Still Pear

7.25x9.25 acrylic on illustration board, © 2008

Collection of the artist

This was a painting for a workshop with Judy Greff. As a warm-up exercise, we were working  to get the essence of a still life. She had set up a Pear at the front of the room, and I decided to take it on. I loved it because it was right the first time with minimal stokes. The table I worked with for a while but in total it was a very successful piece.

Heritage Still Life

8x10, acrylic on panel, © 2007
Private Collection

Once on a business trip to Nashville, Tennessee, I saw an artist's shop next to the hotel where I stayed, and what struck me was the luscious paint—brilliant and shining. I have come to better be able to achieve this feeling of opulent paint. Painting on panels is one element, but also using a heavy coat of gloss varnish is another.

This painting was finished during the Judy Greff workshop. She uses a spatter technique very effectively, and that is what I wanted to learn. She also wanted us to paint from a still life. So in the morning hours, I took a picture of some objects and took the photo to class. Judy suggested pouncing over actual lace to get the doily effect. I tried it, and it worked great with some lace that she had. I also used the spatter technique which accentuated the antique look. I haven't done still lifes since college days, but it was a fun piece to do.

Still life Philodendron

8x10, acrylic on canvas, © 1975
Private Collection

When I went to Iowa to take my comprehensive exams for a Master's degree in Art History, I stayed with a couple. They were close friends and gracious hosts, and I presented them with this painting as a thank you for the lodging.

Unfortunately, I do not have a high-quality photo of the piece.

Home Phone

18x24, oil on panel, © 1969
Collection of the Artist

An assignment painting from art school. It was painted in the basement of my parents' home. I painted it as a statement of the slickness of the modern pop culture. I took off the dial on the phone and knobs on the amplifiers to emphasize the point. I had some difficulty with the perspective, but this seemed to enhance the feeling of the piece.

Still Life with Lamp

18x24, oil on canvas, 1969
Collection of the artist

The lamp and preserve jar belonged to my great grandmother, Ane Marie Madsen (survivor of the Willie Handcart Company, aged 10). I painted this in the basement of my parents' home as an art school assignment.

Horse Skull

18x24, oil on canvas, © 1969
Collection of the artist

This was an assignment to paint a still life in grisaille and then add color. I glazed the skull, bottle, and background. That worked fairly well, but the coffee pot and cup I couldn't get red enough and finally used an opaque red to complete the effect.

Grisaille: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grisaille

Pointillist Still Life

18x24, oil on canvas, © 1969
Collection of the artist

An experimental assignment in the same painting class using dots of colors and letting the eye mix them. I don't believe that I have the patience to do this type of painting as my dots were too large and the colors not close enough in value to mix well. Good exercise that I won't repeat soon.

Still life with bread

18x26, oil on canvas, © 1969
Collection of the artist

This painting was a set up in an oil painting class at the University of Utah. It was originally a larger work, but composition dictated that it be smaller, and so I made it smaller. It is a fair representation of the setup, but the gray does not work well for an artistic painting.