Three Blueberries

Three Blueberries

sold! Private collection, Washington, DC

Cheese and Cracker

Sometimes I just feel like having a piece of brie cheese on a crispy white cracker, and then other times I feel like actually doing a painting of a piece of brie cheese on a crispy white cracker, and then eating it. Today was one of those days.

Cheese on a Cracker

Private collection

A Yellow Habañero Pepper

While struggling with the red habañero pepper, I decided to decide if the color was the challenge, or the qualities of gloss and luminosity. It seems as though my ability to decipher nuances of color is stronger in certain ranges than in others, and yellow seems to lend itself to being understood a little more easily. Of course it might also be more forgiving, being that it's so pale and full of lightness on its own.

A Yellow Habañero Pepper

Private collection

A Red Habañero Pepper

It's odd how challenging this little subject can be. Such clean and simple lines, a high sheen, and a high level of translucence and reflection of secondary light sources. This is all just enough to have me totally stumped, and just trying to bluff my way through it.

A Red Habañero Pepper

Private collection

A Delicious Slice of Canteloupe

I like to explore the sculptural qualities of a slice of cantaloupe, although for the first time I believe I started capturing qualities of translucence as the dark side seemed to glow with light and reflection.

A Slice of Cantaloupe

sold! Private collection, Rumson, New Jersey

A Seckel Pear

It was hard to stop myself from rendering the delicate curves and colors of a Seckel pear. The shape is always so subtle, and the colors range from muted to absolutely brilliant.

A Seckel Pear

Private collection, Bondurant, Iowa

An Espresso Cup

Few things get me through these dark days of early winter like a smooth dark shot of espresso. I keep returning to this subject, and I'm always intrigued by the depth of the porcelain finish. It has a luminosity that feels almost like marble, but on a much smaller scale. Always a challenge.

An Espresso Cup

sold! Private collection, Sugar Land, Texas

A Sliced Lemon

It's always interesting to see the complex shapes and reflections made when a piece of fruit is sliced in half.

A Sliced Lemon

Private collection

Two Lemons

Two Lemons, offset and carved out with tiny brushes. An exercise in focus and patience.

Two Lemons

sold! Private collection, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

A Macintosh Apple

A McIntosh apple combines elements of red and green at the same time, with a high sheen and a delicious sweet taste.

A McIntosh Apple

Private collection

A Simple Egg

Last summer I tried to execute a larger study of a simple egg. For some reason I believed I was failing terribly, and I scraped it out and moved on to something else. A few weeks later I saw a photo that was shot with the beginning of the painting in the background, blocked in with patches of paint. There are times when it might be good to take a second look before I declare defeat. As always, the simple egg stands up well as a very small study.

A Simple Egg

sold! Private collection, Washington, DC

Two Pieces of a Tangerine

As the days grow dark and short, the delicious tangerine is a burst of color and freshness.

Two Pieces of a Tangerine

Private collection

An Asian Pear

I'd always avoided painting the Asian pear, only because of the lack of a defining shine. I've explored every version of secondary light sources, reflections from underneath, compounded reflections of adjacent surfaces, and on and on, yet nothing prepared me for the smooth flat finish of this new subject. I learned some good things.

An Asian Pear

sold! Private collection, Washington, DC

A Green Apple

From December 1st to the 25th, each day I will be making available one very small framed 5 inch by 7 inch painting, for a special promotional discount price of $240, just in time for the perfect holiday gift. As though that weren’t enough of a holiday miracle, included with each painting will be a gift certificate for $240, good toward the purchase of any piece from my current and upcoming available inventory, valid from the day you receive your very small painting until December 31st of 2015. As many certificates as you collect can be combined together for any purchase, although these cannot be used in combination with any other offer or promotion. Buy all 25 paintings and get the giant painting you’ve always wanted to hang above your couch…for free! On December 26th I might wake up and wonder what I was thinking, but in the meantime, I’ll be having fun playing Santa Claude Monet for the 25 Days of Christmas, or the Eight Days of Hanukkah and the mystic prime number of 17 days following the Festival of Lights. The paintings will be listed each day on the Very Small Paintings page, as well as on the Paintings of David Oleski Facebook Page, to be sold through the modern miracle of Ebay.

All things begin with a green apple.

One Green Apple

Private collection

A Banana

As the 25 Days of Christmas holiday promo is winding down, and these last few paintings may or may not get posted before the 25th.

A Banana, 5 inches by 7 inches, December 2013

 

A Fuji Persimmon

A Fuji Persimmon, 5 inches by 7 inches, December 2013

 

A Red Plum

A Red Plum, 5 inches by 7 inches, December 2013

A Starfruit

A Starfruit, 5 inches by 7 inches, December 2013

 

A Delicious Slice of Octopus

A Slice of Octopus, 5 inches by 7 inches, December 2013

 

Two Green Apples

Two Green Apples, 5 inches by 7 inches, December 2013

 

A Single Pear

A Single Pear, 5 inches by 7 inches, December 2013

 

 

A Bunch of Grapes

On Friday the 13th, a bunch of grapes is the perfect subject for me to paint. The key is to understand the bunch first as a shape, and then break down the mass into the components of the individual grapes.

A Bunch of Grapes, 5 inches by 7 inches

 

A Mango

A Mango, 5 inches by 7 inches

 

The last 10 days of December

As I've been away for the One of a Kind Show in Chicago since last week, I haven't been able to post the new paintings. So now I'll try to play a little catch-up.

Two Pieces of a Tangerine, 5 inches by 7 inches

Sold!

 

One Green Apple

Sold! Private collection, Washington, DC

Two Pears, 5 inches by 7 inches

 

 

Three Cherries, 5 inches by 7 inches

Sold!

A Sliced Lime, 5 inches by 7 inches

 

 

Two Tomatoes, 5 inches by 7 inches

Sold!

 

One Egg

Sold! Private collection, Philadelphia, PA

 

Three Blueberries, 5 inches by 7 inches

Sold!

 

Salt and Pepper Shakers

From small things shall the big things be born, and December 1st of 2013 begins with the first very small painting of the 25 Days of Christmas of 2013 painting series. Included with the purchase of these paintings will be a gift certificate good toward the purchase of any other painting, equal to the purchase price of the very small painting.

A Salt and Pepper Shaker, 5 inches by 7 inches, December 2013

Sold!  Private collection, Alton, Illinois