Glass Christmas Ornament - by Darren Maurer

5" x 7"

As I mentioned in the fortune cookie post....I like painting shiny objects. There isn't anything much more shiny than a glass Christmas ornament. I painted what I saw reflected in the ball and the result is a rose colored very warped rendition of my art studio resonating back in the glass. I prefer the round reflective globes but glass decorations come in about any shape you could imagine. The Germans began making ornaments for mass production in the mid-1800s. They were all made by hand. Glass blowers began molding glass into fruit or nut replicas. After those became popular, they began developing different shapes, such as hearts and stars, as well as saints, children or animals. Commission Painting SOLD.

Fortune Cookie - by Darren Maurer

5" x 7"

 

I have always like painting slick shiny objects like plastic, glass, and other reflective surfaces. Getting this fortune cookie to look like it is inside the clear plastic wrapper was interesting. Start with a few strokes slightly darker than the background, add the shadows, and then hit it with some almost pure white strokes where you see the highlights and instantly it turns into a clear plastic wrapper.

I have had several calls and messages in the last few weeks inquiring if the paintings are for sale? All of the paintings are for sale unless otherwise noted.

"The Favorite" (Bass-O-Reno) by Darren Maurer

8" x 10"

I have been working on this painting for the last two weeks. Old fishing lures have a certain memory triggering action for me. I always think back to a time when I caught a big bass with a lure just like this one or it reminds me of a particular fishing trip or a long time fishing buddy. I'm certain the appeal of antique lure paintings is because of this same reaction with the people that see the work. I have been painting portraits of old tackle for a long time now and it never gets old, in fact, when I began painting the very first object I ever tried to do a painting of was an old bass lure. This one is a commission painting for someone that is going to give it away as a Christmas gift this year. Glad I got it done!!!

Cracked Egg - by Darren Maurer

5" x 7"

For the past several months I have been getting together with a friend and painting about once a month.  The last time we met I didn't realize we were going to be painting until it was getting close to 7 o'clock. I had to come up with a subject fast. I grabbed an egg out of the refrigerator and decided I would crack it open and whatever it looked like is what I would paint. Usually every painting is a struggle at some point during the process. Every so often a painting will go really well without problems or issues. This was one of those that went very smoothly with only one very small problem area that was easily corrected. I painted about 90% of this at my friend's studio and finished in my studio after it had a chance to slightly dry. Painting a raw egg is a fun challenge and the yellow color of an egg yolk is amazing.