Finding a few shiny things around the condo I made these paintings starting with our cheese grater. After examining the small holes with a magnifying glass, I came up with a strategy and kept with the plan. The dark holes were not evenly round, they had been made with some sort of mechanical hole punch. Light was catching their jagged protruding edges, creating small local shadows. The aluminum background was mirror-like, my blurry reflection, and my cup of tea could be seen. Mixing grey tones is best done with a purple mix (PB60 + PV19) and some yellow ochre (PY43) or raw sienna (PBr7) dabbed in.
Cheese grater, watercolour 4 x 7.5" cold press, December 2025
Looking like a metallic owl from Clash of the Titans, an old 1980's sci-fi movie, this is our electric kettle, with one of my water bottles in the background. My face and hand, with paintbrush, were reflecting on the right side of the container. Using a full set of values wisely, from darkest dark to lightest light, it key to creating this illusion of a shiny object. There are wide ranging hues to depict, some cool purples, others warm caramel tones. I had two light sources on the subject matter for all the still life paintings.
Electric kettle, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, December 2025
Finally the big challenge, our disco pumpkin... its a pumpkin candle with a mosaic of tiny mirrors fixed on with grouting. The mirrors were much smaller and fit tighter than you see in the painting, but you get the idea. Colours ranged from cream to dark green, purple, and variations of grey. The stem was made of glass.
Disco pumpkin, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, December 2025
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