Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Rainbow Lorikeet, Sunflowers, Kingfisher Egg Cup - Still Life Oil Painting


"Heads Or Tails"
12" x 12" Oil on gessobord panel 
$1275

Both the live rainbow lorikeet and the kingfisher egg cup have their eye on the caterpillar; thus the title.   Many hours were spent on this oil still life painting.   Below is a close-up showing the lady bug and other details.    Please email me if interested in this work.



My Website
reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Daffodils, Miniature Roses, Canary And Critters - Still Life Oil Painting


"Contemplating Life - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8"
9" x 12" oil on panel
$850

After many hours, here is the still life oil painting of daffodils and white miniature roses I started awhile back. Actually, I have also been painting on 2 other works at the same time.   The color in this image is close to the painting, but not exact; the foreground is lighter and more colorful and the lady bug on the leaf is a brighter red.   Keep in mind, your monitor may differ in color than mine.  Below is a photo of the painting at an earlier stage of development.

That bird in the painting is a Yellow-Fronted Canary which was introduced to Hawaii around the end of the 1960's and it is a native to Africa.  I snapped his photo at Kapiolani Park in Waikiki some time back.


Sunday, June 9, 2013

Oil Painting Video - Still Life By Eric Wert


Eric Wert's  attention to detail in his still life and floral paintings is marvelous !   Hope you enjoy the video !  You might want to turn your volume down on your computer as the accompanying music is rather loud. His website is www.werteric.com if you would like more of a visual feast.


I am still painting; the going is slow.  Painters like Eric Wert have inspired me to take a slightly different direction in my still life paintings; not only to add more detail, but to incorporate more "life" in each floral or other work as well ... in landscapes and seascapes too.    Check back soon to view my new work.

Monday, June 3, 2013

Red Blast - Oil Painting Of Red And White Tulips


"Red Blast"
8" x 10" oil on canvas
$525

This oil painting of red tulips with white edges might need a little tweaking, but basically it is finished.   I put on some Mozart to listen to while I painted last night..... it helps   ;-)


Thursday, May 30, 2013

Did You Say Red? Tulips - Oil Painting Work In Progress

Red Tulips
Work In Progress
8" x 10" oil on canvas

This oil painting of red tulips still has quite a ways to go....this is the 3rd stage; I forgot to photograph the 2nd stage.   I need to blend the various shades of red more, but it is too tacky right now.   So later it will be necessary to go over it all again and try to blend better; the liquin I use to speed up drying was on steroids today !
I have also been working on my daffodil painting as well.   Will post more results maybe tomorrow. 



Monday, May 27, 2013

Name That Tree ! (Photos California Trees)


This fantastic tree is one I hope to paint soon!  I photographed it at a small park in Los Angeles, California, a few years ago .   Does anyone out there know what kind of tree it might be?  I like to know what I am painting...  :-)   I will forget my copyright statement and allow this tree to be used by anyone for their own painting if you would email me  its name.    I will even send you some free postcards with one of my paintings on them as a thank you gift.   It might be an oak ??   Trees inspire me and I think they have a lot of character, but I am not real knowledgeable about a good many of them.


Below is another tree I was going to ask you about,  but I googled "red flowering trees in California" and found out it is a red coral tree, or Erythrina fusca.

Red Coral Tree

They also come with orange/coral shades of flowers.    This is not that great a photo; google "Erythrina fusca" under images for some great pictures of these beautiful flowers.   There is a reason my photography on this post is not the greatest;  after my Nikon camera got stolen (before I went to California)  I used the cheap disposable cameras you can find everywhere during my travels all over the USA.   You would be surprised to see how wonderful some photos turned out from those disposable cameras!    Now I have a good Sony digital camera that is excellent for my work. 
The photo below is of the Silk Floss tree, also taken in Los Angeles.   Somewhere along the way many of the photos of mine of that tree are missing.  

Silk Floss Tree

I painted a couple of watercolors of these blossoms while in Los Angeles, using much better reference photos.   This tree is unique because it has large "thorns" on its trunk and branches which serve to store water for dry times.   Please google images for "silk floss tree" for much better shots of these lovely flowers.  There is also interesting information on the Web about this tree's pods which contain black seeds surrounded by fluffy stuff that reminds one of silk, hence its name.  

Below are a couple of my photos taken at Echo Park in Los Angeles ; I used a disposable camera for them and they turned out better than the shots above.




I hope to finish one or both of my floral still life paintings tomorrow.   Check back with me !


Saturday, May 25, 2013

Daffodils And Red Tulips On The Easel (Works In Progress)



I thought you might like to see my easel setup and the two oil still life paintings I am working on right now.  I went back to the yellow daffodil painting and it is flowing much smoother now than previously.   Those red flowers with the daffodils will become more purple when finished.   The red tulips are practically painting themselves !  Both of these florals are painted in oils.   

As you know, most floor easels like mine shown above have "gaps" with no wood behind where you put your canvas to work on.   When you are painting small works and miniatures, this can be a problem.   I solved it by placing a piece of cardboard between the back of the easel and the artwork; it is also great to put my reference photos on with "Tac" putty, which is the white patches you can see on the cardboard.