Crabapples Painting by Guy McIntosh

Every spring the Crab Apple tree in the front yard fills with beautiful blooms. I look forward to it every year. I really wanted to paint them soon, but instead I waited until the blooms died off and the pods became little apples.

The tree makes a tremendous transformation, which the squirrels and deer love. These little gems are so saturated with color, one can't help but to try to capture it somehow, even tho I know it is impossible. I just want to get close to the feeling they send out.

So, I snipped off a little random bunch and brought it into the studio and lit it in my little still life box stage with an overhead light.

Steps to the crab apple still life.
After prepping the panel with gesso and marble dust:

• The drawing in pencil gave me the design and tonal values; sort of. 
• Sealed the pencil.
• Toned the panel with a golden yellow mix of yellow ochre and primary yellow.
• Full tone burnt umber monochrome under-painting, to really get the light direction and set the mood.
• Laid in the darkest dark, which is the background and some shadows to integrate to piece.
• Added the grisaille onto the apples, keeping the tone a little lighter than true value.
• Color layers upon layers. 
• Colors used: Burnt Umber, Black, Primary Yellow, Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Red Medium.
• Go back and sharpen and blur edges
• Hit your darks again
• Finally your brightest bright. It doesn't have to be white.

Below are the progression pics.

I really wish it all came down to that. But there are corrections all along the way. As usual things never work out as planned so we work out a balance between what we plan and what is getting close to the vision. Sometimes things work out even better than the original idea. Sometimes not so much.


Spring was in the air.

Below is a shot of the blooms and then the painting. Acrylic 6x8 on panel. Unframed.

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"T is for tomato" Still Life painting

One has to paint a tomato in the summer. And what goes with a tomato? Anything. So, in comes a mushroom and a sliver of garlic. But something more was needed. That's when my trusty box of blocks comes in handy. The T was perfect. A little spot light to give it a more intimate feeling made it come together for me.

A Small Peek Into My Studio

In the spirit of getting to know a little about my little studio, here are a few pics of what is going on.

Just finished this one. The Flaming Pumpkin 6x8 Acrylic on Canvas Board.
The story will be in another post.

The Dark Angel has been cut down, getting ready to frame. The Shroud is hanging in Virgyl's Cafe. And the monk in the corner is just sitting there like a mountain.

My Work Table Top and a ScrapLamp. I love finding scrap pieces of wood a little glue a couple of holes drilled and Voila a lamp is born . Scrap wood provides an endless amount of distraction to instantly transport me into another paradigm, giving me a fresh look at a painting when I come back. It looks like total chaos, but there really is a coherent pattern going on, even if I don't know what it is at the time.

I have a bunch of little tricks I use to make my life a little easier, like DIY brush holders and Table top easels etc. Posts coming soon. If anyone is interested.

Pear on a Shelf Still Life Painting

"Pear on a Shelf" 6x8 Acrylic on panel. For some reason this pear was really hard to get the way I wanted. I couldn't get the roundness, couldn't get the light, nothing was working. But we must have Perseverence. After I left a pre-conceived idea behind me, things came right in to place. The hardest thing for me, when painting this way, is to not get caught up in the details. Details come later.  Such  simple objects like this really test ones ability to create form and texture and light. The glow of the pear really shines thru on this little piece.

City Fire Plug

Over the summer while leaving a friends house I spotted a fire plug I have seen for years gleaming in the sun. It has always been there but on this day I looked at it in a different way. Took a reference shot to not loose the light that really captured my attention. It was a great deal of fun to paint. The read top caused some problems but turned out well. I felt like I came close to capturing the feel of that hot blazing day in mid-summer.

Slice of Lime Painting

This little still life came about as many do while rummaging thru the fridge and getting ready to use a lime for a salsa. While cutting a slice out and needing a little room I placed the slice on top of the lime and there it was a nice little quirky composition.
The light was just right to throw an interesting shadow and give an intimate feeling of food being prepared with love.
Slice of Lime" Acrylic on Panel 6x8 unframed $100

Comes unframed,

Orange on Saki Cup

I most often like a dark nebulous background and concentrate on the object I want to paint and get the light I have in my head. But when you find a particularly funky piece of tile that just calls out to be painted, just go with it.

A little spotlight and angle adjustment to find an interesting shadow and poof a painting in waiting.
I was not happy with the color of the orange it just laid there with no life. So with a little daring and desperation a yellow glaze pulled all the underlying work together and just sang to me.
Acrylic on Masonite 6x8 unframed.

New Small works going in at Virgil's Cafe.

