Portrait of Campbell by Darren Maurer

11" x 14"

I haven't been posting Miniature Masterpieces because I have been working on this commission piece as well as another rather large one also. The other one is a 40" x 36" double portrait of a couple that will hang in a corporate office reception area. I am going to try and keep posting my small oils throughout the process of the large painting. I have friends that can work on several paintings at the same time but I tend not to be able to concentrate on more than about one thing at a time.

This painting is a portrait of a nice little dog named Campbell. White furry animals are always challenging to paint. The trick is not to get anything close to pure white until the very end. With one being pure white and ten being black, I try to keep my values between two-and-a-half and seven-and-a-half while painting. This allows me to be able to go lighter or darker when putting the finishing touches on the piece at the end. Painting Sold - Commission

Mother's Day Card Daily Painting by Darren Maurer

5" x 7"

I had some kids at a local daycare make some cards for me to use as reference on this painting. I thought about just making up a card myself to look as if a small child had done it. The thing about an adult trying to make a piece of artwork look like a child had done it usually doesn't work very well. It always looks like an adult tried to fake it. I'm much happier working with the real thing as a subject in this painting. I really like the Crayons in this one too. This is painting 153 in my Painting A Day Series. Painting Available $100.