Three Boxes

Oil on canvas 40 x 40cm

This was an exercise in painting white on white.  I was attracted to the austerity of the boxes, their straight lines, cool tones against cool with the exception of the warmth inside the boxes.

Recycled

Oil on canvas 60 x 60cm

I really like how the overlapping bottles form a wriggly line which echoes the curve of the bottle on the left.

Broken Cup

Oil on canvas 40 x 40cm

Another painting where the aim was to keep the tones in the mid - high tone range.

Kitchenalia

Oil on canvas board 30 x 22.5

Having a bit of fun here!

Balinese Salt Cellar

Oil on canvas board 20 x 15cm

This s a day painting of a little salt cellar brought into the studio by my fellow artist, Judith.

Vessels

Oil on canvas 40x40cm

Well this is a bit of a change for me: high tones, thin paint, muted colours.

I have been channeling Morandi.  So it has been quite an interesting change and I have learn a lot about Morandi.

Who darns socks anymore?

These wooden mushrooms are for darning socks.  My mother used to have one, although it was painted red with white spots and I cannot remember it being used in over 30 years.  So they have come to represent more frugal times, before socks became very cheap, when people, usually women knitted socks and darned them to gain extra life.

Stapled

Oil on board 23.5x18.5cm       Sold

A staple gun: vital equipment for any artist!

Pegged

Oil on board 15 x 15cm

I remember watching  Robert Hughs' TV programme: The Shock of the New and he featured the Clothespin sculpture by Claes Oldenburg.  It was a giant peg so that when you gazed up it read as a huge figure conveying monumental strength and presence.  The shock of seeing something so mundane, so ordinary, made large also seemed very funny to me: a shock or displacement. 

So here are three little pegs, barely larger than sight size, completely free of of virility but instead companionable, domestic...

Clothespin by Claes Oldenburg

Susan's Cup

Oil on canvas 12.5 x 22.5cm

Susan, a fellow artist who shares a studio opposite mine at One Plus2, bought in this very pretty cup and saucer as a challenge for me.

Tea Strainer and Can Opener

Oil on board 25.5 x 20cm

Using a limited palate here.

From the Drawer

Oil on board 25.5 x 20.5cm

Strainer

Oil on board 25.5 x 20.5cm

What attracted me to this subject was the wonderful shape.

Measuring Spoons

Oil on canvas board 30.5 x 25.5cm