Come view my newest paintings at Virgil's Cafe in Bellevue Ky. On the avenue/

For the last few months I have been creating a new batch of still life paintings. Most of them are 6x8 acrylics on textured Masonite. There are a few that have been posted here and many more to come. I haven't had the time to take really good shots but I am sure you get the idea of what they look life.

They are in hand made frames and ready to hang.
These are priced to sell at $150. Galleries would double that.

Onion On Sake Cup Still life Painting

It has been much longer than I thought since my last post. I began more small 6x8 still life paintings. In keeping with some of my most recent paintings which are just things in my life that have meaning. Right at the moment I am really into cooking and finding good produce to paint and then cook it up.

Almost every thing I cook has a onion in it so,

Here is 1 "Onion On Sake Cup" Acrylic 6x8 on gessoed 1/4 in Masonite.

Garlic On A Shelf Still Life

How do people cook without this magic. It can turn a mediocre dish into something special. Imagine Pizza without Garlic.

How about Garlic without almost any Italian or Asian Dish. Thank goodness my wonderful lady also likes garlic. I usually buy it in quart jars, but also in bulbs. Break it apart and smash it to release the oils then into a pan with olive oil. A quick simmer so as to not burn and wallah! aromatic goodness. Perfect for a quick snack on toast with a little Parmesan.

Barney and Lemon Still Life

More humor in my work. So out came the toy box which include a nice little collection of Pez dispensers. Barney looked like he would be fun to paint along with something from the pantry like a lemon yea that's it. The L in a block designate the "Lemon Heads".

Raiding the fridge and the pantry will give me an endless array of subject matter.

These little still life paintings not only provide endless subject matter but also a way of sharing my life.

Barney and Lemon" Acrylic 6x8 on Gessoed Masonite.

Holy Trinity Still Life. Sold

I know, I know, the headline might seem a little weird at first but, Onion, Garlic and Celery make up the "Holy Trinity"

Using this combo as much as I do when cooking, it only seems right to paint them in a golden light. If I could make the glow even more I would. That is how much I love the Holy Trinity.

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Chess Piece by Guy McIntosh

This little piece came about when I felt like doing some still life paintings. But what to paint and how to get the light I want. So I started digging around my stuff. It didn't take long before I found some remnants of a chess set I bought in Taiwan back in the summer of '69. They were laying in an old Japanese sewing basket.Each piece brought back a flood of memories, I seemed to be all over the south pacific and Thailand in those days. Thanks to the USAF (SAC). Many a night I sat with friends honing our chess skills in the hot muggy nights of Guam and Okinawa listening to the sounds of the island jungle.

The painting is Acrylic and pastels on a textured Masonite size 9x12.

Available: Contact Guy Here

"Green Onions and Ginger Jar"

"Green Onions and Ginger Jar"

6x8 in. Acrylic on canvas panel.

While in the produce section of my local supermarket my eye spied some green onions. I have been promising the onions for a while now. While setting this up in my little homemade stage I found a small ginger jar that just screamed at me to paint it. Together they said something special to me.
Because of the glazing technique used there is real dimension to this piece.


comes unframed.

Chess Piece #2

The 2nd piece from the sewing box hidden away for 30 years. As I began to make the composition I wanted a little more in the background than just texture. So there outside on the porch are our Tibetan prayer flags. They seemed to work together and just to get a little something extra I pulled a little rock from the sand garden on the coffee table, added a few blossoms and there ya go.
Acrylic and Pastel on textured Masonite size 9x12

Available:  Contact Guy Here

Netsuke Still Life Painting #1

Third In a series of 9x12 Acrylic and pastel still life paintings.
Over the years one collects some interesting stuff that you live with everyday and yet begin to ignore. This little guy rests by the front door on an old campaign chest and a small Japanese lamp. I don't really know the symbolism of this piece but he appears to be a traveler in harmony with nature. His placement by the door seems appropriate.
The Netsuke itself is only about 2" tall maybe 3" with the stand. With a renewed interest in still life paintings, the studio has seen a new addition. My homemade Still Life Stage. It's just a cardboard box with slits cut into the sides for lighting. It's nothing fancy but gives me great control.
This ground gives him a very solid feel that jumps off the background and yet feels completely integrated, to give it a solid and ephemeral quality.
"Netsuke #1" Acrylic and pastel 9x12 on heavily textured and gessoed Masonite.

Available: Contact Guy Here

Fozzie and the peach acrylic painting

Some times one needs to keep humor in your work. Fozzie and the peach came about while figuring out a composition. The peach I knew was to be the front runner but needed something to off set the round soft skin of the peach. Laying in among shelves of odds and ends, possible objects to paint, are a small collection of PEZ dispensers. Fozzie jumped out as the obvious choice.

"Fozzie and the Peach"6x8 Acrylic on panel.

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