Maraschino Cherry - Daily Painting by Darren Maurer

4" x 6"

I can remember sometimes ordering a drink called a "Roy Rogers" as a kid. It is actually the same thing as a "Shirley Temple" but having a drink by that name wouldn't have been cool. It was some sort of sweet drink made with grenadine and 7-up and topped with a maraschino cherry. The first thing gone would be the cherry. I haven't had a "Roy Rogers" in several years now but I still like these cherries. They are usually still included in many ice cream desserts and whenever I get one with something it is still the first thing to go. The red is so red they are also very challenging to paint. This is painting 254 in my Painting A Day Series. Painting Sold.

Jolly Rancher Candy - Daily Painting by Darren Maurer

4" x 6"

Those of you that have followed my work know that I have painted some of my favorite candies. It hit me that I had not yet painted one of my other favorite candies.....the Jolly Rancher. I can't believe I forgot about the Jolly Rancher. Not to be one that disappoints here is the famous candy all unwrapped and ready go. This is painting 253 in my Painting A Day Series. Painting Available $100. (Email Me for Purchase Details)

Progress on a Painting

24" x 30"

Here is a painting that I have been working on in between some other projects this week. I am planning on entering this piece into a competition early next year. It has a long way to go before it is finished. Getting the water perfect will be the make or break area of this piece. The ducks in the painting are Common Goldeneyes.

Coca-Cola Can - Daily Painting by Darren Maurer

5" x 7"

I was drinking a Coke today. I set the can down and decided it would be a good painting. It takes different sets of skills in order to paint different subjects. Some things need to be painted very loose and painterly and others need a tighter painting style to look correct. This subject was painted a little bit slower and more deliberate. The very recognizable Coca-Cola logo needed to be seen and recognized right away. I am happy with the result of this painting. This is painting 252 in my Painting A Day Series. Painting Sold.

Red & White Bobber - Daily Painting by Darren Maurer

4" x 6"

An artist friend once told me that the process of creating a painting is nothing more than making a thousand decisions. Some paintings might be more and some less. I'm going to use this bobber as an example of making decisions while painting. The decisions for this piece most likely only number in the few hundreds but neverless I'll describe a few of the most obvious ones. It was strongly lit from one side which creates different shades of color all around a spherical shaped object. There are reflections from the table and background that I could see in the unlit area. It has rust stains all around it toward the top side. The stains were caused by rolling around inside a wet metal tackle box for years. Since it always rolled the same way the stains made perfect circular lines around the white side of the bobber. The cast shadow was darker in the center and got lighter toward the edges and the highlights had to be placed correctly or the entire illusion of a round plastic bobber is lost. These are only some of the most obvious observations I had to make to finish this painting. It is always amazing what you can see in even the most simple objects when you really see the object and don't just look. This is painting 251 in my Painting A Day Series. Painting Sold.

Jar of Marbles #2 - Daily Painting by Darren Maurer

5" x 7"
As if painting a bunch of round gumballs wasn't enough of painting little round things. Hey!!! I know!!! I'll paint a jar of marbles now!!! That is what I was thinking while I was working on this but it didn't strike me as similar to the gumballs until it was much too late to turn back. Talk about inviting misery for myself. In all seriousness....it wasn't really that bad but I thought it was rather funny that I was so happy to finish all the gumballs earlier this week and then subconsciously choose to paint a jar full of marbles on the very next project. This painting ended up with an oldstyle antique feeling look to it. The marbles in the jar are old so it is very fitting that the painting has an antique feel to it also. Most of the marbles were colored with subtle tones and I like the fact the jar isn't full of loud color. This is painting 250 in my Painting A Day Series. Painting Sold.

Gumball Machine - by Darren Maurer

16" x 24"

Here is the finished gumball machine. This was a fun and interesting piece to finish. I like the differences in the reflective quality of the four surfaces. Glass, painted metal, gumballs, and chrome make up most of the gumball machine and they all four have their own degree of shininess. When viewed in person, the painting has a way of attracting and holding your attention. I think much of that is due the larger than life gumball machine being front and center in the composition. This is a Sold Commission painting.

Pair of Apples- Daily Painting A Day by Darren Maurer

5" x 7"

This is my first miniature painting for awhile. I had orders for several commissions and wanted to give them my full attention until they were finished. I'm almost finished with the Gumball machine. (See Below) We had these apples setting out getting ready for school lunches tomorrow and I liked the strong light from almost directly overhead. With only one light on in the room the background was dark. The high contrast between the background and illuminated apples gives this painting some punch. This is painting 249 in my Painting A Day Series. Painting Sold.

More Gumball Machine Progress

I'm getting close to the point where I work on the darkest darks and the lightest lights. Should be finished soon.

Gumball Machine - Work in Progress by Darren Maurer

16" x 24"

Here is one of the other commissions I have been working on. In the past, I rarely have posted paintings before they were finished. One reason for this is I am rarely, if ever, happy with any of them. Lots of whining, complaining, disgusted looks, and general bad attitude toward the canvas that is the lucky one getting oil paint scrubbed all over it. It sounds sick but really love my work process. I'm still usually not happy until my paintings get into the final stages. I'm going to try and lighten up a little bit and post a few progress shots from time to time of some of the larger pieces I'm working on. My advice to beginning artists is to keep scrubbing the paint around until you are happy.

This commission was inspired by some of the other small gumball machine pieces I have painted in the past. The area of the painting where the gumballs are located looks white but it is toned a very neutral gray. I have been working on the basic colors and tones in the red area and also the areas that will later become chrome. Chrome is fun to paint and always invites lots of questions from beginners and non painters on how it is done. One of my next steps will be painting the gumballs and shading each one correctly. Then adding all the highlights on the metal and the glass and finishing details. The next time I post on my blog this will hopefully be a finished painting. This is a Sold Commission Painting.

Pine Cone #3 - Daily Painting by Darren Maurer

6" x 8"

I think pine cones are very challenging to capture in paint. Not one is the same and they are an abstractly shaped object. They have several planes and shapes all catching the light slightly differently. I looked at this pine cone from many different angles before deciding to use a very low vantage point for the painting. I like showing small objects from a low close vantage point because most people don't look at things that way. As always, I tried to to just concentrate on only shapes and colors and painting them in the correct place. Not looking at the pine cone as a pine cone and only seeing the shapes and colors makes the painting much easier. This is painting 248 in my Painting A Day Series. Although... it is a commission painting and it is sold. I have one more medium sized commission painting I'm working on and then I will get back to posting some miniature paintings that will be for sale.

Tricycle #3 - Commission Painting by Darren Maurer

12" x 12"

I have painted this old tricycle before. I love the worn seat and the weathered red and white paint. The best paintings always tell a story and tricycles have many stories to tell. My client saw my previous tricycle painting and wanted one of his own. I enjoyed painting on a slightly larger scale than most of my miniature paintings. Commission Painting Sold.

I also wanted to call everyone's attention to the work of my friend John Vander Stelt from Maurice, Iowa. John is a fantastic artist and I have always admired his work. One of my favorite artists is Edward Hopper and John's work has a very hopperish feel to it. John started his painting blog titled "Paintings from A Small Town" a few weeks ago. I encourage everyone to check his blog by clicking this link: Paintings from A Small Town. I also highly recommend clicking the link to his website while visiting his blog page. Check the Fine Art section and you will see what I mean about the Edward Hopper since of time and light John has in his work. Send him an email and welcome him to the painting blog world if you get a chance. He is great guy also.