#342 Bird Skull

Happy Halloween! At last an opportunity to paint this bird skull. I have had it for a few years, I found it in the garden of our old flat. I suspect it is a black bird skull but if anyone else has any ideas...oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#341 Sausage Roll

This is one half of my lunch, there were other elements involved but mostly it was sausage roll! Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#340 Deflating Balloon

I didn't find this object, more it found me. It was bouncing around in the front garden slowly deflating. I rescued it and have been waiting for it to deflate to the right size for me to paint since yesterday. Or, this painting might symbolise the first year of Dan Young, Daily drawing to a close, I just noticed the number of todays painting, #340, which means only 25 paintings left and I will have completed my initial challenge of making a painting every day, without missing one, for a year.

Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#339 Rotten Peach

This hideous little thing was lurking at the back of one of the drawers in the fridge.....it may have been a nectarine hard to tell as it is now covered in fur! Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#338 Cotoneaster Sprig

It turns out there is a garden outside our back door! I took as stroll (well, hobble) around the garden today pulled out a couple of weeds and noticed these amazing berries on our cotoneaster bush we planted last year. I have always liked the way the berries stay on these bushes for longer than most, they must taste horrible to birds! Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#337 Espresso Mug

This is one of my espresso mugs, and my favourite one. I did have a yen for collecting them at one point I may continue again one day. I think I have three, is that a collection? Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#336 Victoria Sponge Cake

As Promised, a very, very tasty Victoria sponge! We finished making this last night and then were too full to eat any. It looked far too good to eat anyway. This morning however, I could have quite happily had a slice for breakfast. I didn't and waited till elevenses, except the clocks went back last night (BST to GMT for international readers who have no idea what I am talking about) so, we had elevenses at 10 o'clock just to ease the shift into GMT. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#335 Some Jam

I was hopeing to have a Victoria sponge cake to paint today but we are a little bit behind so, that 'might' be tomorrows painting, in the meantime I have painted a spoon of jam. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

Only thirty days left till the last of these little paintings, I will miss them. To console myself I have spent a bit of time preparing for the next 365 days which will begin on the 24th of November and you can follow the next phase of Dan Young, Daily right here on this blog, almost seamlessly, I hope!

#334 Onion Top and Tail

As soon as I chopped the top and tail from this onion I knew I had found todays subject, even though I have already painted an onion, I reckon they are such fundamental vegetables they deserved another painting. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#333 My Wallet

This is my own actual wallet, it was a christmas present from Debbie (she actually handstitched it out of leather) a few years ago now but I have used it pretty much everyday so, it seemed a good subject for a daily painting. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#332 Knob of Butter

Following on the slippery theme after my fall yesterday, my ankle is nicely swollen and sore! I have painted a knob of butter, which was left out after dinner last night and I found it in the kitchen this morning. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#331 Juggling Ball

Given my acrobatics today (I took a tumble coming down some stairs and went over on my ankle..ouch) I thought I would paint this juggling ball. I was going to paint a bandage but I am using that, and my icepack is too big! Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#330 Colour Blocks

I have spent today preparing the first year studio for their next project, they will arrive tomorrow morning to a selection of colourful set ups of these painted blocks of varying sizes. In a nutshell, their task is to make four or five paintings of these blocks, first using just black and white paint then using a limited pallette of raw sienna and light red, then a full palette, then an extended palette. I think this is the single most useful exercise I did at art college (I currently work where I studied, the University of Gloucestershire) and has certainly helped me over the last 330 days with these paintings who knows I may have even had these two in my original set up all those years ago.....Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#329 Wildberry Teabag

This weekend has been all about wild berries, picking them and also drinking tea made from them. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#328 Two Rosehips

We went on our first foraging mission of the year today, searching the hedgerows of Gloucestershire for all kinds of berry goodness, I chose to paint these rosehips becasue they had by far the best colour. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#327 Radiator Bleed Key

