Grey-scale Hills
11x14 acrylic on Bavarian linen panel
Buy it at: https://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/gregory-cross-8940

I originally intended this one as an indirect painting but realized, after I painted the grey-scale to get the values right, that there really wasn't that much color in the reference photo. So, I left it in black and white. Works just as well and I don't have issues with washed out color when I take a digital photo.

Tuesday's Sky
11x14 acrylic on Bavarian linen panel
Buy it at: https://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/gregory-cross-8940

I decided to do another skyscape. this one is of an orange sky at sunrise. Only the sky is depicted in this painting. There is actually a bit more yellow in it than came out in the photograph. Digital cameras don't get all of the colors or their vibrancy, so the painting is actually brighter in person, so to speak.

Vase and 2 Plums
acrylic on 10x8 Fredrix Pro series Bavarian linen panel
Buy it at: https://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/gregory-cross-8940

Yesterday was another one of those busy mornings and I missed my morning painting session. I decided I could still do a still life using the room lights instead of the morning sunlight. Not as satisfactory for me, but I wanted to paint. So I did. Here is the still life "Vase and 2 Plums". And, in keeping with tradition, the plums were yummy.

Cow Pond
8x10 acrylic on artist quality canvas panel
Buy it at: https://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/gregory-cross-8940

Here is another landscape with a far vista. Here we have a pasture with a pond and some cows. In the back ground, beyond the line of trees are distant mountains.

Tree Down the Street 2
8x10 acrylic on Bavarian Linen panel
Buy it at: https://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/gregory-cross-8940

Finally got to finish this one, I started it 4 days ago but had some other obligations take up the next two days. I like to paint in the morning when the light through the south facing window is bright but not falling on the easel. Later in the day, the light comes through a Venetian blind and you get all of the alternating lines of dark and light. So, if I have something to do in the morning, I usually wait until the next day to work on a painting; unless I am painting my "doodles" (practice paintings) but even then I prefer the morning or just after noon.

Anyway, this painting is of a tree in a park not far from my house. I took the reference photo on a December afternoon and, since the tree is a Colorado Ash, all the leaves were gone. We have a lot of Colorado Ash trees here in San Antonio. I have two in my yard. I originally had six but these are not long lived trees and I had to remove four over the years before they fell onto my house. Or worse, the neighbors'.

Far Horizon
11x14 acrylic on canvas panel
Buy it at: https://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/gregory-cross-8940

Here we have a simple abstract landscape. Ultramarine blue with black for the horizon line, then the rest is raw sienna and white, with alizarin crimson in the foreground. I kind of like abstract painting, but I also like more detailed, conventional landscapes. Have a thing for trees, actually. And birds. And still lives. Let's face it, I just like to paint.

The Reef
8x10 acrylic on canvas panel
Buy it at: https://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/gregory-cross-8940

I had the germ of the idea for this while I was painting "Pellucid" yesterday. I was actually working on two other paintings this morning and worked on this whenever I took a break from them. Unfortunately, one of those others was a total disappointment so I just gesso'd it. I will reuse that panel later. The other is just barely started, so I see how it goes. Anyway, for this piece I used two basic composition ideas. The L, which frames the area of the focal point and I placed the big dot at the intersection of the third lines to be the focal point. Also, all the colors in the L are analogous colors while the dot is a complementary color. After I painted it I realized it has a vague, under the ocean type of feel to it, so I called it "The Reef".

Pellucid
8x10 acrylic on canvas panel.
Buy it at:https://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/gregory-cross-8940

My first abstract. Well, you got to do it sometime, I suppose. Still, an interesting painting.

Pitcher, Pear, and Grapes
9x12 acrylic on stretched Bavarian linen
Buy it at: https://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/gregory-cross-8940/artwork

I have been working on this one for the past three or four days and it is finally done. I am posting earlier in the day because I have to be somewhere tonight. Anyway, here is a new still life and one that has several objects in it. Turned out ok, but the grapes where a pain. Anyway, I hope that you like it and, if you do, check it out and all my other paintings at the Daily Paintworks gallery. (see link in caption of the painting).

Giant Blue Heron
8x10 acrylic on stretched Bavarian linen
Buy it at: https://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/gregory-cross-8940

I decided to paint another bird since my stork painting turned out so nice, so here is Giant Blue Heron. Another fairly nice outcome. I do like to paint on these linen canvases. I am going to try to get some linen panels since panels are so much easier to deal with and see if I like them.

As for the craft sale last Tuesday, it was a complete bust. A lot of people did look at my paintings but no one bought one. Still, it was nice to be appreciated.

Pear on a Plate
10x8 acrylic on canvas panel

Figure I'd switch to another still life. Here I am using my new "shadow box" again. Placed a pear on a plate and set up the scene. The end result was quite satisfying. So was the pear, which I ate when the painting was finished.

Rainy Morning
11x14 acrylic on canvas panel.

Yes, another tree. The craft sale is Tuesday and I had a few of these canvas panels left, so I decided I would do a landscape. And, in keeping with my last few paintings, I had to add some interesting sky feature. Why not a nice storm cloud? I debated about putting in the fence posts. I originally thought about making it an open field, but put the fence in anyway.

Study of a Planed Pear
12x9 acrylic on canvas pad

I spend a lot of time doing studies and practice paintings. I call them my doodles. This one was a value study using a pear with the peal cut off so that the surface is a bunch of flat planes. Then I used my new shadow box (actually a corner with material draped against the wall and a lamp) to set up the still life. But, as this was just a study, I painted very loose and quickly, just trying to get the basic values in grey scale on the canvas paper. I kind of got in the groove (to use a saying from yesteryear) and my doodle became interesting. So, I applied a little bit more effort, added some finishing touches, and ended up with "Study of a Planed Pear". I liked the result, so I signed it and decided to post it for you.