Grandpa with Grandchild by Darren Maurer

8" x 10"
This is a commissioned pencil drawing that I finished this week. I always work from photographs on portraits. Babies aren't usually cooperative for very long. I was lucky to find a suitable photograph from the client. I almost always take the reference photos myself unless distance between the client and myself makes it impossible. I am hoping to get back into painting a few miniatures very soon. I still have some other obligations to complete first. Thanks for looking and if you happen to know this grandpa don't say anything about this, its a surprise!!

Apple and Linen by Darren Maurer

5" x 7"
I wanted to paint an apple with a strong contrasting background. Although difficult to see on a computer monitor, the background is a dark green which makes the deep red of the apple jump off of the canvas. I included the linen table cloth to create some interesting reflections on the underside of the apple. This is painting 82 in my Painting A Day Series. Painting Sold

Cherry Tomatoes by Darren Maurer

5" x 7"
Cherry tomatoes are truly one of my favorite things about late summer. I tried to capture the texture and color of the tomatoes along with trying to get an interesting composition with three cherry tomatoes. The composition was the most difficult part. To achieve such a perfect composition, I took the tomatoes and rolled them once like three dice and it was perfect. Don't tell anyone!! This is painting 81 in my Painting A Day Series. Painting Available $100

Ford Mustang Logo by Darren Maurer

5" x 7"
I found this Ford Mustang, which was in pristine condition by the way, on a recent trip. The logo of the famous mustang was catching some sunlight and was almost glowing against the flat black color of the grill. I wanted to complete a painting of the many different angles and chrome surfaces on the logo and try to capture all of the brilliance. This is painting 80 in my Painting A Day Series. I might miss a few days of painting for a short time. I am working on my entry for the Federal Duck Stamp Contest and the deadline is August 15th. The Federal Duck Stamp painting is small but extremely detailed and usually takes me anywhere from 80 to 120 hours to complete. I will still keep painting my miniatures, but it will be difficult to average one a day until my duck stamp design is finished. Painting Sold.

Salt and Pepper by Darren Maurer

5" x 7"
I'm back from a trip and painting again. I was getting anxious to oil paint and now feel much better. This is a set of salt and pepper shakers from the cafe inside the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, Wyoming. I took pictures of crazy things like this while the rest of my family went on the historic trolley tour ride around the town. I liked the way the light was reflecting off of the glass and the chrome tops. The contrast between the salt and the pepper was also interesting to paint. This is painting 79 in my Painting A Day Series. Painting Sold.

Lime Wedge by Darren Maurer

7" x 5"
This painting is from an idea given to me by our friends Charlie and Diane. We were all at our house watching Rock Star Super Nova and eating snack food. They brought a few cold Coronas with them and a couple of limes. Diane said something like, "Hey, paint a lime wedge in a Corona bottle." Then I said something like, "Okay, I'll do it tomorrow." And now it is reality. Oh, and before I forget, I'm also supposed to mention both of them in every television or newspaper interview that I do from here on. This is painting 78 in my Painting A Day Series. Painting Sold.

Lemon Wedge by Darren Maurer

5" x 7"
I was going to paint cherries tonight but when I went to the refrigerator to get the cherries, someone (and I'm narrowing it down to one of two daughters) had eaten all of them. There were still some lemons and I decided to use one of them again. Lemons are interesting to paint. They are light colored and usually very bright yellow. All of these present certain challenges when painting a lemon. This is painting 77 in my Painting A Day Series. It is too late now to post this on ebay so I will install a buy it now button now but I still may list this piece on ebay tomorrow or Saturday. I will also be taking a short break from painting for awhile next week. We have lots of family things next week and my painting time will be very limited. I'll post one tomorrow and then get back to painting as soon as possible late next week. Painting Available $100.

Rubix's Cube by Darren Maurer

5" x 7"
Sorry about posting another painting from a few months ago, but this one didn't make it on the blog page either. It was completed two days before the blog was up and running.
I was working on a little landscape tonight of a windrowed hay field that is not far from house but I'm not at all happy with the painting yet. I painted on it until I told myself it was done and then stepped back from my easel and saw that it was not up to my standards to show it. I will let it dry overnight and attack it again tomorrow. This Rubix's Cube was the second painting in my Painting A Day Series and I wanted to get it posted on the blog page anyway. I will post the third and only painting left that hasn't been posted in the near future as well. This painting is in fact sold.

Toothbrush and Toothpaste by Darren Maurer

6" x 8"
This is the going to be the painting of the day for Monday, July 10th. I won't be able to complete a new painting for Monday so I'm showing everyone this one which is in fact the very first Miniature Masterpiece that I did. This is painting number one in my Painting A Day Series. Painting Sold.

Nail Polish by Darren Maurer

5" x 7"
With a wife and two daughters we have a sufficient supply of nail polish and shoes at our house. I always want the nail polish and shoes to be put away and not just left where they were last used. It is a constant losing battle by the way. I thought why not try and do a painting of this bright smelly liquid and see what happens? Guess what? I like it, I really like it. Pardon the bad humor there, but really, it always amazes me to see what a few brush strokes of the correct color in the right locations can do. My favorite part of this painting is the reflection of the nail brush in the side of the bottle. This is painting 76 in my Painting A Day Series. If you are new to this site check all of the past archived paintings by clicking on the different months shown. Painting Sold

Green Pear by Darren Maurer

5" x 7"
I wanted to paint another pear with strong contrast between the subject and the pear. I set this pear up with north light from a window illuminating it and shut all lights off in the same room. The result is what you see here and I used a burgundy paper for the background. I really like the contrast in values along with the contrast from the use of complimentary colors again. This is painting 75 in my Painting A Day Series. I can't believe I have done 75 paintings now. Painting Sold.

Tomato Line Up by Darren Maurer

3 1/2" x 12"
I'm back after the holiday. I worked on another horizontal composition of an overhead view of four tomatoes. I am happy with how this painting ended up when finished. I like these because they are different from we normally see. This is painting 74 in my Painting A Day Series. Painting Sold.

Lemon Line Up by Darren Maurer

3 1/4" x 12"
I decided to try a different format for my still life today. I like doing long horizontal formats for some of landscapes and thought maybe it would work here as well. I think it looks interesting. This is painting 73 in my Painting A Day Series. Painting Sold.