apprenticeship and an internship at a design company at the same time. I wonder how things would be different if I took the tattoo route.
3. I am a paintaholic but love nothing more then laying around doing nothing with my awesome wife.
4. I have painted all 260ish paintings at my kitchen table.
5. I am a father to be.

Here are my tags. I know they've been tagged before but they are true influences on me and my paintings.Christopher Stott, Neil Hollingsworth, Julian Merrow-Smith, Karin Jurick, Alvin Richard

"Salt & Pepper"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 6" x 6" SOLD.

I think this is my is my current personal favorite. I almost don't want to sell it...but I am. That's the great thing about Daily Painting is there's always tomorrow's painting.

"Morning Coffee with Leaf"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 6" x 4.875" SOLD.

I love the colors in this painting. The warm browns and greens against the cool blues and purples is easy on the eye. I'm not sure where I got this leaf from. I happen to find it in my still life collection a.k.a. closet. It has a great shape and a nice color vignette going through it...and you know I love painting leaves. This is post number 261 for my Daily Painting blog.

"Red Match No.2"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 6" x 5" Commission

"Ornament"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 6" x 6" SOLD

There was a very nice article on me for today's Lines and Colors. Be sure to check it out. Charley Parker did a great job on it. It's like he got inside my head.

"Balancing Act"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 4.875" x 6" SOLD.

"Pink Mums"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 6" x 8" SOLD.

I picked these flowers up on the way home today. I'm not much of a floral painter but I really like these. I also like the reflection around the base of the vase (that rhymes).

I am pleased to announce a new website comprised of 12 very talented Daily Painters. The site is DailyPaintworks.com so please be sure to check it out. It's great to share the same kind of dedication and artistic vision as these other great painters.

"Cork Collection"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 6" x 4.75" SOLD

I'm not sure what the obsession is with saving wine corks. I think I envision doing something with them one day. I don't know what, though. I do know they're fun to paint. When I started this painting I set the goal of keeping the brushstrokes short and choppy using a larger variety of color variations. I really like the end result.

"Fate of the Lemons"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 8" x 8" SOLD.

"2 O'Clock Coffee"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 14" x 18" Commission

So, at my day job, we stop to make coffee every day at 2:00pm. It's great because we have Dunkin' Donuts coffee catered there. We'll the founder of 2 O'clock coffee time is retiring and the company commissioned a painting for her. We all thought this was appropriate. The mug with the logo is our company mug. I hope you will enjoy this painting, Joy. We'll miss you at the office.

"Persimmons"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 6" x 6" SOLD

"Yellow Rose"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 6" x 5" For purchase info, please email michael@mnaples.com

"Cheese Danish"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 6" x 6" SOLD.

My alarm went off at 3:30AM. I was shopping by 4:05AM. I gathered up my sale items, stood in line for an hour, and was sleeping again by 6:15AM. I love "door busting".

"Spoonful of Coffee Beans"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 8" x 3.875" SOLD.

I love coffee. And the smell of these beans was amazing. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there. I know I have more then ever to be thankful for this year.

"Chopstick Reflections"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 8" x 3.875" SOLD.

To me, what really makes this painting interesting are the reflections. They give so much more depth to the painting. I did this one to get in the mood for a couple of sushi paintings i have coming up. I won't get to those for a week or two but they are on my radar.

"Apple Plate Plus One"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 8" x 3.875" SOLD.

I have been admiring Carol Marine's apple paintings latley. Since my wife bought a bunch of apples for a pie she is going to bake, I had to paint them. This is post number 248 for my Daily Painting blog.

"Family Portrait"

Graphite on Strathmore Bristol Board. 17" x 17"

The first commission portrait of the season. You might see a few more graphite pieces before Christmas. Until then, I have a few more commission paintings in the works.

"Wine Necks"

Oil on 1/4" Board. 18" x 24" SOLD

The scale on these bottles is huge (at least for my standards). But that allowed me to get all the extra details in the reflective glass. Stay tuned for some portrait work coming up soon.

"Grandma's Chair"

Oil on 1/4" Board. 18" x 24"

For purchase info, please email michael@mnaples.com

This was new territory for me. Typically I paint a "closed in" composition that's is set up if front of me. This one, however, has more a scene going on with more to look at. It was a pleasure to paint. I love the antique feeling to the whole piece.

"Espresso, Creamer & Spoon"

Oil on 1/4" Board. 18" x 24"

For purchase info, please email michael@mnaples.com

I'll start with an apology for the bad photo. This is the largest painting to date so I am unfamiliar in photographing such large pieces. I guess I better get good at it soon because I have a number of pieces this size coming up. If anyone out there has photo advise I would love to hear it.

