Handyman’s Preserves

Handyman's Preserves (9 x 23" watercolor on paper) $600

Right now I feel like a magpie–I’m attracted to shiny things.  I’ve just finished a series of shiny brass and silver instruments.  The last couple paintings, I’ve done cut glass.  This subject is a little humbler, but it’s still all about shine.

I like the nostalgia of it too.  Surely I’m not the only one who’s seen a shop window full of jars of screws, nails, washers, and bolts and noticed how beautiful they are.  The subject may be humble, but it was a bit of a challenge too.  I began by painting the background in layers starting with new gamgee and ending in dioxin purple and cobalt blue.

In Progress

Filling in the background brought the jars into instant relief.  After that it was simply a matter of adding the contents one jar at a time. I treated each jar as it’s own little painting, with it’s own compositional problems. The result is a happy variety.

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