Style Changes Over the Years

I was stuck in the house yesterday so I baked some chocolate chip cookie and this morning I decided to paint a couple of them. This was more difficult than you might think. It reminds me of painting rocks: there is light and there are shadows and there is an inherent unevenness. Still, a fun exercise.

I remembered painting a similar piece a few years ago so I did a search of my archived photos and sure enough, in 2007 I painted almost the exact composition. I was doing a lot of paintings on my sun porch at that time so the lighting is quite different. I think I even used the same glass for the milk! It is interesting to see how my approach differs today. I still go for the L shaped composition and I chose two cookies for some reason. Is that because this is the amount I usually eat or is it because I want three objects in my painting? I'm not sure. I kept the darks grouped together in this newer version and it seems as if the paint is applied a bit more liberally.

I like the 2013 painting better. It seems fresher and less stilted but then again my preferences could be changing as I grow older too. I've included the other painting in this shot too.

8" x 10"

Cookies and Milk