I love how the top of the composition is stiff and mechanical looking while being complimented by the draping of the fabric below it.

"Chrome Creamer with Spoon"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 6" x 4.625" SOLD.

"Teapot Reflections"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 12" x 18" SOLD.

This is the first of 3 gallery submissions. I was invited to submit a few pieces to the Thomas McCormick Gallery in Chicago. I am capitalizing on the opportunity by creating 3 fresh, new and larger pieces. So if you think I haven't been posting because I'm not painting...it's quite the opposite. I have a lot of paintings on my plate and I can't wait to get them on board.

"Squeezed Lemon"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 6" x 5" SOLD

My wife and I had a Halloween party last night. It was great fun with awesome costumes. This lemon was the smallest part of cleanup for the night. I had to save it to paint it. I haven't done a lemon in a while. The is post number 241 for my Daily Painting blog.

"Cracked Egg No.7"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 8" x 8" Commission-NFS

Another commission. I have a few more commissions I have to do. Also I will be spending some time working on paintings for upcoming gallery submissions. Stay tuned to check those out.

"Podium Pear"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 7" x 12" SOLD.

I really enjoyed painting this one. The pear came together easily and the fabric was a great challenge. I spent about ten minutes modeling the fabric to be just right. It plays an important role in the painting's composition.

"Coke Bottle"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 5" x 6" SOLD

"Cut Pomegranate No.2"

Oil on 1/4" Board 6" x 6" Commission - NFS

"Morning Coffee"

Oil on 1.5" Gallery Wrapped Canvas 10" x 10"

For purchase information, please email michael@mnaples.com

Here is another on gallery wrapped canvas. I enjoyed painting on this surface this time. I'm not sure why, it just came together. It's strange how different a painting can feel when you are using different surfaces. Does that make sense?

"Westbound Passenger"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 5.75" x 6" SOLD

Back when I was in school I took the train each day. I used spend entire train rides sketching everything around me. I painted this today from an old pencil sketch I did of a passenger I would see most days. He had a lot of character to him with his rough beard. This is post number 235 for my Daily Painting blog.

"Fall Leaf No.4"

Oil on 1/4" Board. Approx. 6" x 6" SOLD.

It's pretty apparent that Fall is here. The leaves in the forest behind my house are changing colors more and more by the day. I happend to glance at this leaf and thought it had the perfect shape to it. It was also crisp enough to stand up on it's side like this.

"Taped Leaf No.2"

Oil on 1.5" Gallery Wrapped Canvas. 10" x 10" SOLD.

This is very similar to a painting I did a while ago except it's bigger. It's on gallery wrapped canvas with the edges painted black. Personally I prefer to paint on a hard surface like board as opposed to canvas, but it was a nice change.

"PB&J No.4"

Oil on 1/4" Board. 6" x 5" SOLD.

"Bottles & Book" (Finished)

Oil on 1/4" Board. 12" x 7" SOLD.

I went from hating this painting to absolutley loving it in about an hour and a half. It really helped getting away from it yesterday. After about 30 minutes I came back to it cool, calm and collected. I got these 2 bottles at that resale shop I go to. Grand total for both bottles including tax...91¢. How can I pass that up?

WIP "Bottles & Book"

Oil on 1/4" Board. 12" x 7" Work In Progress

I got caught up in a commission earlier this evening and ended up trying to rush this one. I started to get frustrated and decided I would stop and post a work in progress to take a little break. I will try to finish it up tonight now that the pressure is off to post something today. I wanted to paint something more complex after yesterday's minimalist composition.

"Wine Cork"

Oil on 1/4" Board. 6" x 5" SOLD.

Okay,
Kind of a quick one tonight. I wish I could say I have all the time I want to paint but that's just not true. Anyway, I have some larger work I am working on at the moment and hope to post one of those soon. This is post number 229 for the Daily Painting blog.

"Cut Pineapple"

Oil on 1/4" Board. 6" x 6" Commission-NFS

"Cut Pomegranate"

Oil on 1/4" Board. 6" x 6" Commission-NFS

"Pointing the Way"

Oil on 1/4" Board. 8" x 8" For purchase info, please email michael@mnaples.com

I had this painting about 90% done and decided it needed something in the forground...an old school yellow pencil. Now I am able to say I am satisfied with this one.

"Sunset Colored Clouds"

Oil on 1/4" Board. 6" x 6" SOLD.

This is post number 225 for my Daily Painting blog.

"Apple with Blue Bowl"

Oil on 1/4" Board. 8" x 8" SOLD

"Mangos No.2"

Oil on 1/4" Board. 6" x 6" Commission - NFS

"Bananas"

Oil on 1/4" Board. 6" x 6" Commission - NFS