Lemon Water
10x8 acrylic on canvas panel
Buy it at: https://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/gregory-cross-8940

Well, after 3 paintings in a row featuringt a tree, I decided to do something different. I decided I wanted to do a still life and one featuring a glass or a bottle. After all, the only painting of mine to date to be actually on display in a traditional art gallery is my "Lilies, Lemon, and Orange" which is not that different from this one. Anyway, I decided to do a sliced lemon in a glass of water. I did a greyed purple background on the bottom half to make the lemon really pop (and it does) and a blue at the top, which works with the lemon slice in the glass. Turned into an interesting painting.

Tree on a Hill Top
10 by 8 acrylic on canvas panel
Buy it at: https://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/gregory-cross-8940/artwork

I tried a new technique with this painting. New to me, though this technique has been around as long as painting. It is known as indirect painting. I did an underpainting in greyscale. or grisaille as it is called, to establish the proper values of light and dark. Essentially, I did the whole scene in black, white and grey in great detail. Once that was done to my satisfaction, I did washes of color to slowly build up the colors of the scene.. Quite a long process but it came out really nice. Unfortunately, the glazing medium is glossy, so it is hard to get a good photo because the light keeps reflecting off of it. Did my best so you could see it, anyway. The composition idea is that your eye, attracted by the light color on the rocks, will be lead to the tree then up the valley. Don't know if I quite pulled it off, but I am happy with the outcome.

I actually like this technique even though it is a bit tedious and time consuming. I put in about 20 hours of actual brush time on this small painting (about 4 times longer than my average for a painting of this size). Now, I won't post a painting in progress nor will I post without a new painting (unless something earth shattering occurs). So, when there is a gap of several days in my posting, know that I am painting but have nothing new to show yet.

Mountain #2
14x11 acrylic on canvas panel
Buy it at:https://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/gregory-cross-8940/artwork

The fourth painting I did was of a lone mountain and I liked it. It is hanging on my wall with a select few of my paintings. And it is on the right panel of this blog page. I have painted mountains many times since, usually in the background. But I decided I wanted to paint a lone mountain once again. This painting is on order of magnitude better. I didn't know much about color theory or painting techniques when I started out and wouldn't have known a complimentary color from a football. Lots of study and nearly a hundred paintings later, I have a much better painting. This painting is painted with only 4 analogous colors: aquamarine blue, thalo blue, cerulean blue, and thalo green. Plus white and black to change the value, of course. Also used some cadmium orange to gray out the aquamarine blue in a few places, but not many. This painting is fabulous, but I still like the other one and it will stay on my wall.

Palm and Pine
8x10 acrylic on canvas panel
Buy it at:https://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/gregory-cross-8940/artwork

Some more trees and another simple scene. Felt like trying to get another picture done before the end of the year and this one came together right away. Worked on it all day. And now you get to admire it. I hope so, anyway.

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

At last, Christmas is over and things are slowly returning to normal. I managed to get some painting done and created this scene of a tree sitting on a bluff in a field. The tree isn't a normal symmetrical one like you often see. Trees don't always grow out nice and pretty, so I decided to make this one a bit asymmetrical to add interest to an otherwise simple scene. And rocks. I am pretty good with rocks.

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

This was fun. I got a kick out of doing the monochrome "Blue Pear" so I thought I would try another using a complementary color scheme and an apple instead of a pear. So, only cadmium orange and pthalo blue (green shade). And white and black, of course. Excellent result.

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

This was a frustrating painting. Through most of the early and middle stages I just didn't like it. It wasn't until the final stage and the finishing touches that I thought "OK, so its not so bad." And it did turn out ok. Not my absolute best, but far from my worst. The reflections of the trees in the stream came out good. And I added a couple strolling the path holding hands.