Still Life Half Finished

I had not anticipated how ridiculous-difficult (ridifficult?) it would be to paint a larger canvas without an easel. It killed my back to lean over this one, so I'll re-post it when I finish it up tomorrow. I'm yearning for a french folding travel-style with a drawer for stuff.

My other project for the day has been taking care of my fiancee, who had her wisdom teeth removed this morning. I made some mashed potatoes for our dinner. To commemorate the occasion, I carved a "potato tooth" with a paring knife:

Canada Goose!

I have always been a fan of geese. I had a few pet domestic geese in high school, and they were amazingly intelligent and affectionate animals. Even when they were full grown, they would let me pick them up and flip them upside down to be held.

Favorite Pen

This is my favorite pen for note-taking in class. It is an old "Esterbrook" fountain pen I found in an antique store for $15 years and years ago. It's most likely from the ~1940s, judging by the bakelite plastic. I have two others pens of similar vintage, and they are all lever operated - they have a small rubber bladder on the inside to hold ink that is squished by pulling the lever on the body. This gives me the ultra-cool squid-like ability to spray a stream of ink on command, if ever the need arose.

Quarters

This was a fun painting to paint. For some reason, it seemed to come very easily and I like the orange on dull green contrast. I'll be posting this one, along with yesterday's, on Ebay as a test. I want to see how they'll do on there.

Abstract Figure

Here is an abstract figure for your enjoyment.

Nose and Mouth in Blue

Here is my nose and mouth painted entirely in blue and white. Lips have been the hardest part of the self-portraits I've attempted thus far, so I wanted to do a sketch of lips nearly by their lonesome.

Fingernail Clippers

Fingernail clippers. They're a wonderful thing.