How 'Bout Them Apples -

Brent and I worked on this piece together, it's a mix of photography, drawing, and painting.  We didn't have to go far to find inspiration for this illustration. Our apple tree is dripping with bright red fruit and the backyard smells like hard cider. Most of the tree has wormy apples, however, I picked a big bag of pretty unblemished apples that will be perfect for worm-free pies and other treats.

Here's the link to our etsy store for a 6" mounted print version of "Delicious"

Autumn Tree - A Mixed Media Journey

I am starting on a new mixed media landscape with leaves and grass pressed and varnished on to a wood box style canvas. A friend who liked some of my past works of grassy mixed media abstracts recently commissioned me to do a piece with a Autumn theme. So, I thought it would be a good idea to share the creative process of this project.

I began by searching for organic materials that would work for a landscape design. I collected leaves from my garden and grass from the park. I pressed a large cabbage leaf until dry and flat and trimmed the grass that had dried and seeded in to shapes and sizes that would work for the design I had in mind. I want to convey a breezy Autumn moment, with a swaying tree and swirling grass or leaves floating off the canvas and out of view, imparting a lot of movement. I arranged my found materials in to a pleasing composition and varnished them in to place with poly-urethane (it dries quickly). Next I started laying in color on top and around the grass and cabbage leaf, which is now a tree.

I will finish this piece over the next couple of days and post the last steps with a image of the finished painting on Friday.

Cheers,
Derek