Painting Demonstration - by Darren Maurer

I was invited to speak at a local artist's group here in Sioux City on Tuesday night. I have been invited to speak for them before and would normally blab on and on about painting. I still blabbed on and on about painting but decided to complete a demo while I blabbed. I needed a simple subject matter since I had only an hour-and-a-half to complete the painting from start to finish. It doesn't get much simpler than an apple. I painted from a photograph shot earlier in the day since I wasn't sure of the lighting conditions where I was going to painting. It turned out painting from the photo worked much better than painting from life would have in the space where the meeting is held. The hour-and-a-half flew by and before I knew it the painting was finished. I put the last stroke on the canvas right at 7:30 pm. (Pure Luck!) Everyone seemed to enjoy watching me paint as I thought out loud going through all my painting decisions. There were lots of great questions. I was extremely happy with the finished painting and I surprised the group by giving the painting away to one of them in a raffle like drawing at the end of the session. I think I could really get into teaching painting.

Valentine's Day Kiss - by Darren Maurer

5" x 5"

I have always liked painting candy. The Hershey's Kiss would be one of my favorites due to the silver reflective foil wrapper. I like how it reflects all the colors surrounding it within the little folds and crinkles of the foil. I wanted to create a composition for this painting that is different from the other Kisses paintings I have done. I decided to crop off the bottom portion of the candy but yet making sure to leave enough of the instantly identifiable shape visible focusing on the paper stem. The unmistakable paper stem that has the word "KISSES" printed on it makes this candy perfect for Valentine's Day. Painting Sold.

Small Town Cafe - by Darren Maurer

8" x 10"

I love painting these cafe table scenes. There is something really cool about them to me. This particular cafe is located in Stillwater, Minnesota. We stopped there last summer and had some great hamburgers and fries. On my way out the door I saw this empty table in the corner with the usual small town cafe condiments sitting by the table edge. I knew right then that I wanted to paint it. I had two different light sources to consider on this painting. I had windows on both sides of the objects and yet they were mostly backlit. You can see a historic building out the window and there is another building reflected in the side of the napkin holder. I am particulary fond of the salt shaker. This painting available through Bethal Street Gallery. Contact gallery for purchase information. UPDATE: Painting Sold