Still life: Treo (sold)

treo, originally uploaded by dgray_xplane.

Still Life: Treo. Oil on canvas panel, 6 x 8 in. (15.2 x 20.3 cm). Collection of Charlene McBride.

Still life: Glass and pear

Still life: Glass and pear, originally uploaded by dgray_xplane.

Original still life painted in oil, 2006. Oil on canvas mounted on board, 9 x 12 in (22.9 x 30.5 cm). Sold.

Still life

Still life, originally uploaded by dgray_xplane.

Original still life painted in oil, 2006. Oil on canvas mounted on board, 9 x 12 in (22.9 x 30.5 cm). Sold.

Still life: Pears

Still life: Pears, originally uploaded by dgray_xplane.

Happy holidays!

I am going to give away this little still life at the end of the week.

If you subscribe to this blog by email you'll automatically be entered in the drawing.

At the end of the week I'm going to put all the names in a hat, and whoever's name I pull out will get the painting in the mail, free. Just in time for the holidays!

I am trying to figure out the best way to sell my work online and this is a part of the project. Let me know what you think.

Still Life: Pears. Oil on canvas panel, 6 x 8 in. (15.2 x 20.3 cm). Collection of the artist (Only till Friday, December 22!).

Still life

Still life, originally uploaded by dgray_xplane.

Also showing in the Art Real Gallery.

Here's a look at the painting when it was in progress.

Original still life painted in oil, 2006. Oil on canvas mounted on board, 9 x 12 in (22.9 x 30.5 cm). Sold.

Still life with book

Still life, originally uploaded by dgray_xplane.

Just finished this one. The book is "The Pocket Aquinas" edited by Vernon J. Bourke, published in 1960. Oil on canvas mounted on board, 10 x 14 in (25.4 x 35.5 cm). Sold.

The painting process (A stack of books)

Including breaks :)

New Mexico landscape

Landscape for sale, originally uploaded by dgray_xplane.

This is a plein air painting, one of a series painted in or near Gila, New Mexico in the late 1990's. Oil on canvas mounted on board, 16 x 20 in (40.6 x 50.8 cm). Collection of Egan Snow.

Why buy and sell art online?

Still life with cheese by Floris van Schooten

When the Dutch East India Company was established in 1602, the impact on global trade was massive -- similar to the internet's impact on trade today. The art world was changed forever.

The emergence of international trade on a broad scale also set the stage for the rise of a merchant class, who used their new income to buy large houses. They covered the walls of their new homes with art, and in so doing unleashed one of the biggest revolutions in art history.

Prior to this time, most artwork had been commissioned by the rich -- that is, by monarchs or churches, and most subject matter was either religious in nature, or served to exalt royal figures and aristocratic ideals.

But in the Golden Age of Dutch painting, still lives and domestic scenes took their place as worthy subjects for art. Painters like Rembrandt and Vermeer created wonderful paintings of apples and pears, home and hearth, feasts and wine and beer.

Today a similar market revolution is underway; one that threatens to turn the art world on its head. Artists and art collectors can now connect directly with each other, no matter where they are in the world.

I have decided to offer my paintings for sale on eBay. The idea is to let the market decide, and let the market for my paintings evolve over time.

I am also excited to see how the paintings take on a life of their own, and hope collectors will share photos of how they chose to display the artwork in their personal environment.

In this thread, let's discuss the following questions:

1. What do you think is happening?

2. How will it impact you?

3. How can we work together to create a new art, for a new world?

4. What other thoughts do you have?

St. Louis cityscape

Cityscape, originally uploaded by dgray_xplane.

Painted in 2006. Oil on canvas, 11 x 14 in (27.9 x 35.6 cm). Collection of Anthony Paul, the Netherlands.

Browse paintings (Click to view on Flickr)

Tips for displaying artwork

Here are a few ideas for displaying your artwork.

Click any photo to see annotations that describe the hanging idea in more detail.

Artwork on the wall, originally uploaded by dgray_xplane.

Click here to see the annotated version of the photo above.

It's worth noting that paintings on canvas mounted on board can be displayed simply by putting two small nails in the wall, a small distance apart and level with each other. An advantage to displaying work in this way is that paintings can easily be swapped or rearranged.

Artwork on the wall, originally uploaded by dgray_xplane.

Original oils can be hung in many ways, framed and unframed. Oil paint should be exposed to open air -- you should never put glass over an oil painting.

Click here for the annotated version of the photo above.

Artwork on the wall, originally uploaded by dgray_xplane.

Click here for the annotated version of the photo above.