Grandma's China by Dennis Crayon

Grandma's China  8x10 by Dennis Crayon Oil on Canvas

In the beginning of the spring I finished two paintings that I sold thought Zoll Studios. One of the paintings was of 3 coffee cups that was part of my mother’s set of good china. The china is a family heirloom, which was handed down from my grandmother to my mother. It was in my house when I was growing up and was only used on special occasions. There was a china closet in the dinning room and it would always rattled when someone came down the stairs.

I wanted to get the gold high lights as strong as I possibly could.

Merry Go Round

Merry Go Around 8x8 by Dennis Crayon Oil on Panel
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For this tromp l'oeil painting I started with a sepia under painting using a mixture of black, burnt umber and white. The mixture of black and burnt umber was about 50 percent each then I added the white accordingly to the value needed. I made sure that there were no hard edges in the sepia areas so that there would be a high contrast between the bright colors of the merry ground’s horse and the soft edge of the background. When this layer was dry I painted over the top with the bright “candy” colors that you see in carnivals. Lastly I worked with the contour and shading of the horse’s mouth in order to fool the eye and play with the illusion of the head popping off the page. The masking tape also helps with the illusion of the colored layer tape on the top of the sepia layer.

I had captured this image last year when the carnival came on Northern Virginia and up until now was not sure would be the best way using the image. I wanted to give a nostalgic feeling to the painting by using the sepia color under painting technique.

Grapes in Glass 2

Grapes in Glass 2 8x8 by Dennis Crayon Oil on Panel
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The earliest murals of trompe l'oeil art that exist can be found in the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum and have been dated back to the first century A.D. After becoming part of the rich culture of the Greek and Roman Empires, trompe l'oeil art all but disappeared during the Dark Ages, not to resurface until the Renaissance and Baroque eras.

My interest in t trompe l'oeil has re-emerged I have add a contemporary twist by giving the illusion of a ripped photographic fragment taped to the top of a blurry image of the same objects. I have been really excited about the idea of placing one image over the top of another and having the top image be a fragment of the first image.

Pears & Baggie

Pears & Baggie 8x8 by Dennis Crayon Oil on Panel

 

Among the things I enjoy most about painting a still life is the challenge of creating the illusion of texture and depth. I’m starting to paint a series of objects in plastic bags. Painting plastic can be similar to painting lace and glass because you need to define both the object and the transparency.

Pears & Baggie was painted with a number of layers of glaze (transparent oil paint with medium). I usually start with opaque paints but this time I really want to work with the translucency that glazes offer. I will be combining contemporary and traditional objects in this series.

I just have to watch to make sure the plastic doesn’t look out a place or contrived. Baggies are of course one of the vessels we use in the 21st century and that idea amuses me for some reason.

Spring Robin by Dennis Crayon

Spring Robin 8x8 by Dennis Crayon Oil on Panel

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I saw a robin in a tree the other day. It reminded me of my grandmother who tried her best to make sure she saw her first robin each spring in a tree. She believed that it would bring good luck if the first robin she saw was in a tree. I later decided to make it a Trompe l’oeil painting of a torn photo.

Trompe l’oeil - A French term literally meaning "trick the eye." Sometimes called illusionism, it's a style of painting which gives the appearance of three-dimensional, or photographic realism. It flourished from the Renaissance onward.

Please let me know if you like the Tromp l'oeil effect I really enjoyed doing it and have just started a second painting of grapes in a glass only this painting will all be in color

Sugar & Creamer by Dennis Crayon

Sugar & Creamer 8 x 8 by Dennis Crayon Oil on Panel

2 years ago I visited friends for Thanksgiving they had a beautiful set of china displayed in the dinning room. I took that image then and made a painting this week. I had to rework the wall paper in the background in order to get the color and pattern correct. I was really inspired by the strong light hitting the china and how it affected shadows on the ceramics.

If you'd like to purchase, please click Go to my eBay Auction bidding starts at $25.00

Row House

Row House 8 x 8 by Dennis Crayon Oil on Panel

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After the blizzard of 2010 it was nice to come out of the house one morning and see the blue skies and warm red of bricks in sunlight. These are the row houses in the District at the end of 13th street. I was walking the dog and as I turned the corner the sun was hitting the top floors of these houses. I worked at capturing the warmth of the day and the surprise of the moment as the sun came up.

It is hard for me to do facades that are not reminiscent of Edward Hooper. Hooper was one of the first artists whose work I got to know and Hopper's work has always inspire me to continue painting.

Dogwood

Dogwood 8 x 8 by Dennis Crayon Oil on Panel

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I created this image of the branch from the neighbor’s dogwood last spring. With the promise of spring and warmer weather it seemed likes a great time to do the painting.

I have a red tablecloth with a floral design as the pattern, which is reflected of the actual flowers on the branch. I also want to contrast the dark red of the background with the white flowers. I enjoyed adding the green centers it helped pull the painting together.

Red Tulips 8 x 8

Red Tulips 8 x 8 by Dennis Crayon Oil on Panel

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I thought that the light was beautiful hitting the flowers. I glazed many coats of Alizarin Crimson in order to get the translucency of the light as it illuminated the flowers.

Red & Blue Marbles 8 x 8

Red & Blue Marbles 8x8 by Dennis Crayon Oil on Panel
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I love the glass spheres and the contrast between light and dark / gray and bright colors that marbles give. I bought these marbles on ebay it is very hard to find red cats eye marbles why I don’t know. But after buying the marbles I wanted to use just one red marble as the focal point and have the four blue marbles surround the red causing a circular motion around the main marble.

I need to give marbles a rest for a while this is the 4th painting I have done using marbles I am sure that sometime in the future I’ll be painting them again but right now they need to rest.

Yellow Tulip 8 x 8

Dennis Crayon 8 x 8 Oil on Panel

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I loved the light, the colors, and the transparency of the pedals. I was excited about trying to capture the shades of yellow, which are both delicate and strong at the same time. Tulips come up in the garden as one of the first signs of spring and warm weather. We all like new beginnings.

Right now as I sit in Washington DC I am snowed in for the 4th day in a row. Fresh flowers would be a real step in the right direction and a promise of better things ahead.