This evening was cold enough to put the heating on, and also to realise that the radiators needed bleeding, because two of them weren't getting warm at all. I can happily report I am now toasty warm and the rads are bled. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#326 Chilli and Strawberry

Happy Birthday to my Dad (he likes hot food and chilli's, these are doozies from the greenhouse) also, happy Wedding Anniversary to my Mum and Dad (Mum likes and grows strawberries although I think my nephew gets most of them from the garden these days). Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#325 Yellow Pepper Top

I made a stir fry for tea tonight, rescued this from the bin and painted it at half time in the England/Belarus match. I didn't think there was a football link with this painting but there is. You see, I originally come from Norfolk and studied at Norwich School of Art so Norwich is my home team and their team colours are yellow and green. Spooky isn't it! Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#324 Three Kidney Beans

Long day today, evening class night so, I am painting a little later than normal. But, I arrived home to the fantastic smell of baked potatoes and chilli. And to top it all a sieve full of the excess kidney beans and a painting was born! Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#323 Pencil Sharpenings

These sharpenings are from the pencil that I use to sign all of these daily paintings, it is a steadler HB. It hasn't signed all of the paintings but it has been the one I have tried to use on most of them. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#322 Carrot Cake

I think this painting is just me showing off that I can open my mouth wide enough to take a bite out of it! Also showing off our new ovens baking capabilities! Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#321 Two Peanuts

These are the actual two peanuts that were inside yesterdays painting. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#320 Peanut

I must be feeling better today I have eaten some of these, we bought them a couple of weeks ago, but since my tooth/gum/sinus started to hurt I haven't wanted to chew on them ...hooray! Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#319 Scrap of Denim

Starting to feel a touch better today, I think the subjects of Tuesdays painting have started to take effect. I stumbled across this bit of scrap denim from someones jeans this morning, not sure where it came from but I thought it was a good representation of a pair of jeans, the only things missing would be a zip and one of the little studs. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#318 Cough Sweet

Oh dear, still feeling as rough as a badgers rough bit. I think the tablets from the doctor are starting to kick in as I not in as much pain with my sinus's and jaw. Cough is developing nicely today which is why I have painted one of my blackcurrant cough sweeties, and its wrapper. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#317 3 Amoxycillin Tablets

' Take one of these three times a day'. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#316 Ravioli

Tonights painting has been made through a stinking cold complete with aching face and blocked sinus's. I have timed the painting of the painting to fit in with my four hourly lemsip high point. I had Rav's for my lunch, nice and soft and easy to eat/make. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#315 Fiendish Fancy

The Fiendish Fancy is a seasonal variation on the French Fancy. As you can see the fiendish aspect of it is down to the orange pumpkin like colouring giving it a spooky quality! I know its a little early for hallowe'en but what can I say, I like orange stuff! Ooo I just realised it is only 50 paintings left to the end of the project I shall miss these little 16 x 12cm pictures! Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#314 Four Beans

These beans are from the same plant as the painting of half a runner bean from a few paintings ago, painted today as it is time for the beans to come down as they have gone all woody and it coming to the end of their season. I am, however, looking forward to the change into Autumn and the various harvests to collect and all those marvellous seasonal subjects for paintings. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#313 Badge

This is a 'Fabulous Thorvertones' badge that I recieved in the post today, sent to me by Ben, the bass player in The Fabulous Thorvertones. I hadn't heard from Ben for something like 16 years when I got a friend request on facebook from him a couple of months ago. We were chums when we first started high school aged 11 or so then drifted apart, I think after school, as folks do.. we must catch up properly soon, I also must try and see The Fabulous Thorvertones in thier natural environment. Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.

#312 Teapot Lid

This is the lid from one of those clever 'one cup' teapots where the teapot sits on top of the cup and looks like a normal teapot with the surprise of the cup making the bottom of the teapot. I am sure you all know what I mean! Oil on gesso 16cm x 12cm.