Point Lobos on a lovely winter day

Point Lobos Splash, 8 x 10 inches, oil.

Point Lobos Cove, 8 x 10 inches, oil.

These two paintings were done on a recent delivery trip to the Portnoy Gallery in Carmel--the last warm, gentle day before the storms rushed in. I spent the afternoon painting in the company of White-crowned Sparrows and Audubon's Warblers, both of which species were pretending to be intertidal species for the day and hunting for brine flies among the tide pools.

Tools of the Trade, 9 x 12 inches, oil.

View of the Valley, 9 x 12 inches, oil.

Painting from Treasure Island

San Francisco from Treasure Island, 9 x 12 inches, oil.

Robin Knowlton from the Knowlton Gallery was participating in a fair at the Pavilion on Treasure Island and asked me to be there-- this is the painting done on site as the Blue Angels flew over in celebration of Fleet Week.

California Afternoon, 11 x 14 inches, pastel.

Here is a bit more impressionist experimentation. This composition is created from my imagination--always fun to see this actually work out. Usually I need source material of one kind or another.

Carmel Beach plein air

Walk on the Beach, 10 x 10 inches, oil.

I am working on a 30 x 40 version of this painting--and will post when it is done. Carmel Beach is always a great place to paint. The close color and value harmonies in the shadowed sand are fun to work on.

Pear Lake Paint Trip

Pear Lake Basin, 12 x 12 inches, oil.

Alta Peak Moon, 9 x 12 inches, pastel.

Here are two rough field sketches from beautiful Pear Lake in Sequoia/King's Canyon national park. I was fortunate enough to go on this trip organized by Bill Cone into the back country for 5 days. Five painting days above timberline was just what I needed. I have several other paintings, but need some studio time to bring them up to publication levels.

Book Recommendation: Renaissance Faces

National Gallery et al. Renaissance Faces: Van Eyck to Titian. 2008.

This fabulous book delves into the processes and procedures behind the portraits we know and love. It has several good essays recounting the interactions between models and artists in the renaissance; the problems and rewards have not changed in centuries. One of the best illustrations compares two artworks--one sketch of Charles V Hapsburg as he truly was, against a painting of him politely idealized by Titian. The difference is startling, and the text delves into the practice of idealizing the sitter. This is a great book, not only for the pleasure of looking at the interesting faces, but also for the careful research done by the authors.

Scenes from Alameda

Fog over the City, 10 x 20 inches, pastel.

This painting was done during the Frank Bette Plein Air Paintout in Alameda this July. This is one of two favorites that I did during the event. This one has the impressionist shimmer I have been working on lately, especially in the foreground water and wetland.

Barn Paintings

Jessie's Barn, Reflected, 10 x 10 inches, oil.

Turner Road Barn, with Clouds, 10 x 10 inches, oil.

Here are two paintings that I have done recently of Lodi Barns. One is done on site and the other is not.
PS Sorry for the quiet time on the blog. Life has been busy lately, and daily tasks neglected.

Sonoma Barn

Sonoma Barn, 14 x 18 inches, pastel.

Red Tractor from Sonoma

Red Tractor, 14 x 18 inches, pastel.

Paintings from Sonoma

Nothing but Blue Skies, 10 x 20 inches, pastel.

Beautiful Valley, 20 x 16 inches, oil.

Here are two paintings that I completed during the Sonoma Plein Air Festival in May. I will bring them to the Napa Valley Art Festival on Saturday, August 15.

Los Gatos Plein Air Festival

Playing in the Fountain, 12 x 16 inches, oil. 3rd place winner!

Los Gatos Garden, 9 x 12 inches, pastel.

Last weekend was the Los Gatos Plein Air Art festival--I won third place, which is very nice! The first painting was done in the town square with the kids all enjoying the water on a warm spring day.

Sonoma Plein Air

Sweet Spring Rain, 9 x 12 inches, oil.

Wine Country in the Rain, 16 x 20 inches, oil.

This week I am painting in Sonoma for the Sonoma Plein Air Festival. Since it is raining, it is time for cool and hopefully subtle colors. It will clear soon, so check back for some sunnier paintings. I enjoyed painting both of these very much, even if they are done in two different painting styles--I was joking with some artist freinds that I suffer from multiple artistic style disorder.

Delta Painting

Slow Water, 18 x 24 inches, oil.

This is a work in progress, further exploring the impressionist theme. I keep getting happier with it, so I will continue to work on it. I am learning that Monet why painted with dibs and dabs of paint; because editing and continueine from day to day is very easy--I never have to worry about melding the paint strokes together. The tackiness of the paint does not influence the painting, unlike when I am working with a palette knife, or more conventional brushstrokes and have to put an entirely new skin on a painting if I want to change something.

Open Studios this weekend!

Morning Barn, 24 x 36 inches, pastel.

Open Studios at Cubberley Studios
Building E, Studio 6

11-5 pm Saturday and Sunday
May 2 and 3

Please join 20 artists for open studios this weekend. Some of us will have workstations set up for you to try out our media. Admission is free and all are welcome. More information is available at Cubberley Studios.com

Spring Morning in Winters

Spring Morning in Winters, 18 x 24 inches, pastel.

Winters Quick Draw

That's my Baby, 11 x 14 inches, pastel.

This car was parked along the Winters main street during the quick draw--the title is how the owner described the car to me as I was painting it. I had to borrow a stronger turquoise from a fellow pastelist to get the color correct.

Painting in Winters

In the Orchards, 16 x 20 inches, pastel.

I just participated in the Briggs and Co. Gallery Winters Plein Air Event. The landscape out in the San Joaquin Valley is lovely--flat farm country with the Sierra in the distance. The farmland is planted to tomatoes, wheat, alfalfa, or orchards of citrus and walnuts. This painting is done in a walnut orchard.

Carmel Beach Impression, 16 x 20 inches, pastel.

Carmel in the Evening Light, 16 x 18 inches, pastel.

Napa River Mouth, 8 x 10 inches, pastel.

Jessie's Grove Barn, 10 x 10 inches, oil.

Kim Fancher and I went out to Lodi to paint antique barns for a show at the Knowlton Gallery. Hey, sometimes the magic works-I like this one! It embodies the odd combination of freshness and precision that comes with plein air painting.

Carmel Dunes in the Morning, 18 x 24 inches, pastel.

This is a painting I did outdoors two years ago--reworked. I took it out last week and worked it over again, changing the format, cropping the base of the painting and enhancing the color. I am quite pleased with the result. It was too large a canvas to finish successfully outdoors. Sometimes that works, but sometimes the light just changes to fast to keep up.

Strawberries, detail of larger work, 16 x 20 inches, pastel.

I did this painting for a demonstration of few weeks ago for Artists by the Bay in San Mateo.
The painting, sadly, did not get completed. However, the small bits of cool blue really made the painting sparkle--without them, the strawberries looked dull and flat. That is a take home lesson that I can really live with, even though I did not get to finish the painting.

Whaler's Cove in Point Lobos, 10 x 10 inches, oil.

This lovely day had a strange natural history event in it. This lovely water was filled with 5 inch wide jellyfish--many schools of them.

Yay! Barak Obama!

Happy Inauguration Day!

Carmel Beach

Cypress on Carmel Beach, 12 x 16 inches, oil.

Here is a plein air sketch in impressionist brushwork from a lovely day on Carmel Beach last week. I will repost it soon, with before and after pictures--I have been working on it in the studio.

Delta Morning

Delta Morning, 20 x 20 inches, oil.

Here is even more impressionism for my readers. I am still working on infusing my painting with impressionist shimmer.