Simple Pleasures

Simple Pleasures by Scott Ruthven
6"x8" Oil on Canvas Panel

Finally, I had time to finish this painting so now I can eat the chocolate!!!

The bold colors of the bag in the background and strong angular shapes in the chocolate wrapper made for a fun, poster-like composition.

Huile d'Olive

"Huile d'Olive" by Scott Ruthven 6"x8" Oil on Canvas Board

NFS

I painted this piece from life and really was drawn into the complementary red and green shapes in the olive oil decanter.  It was interesting how, even though the decanter was filled with lush, green olive oil, the red of the tomatoes shined through creating almost abstract shapes.

I found this olive oil decanter at a really cool store called O&CO Mediterranean Food Merchant in Denver Colorado.  It is so unique and elegant that I'm sure to paint it again!

Scott

Beachcombing Memories

Beachcombing Memories by Scott Ruthven 8"x8" Oil on Gallery Canvas

We like vacationing in Mexico and invariably bring home lots of shells, coral, and beach glass from our hours of walking the beaches.  I dusted a couple of them off and set up this still life to contrast one enjoying the water and one looking in longingly.  Don't worry, I let them both swim after the sitting ;-)

1940's Christmas - Shiny Brite Demo Part 3 of 3

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Here's the wrap up of my little 5x5" painting titled "Shiny Brite".  I wanted to capture the warmth created by Christmas lights on a cold winter's night.

"Shiny Brite" by Scott Ruthven 5x5" Oil on Canvas

At the stage above, I finished the ball and it's reflection.  I tinkered with the reflected lights for a long while.  Then I painted the metal cap and hanger.  The top of the cap reflected light from a yellow bulb while in it's refection, more light from the red bulb can be seen.

Here, I painted the bulb in the box.  I kept it simple and made the reflections of the lightbulbs a bit smaller and less intense so the ball in the box doesn't pull too much attention.  I also darkened the hanger hook and added a highlight.

Here is a quick time lapse of the steps:

I learned so much painting this and really enjoyed the whole process.

1940's Christmas - Shiny Brite Demo Part 2

It's getting cold here in Colorado and the snow is falling!  I'm more than halfway through this little painting and today will show you the next few steps.

Here I've painted in the reflection using a darker, lower chroma version of the reflected light on the box.

With the box done, I had to start the ornament.  The more I look at the ornament, the more subtleties I see.  Not really knowing where to start, I just begin laying in easily identifiable shapes of color.

Here I further refine the subtle color blends from the lights.  I like the golden reflection of the box edge on the back of the ornament.  Once I got that in, I felt the shape and 3D nature starting to come to life.

I'll wrap this up in my next post!

1940's Christmas - Shiny Brite Demo Part 1

Picture of my still-life setup

Since I'm totally in the Christmas spirit and hopelessly attracted to shiny things I took a shot at painting this still life.  These "Shiny Brite" brand ornaments were made in the U.S.A. back in the 1940's.  

For the still-life, I arranged Christmas lights around the box of ornaments to create this wonderful warm and cool glowing light. 

To get a feel for the composition and color, I taped up a 8x11" sheet of canvas and painted these quick sketches.  I did them quickly and experimented with color and paint application.  The wording on the box required some trial and error to find a way to paint it so as to look flat, like printing on a box rather than hand painted lettering.  I also realized that the reflections and multiple colors of light on the ball required careful study.

10-30 minute color sketches

Simple underpainting with initial values laid in.

Once I found the layout I liked, I drew it out onto this 5x5" stretched canvas.  Hopefully the viridian underpainting will help me create that flat effect I want on the green lettering.  The underpainting also helps establish the cool shadows and when the thicker, warm yellows and reds are painted on top they will really radiate.  Using thin, transparent grey (Ultramarine Blue + Burnt Sienna) I laid in the value structure.

In the three pics above you can see how I used white to bring out the highlighted areas then scrubbed in pure paint (without medium) for the lettering.  Then I painted the cool blues and greens in the right side of the box and shadow from the ornament.  Lastly, the warm yellow to orange tone was worked into the front of the box and painted around the lettering.

I'll keep painting and show my progress over the next couple of posts.  Gee, I hope I don't mess up the painting...that would be embarrassing now that I posted the beginning.  So, if there are no further posts that might indicate that I ran into a problem ;-)

Scott

Tree Ripened

"Tree Ripened" by Scott Ruthven 11x14" Oil on Panel

My neighbor has a pear tree that didn't produce any fruit the first few years of it's life.  Then for several years any fruit it bore was snatched up and savored by the owner.  Now, some ten years later, this wonderful tree produces enough pears for everyone in the neighborhood.  Since I work from home, of of my favorite things to do is to go outside in the summer and "pick" my lunch from my garden and the fruit trees.  I usually grab some peas, a handful of cherry tomatoes, some lettuce, a carrot, and of course, a pear if they are ripe.  There is nothing like biting into a slightly soft, tree-ripened pear.  The smell of the fruit on the tree, the sweet juice in the pear, and the connection I feel to the earth and the magic of it all.

Pears are frequent subject matter for artists but most of the time, they are bruised and beat up during their long journey from farm to supermarket.  I wanted this portrait to capture the pristine, colorful flesh of these pears and the life still vibrant within the very leaves that provided the energy to grow the fruit.

This painting took several days to complete.  Once finished, I sat down and ate every last bite of these pears...just as they would have wanted.

"Tree Ripened" in progress with model and a crowd of admirers

Daffodils - Oil on Panel

Daffodils 11x14" Oil on Panel - Scott Ruthven

Daffodils are a favorite of mine.  Oddly, I don't have any in my garden so this past spring when I wanted to paint some I covertly "obtained" these from the entrance to a housing development.  Delicate to look at but sturdy in structure, the Daffodil makes for good subject matter.  I wrapped these stems in wet paper towels and they kept their form for four + hours while I worked out my composition, laid in my drawing and completed the color block-in.  While most of the painting was completed Alla Prima, I did go back in once it was dry to scumble in the cool highlights from the Northern light and to build up some of the shadow areas to help the stems recede.

I just varnished and framed it and I'm really pleased with the deep, rich color and the contrast between warm and cool.  This piece really commands attention from across the room.