Fragment: Knife, Bottles, Glass

"Fragment: Knife, Bottles, Glass"
Oil on panel, 2.5 x 3.5 inches (6 x 9 cm)
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In a way, I feel like I'm heading in opposite directions at once; I'm aiming for greater, truer realism, while at the same time the compositions are becoming somewhat abstract. For instance, in this painting, I worked to very accurately portray the silver handle of the old knife, even though it may not be clear at all that it is in fact a knife. In a way, that doesn't even matter to me; the goal is to have beautiful shapes coming together in a satisfying, harmonious way... the very soul of abstraction.

Fragment: Glass and Red Bowl No. 2

"Fragment: Glass and Red Bowl No. 2"
Oil on panel, 2.5 x 3.5 inches (9 x 6 cm)
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The term "negative space" simply refers to the empty area surrounding the objects in a painting; you can think of it as the shape that the background takes. One of the interesting things about working with transparent objects is that negative space starts to take on multiple dimensions. For instance, in this painting, there is negative space surrounding the green pilsner glass to the right. Behind that, there is negative space surrounding the creamer. Behind even that, there is the negative space surrounding the rim of the ceramic bowl.

Two Knives, Glass, Screwdriver

"Two Knives, Glass, Screwdriver"
Oil on panel, 2 x 5 inches (5 x 12 cm)
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This piece comes back to the Kaleidoscope series I've been working with. It was actually intended to be larger and more complicated, but I found too many problems with the particular composition. I resolved it simply by taking a slice out of the middle, and the result was a completely different design. As you can imagine, the oriental rug was a real pleasure to paint.

Two Bottles and Magnifying Glass

"Two Bottles and Magnifying Glass"
Oil on panel, 5 x 2 inches (12 x 5 cm)
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I really love the almost poster-like quality of this composition; the bold, upright forms of the bottles balanced by the curve of the magnifying glass. The magnified distortion and the soft light filtered through the green glass added a certain individuality as well.

Fragment: Salt Shaker and Glass

"Fragment: Salt Shaker and Glass"
Oil on panel, 3.5 x 2.5 inches (9 x 6 cm)
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Here the forms of the shaker and the glass reflect each other, but in reverse. The glass itself is a Venetian goblet; amber with gold trim. The richness and depth of the firey highlights was absolutely mind-blowing. I did my very best to capture their essence, but of course working on such a small scale has it's limitations.

Fragment: Glass, Teacup, Knife

"Fragment: Glass, Teacup, Knife"
Oil on panel, 3.5 x 2.5 inches (9 x 6 cm)
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I was drawn to this composition because of the way the 2 handles face off from each other - like actors in a silent little drama. I'm also fascinated by brilliantly lit transparent objects placed against a black background - it makes the highlights and reflections postively sing.

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Fragment: Glass and Red Bowl No. 1

"Fragment: Glass and Red Bowl No. 1"
Oil on panel, 3.5 x 2.5 inches (9 x 6 cm)
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The very close cropping of this piece gives it a little bit of an abstract feel (which is in fact the point). What you're actually seeing is a glass creamer sitting inside a red ceramic spanish bowl, with a green pilsner glass in front. I love the way the pieces of glass combine to distort the ceramic.

Fragment: Green Bottle and Chinese Pipe

"Fragment: Green Bottle and Chinese Pipe"
Oil on panel, 2.5 x 3.5 inches (6 x 9 cm)
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Had I been born 150 years ago, I probably would have turned into a full-fledged Orientalist painter. As it is, nothing gets my creative juices flowing like objects with an exotic flair. The moment I saw this small chinese pipe, I knew I had to paint it.