Please Don't Make Me

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

This is an oil sketch of a little girl I encountered one day last year at an ice creamery in Fairfax.   Her petulant expression got to me, and I've finally gotten around to expressing it.  I might not be done with this one yet.  Updated 11/25/2025:  Added a few touches.  Updated again:  11/30/2025:  Clearly, I wasn't done with it.  I totally redid the portrait because I hadn't gotten the angle right on the face.  It made a big difference.  Sometimes it takes more than one try to get it right.

Sir Anthony

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

This is a portrait of Anthony McDaniel, a beloved colleague at Lieff Cabraser and band mate in the rock band The R-23s.  I started this portrait of him in July, 2023.  Anthony passed away suddenly last week, which sent shock waves through me.  He was so alive, so present, so huge in my psyche, I've been grappling with the fact that he is gone since then.  He was the heart and soul of The R-23s, and now it is changed forever.  That commanding presence will never again be encountered in his office, walking down a hallway, having a quick chat in the kitchen, and most of all interacting with in real time in music.  I was sensitive to his struggles with being an imposing black figure in a white man's world.  In a better world, he could have just been himself, which would have been wonderful to behold.  Instead, he carried himself with a dignity and formality that must have been a constant strain.  We're all confined to our cages, after all; that is, until we're not.  RIP, Sir Anthony.

Grand Old Ginkgo

oil on canvas, 22" x 28"

A palette knife landscape.  I just needed to see some yellow.  More of these big trees to follow.

Village Restaurant

oil on panel, 12" x 12"

This colorful night scene outside the Waverly Restaurant in Greenwich Village, NY was fun to do, as it was a fixture in my old neighborhood in the Village.  It's part of a series of urban night scenes I've been working on.  This one will be part of an Artists' Auction at Incline Gallery, 766 Valencia Street, San Francisco on December 5 from noon to 8:00 pm, with over 50 artists participating.  Bidding for this painting starts at $125, with a Buy-It-Now price of $225.  Get 'em while they're cheap!

Slick City at Sunset

oil on panel, 20" x 20"

This is an absracted cityscape that I worked on months ago, then paused.  Looking at it now, I'd say it's finished, or maybe it's just that I'm finished with it.  Either way, voila!

Whitehead with Black Bird

 

oil on canvasboard, 14" x 11"

The latest bird girl portrait.  It seems to complete a series I've been doing.  I'm happy with this one.

Abstracted Landscape of 10-27-2025

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

A loose palette knife study to distract me from the urban scene I'm currently struggling with.

Chaos: The Natural Order

 

oil on canvas, 20" x 20"

Did a landscape for a change.  This is somewhere in Thailand.  I love these banana leaves.  And the water is very still, making for a conducive atmosphere of inner contemplation.  

Flower Tower

 

oil on canvas, 36" x 12"

For a change of pace, a painting of stacked hollyhocks.

La La Land in the Light

 

oil on panel, 12" x 16"

This is a somewhat abstracted landscape of the LA skyline done mostly with palette knife.  

Magenta Moon

 

oil on panel, 12" x 24"

Another abstracted cityscape at night.  

Schwing!

 

oil on panel, 14" x 11"

Here's another dancer painting to add to the series.  And we're not done yet.

Call It A Day

oil on panel, 24" x 12"

This is a palette knife painting I did after I got back from a two-week trip to Europe.  I'm still on U.K. time, so it feels a bit slluggish getting back to my usual routine.

Jade

oil on panel, 8" x 8"

This is a portrait of Jade, my friend Eva's daughter.  Eva's husband was my partner Roy's twin brother.  I may tweak it a bit before varnishing.  I'm going to spend some time with Eva in the U.K. soon and will bring it with me to give to her.

Pete

acrylic on canvas paper, 12" x 9"

My late partner Roy had a great friend in Pete, who's portrait I've painted in honor of the great friend himself.  I'll be seeing him and his wife Jacqui next month in Cornwall for the first time in a decade.  Can't wait!

Fashionista

 

oil on panel, 10" x 8"

This is a stylized portrait of the U.K. fashion designer Pam Hogg.  She was a sitter on the BBC's Portrait Artist of the Year and I found her to be an interesting subject.  

Childless Cat Lady

 

oil on panel, 24" x 12"

My version, lol.

Running Late

oil on panel, 8" x 8"

Here's an improvisational piece in progress.  

Young Frida

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

This is a study portrait of Frida Kahlo as a very young woman.  Not sure I got the likeness, but I do like the portrait on its own terms.  It is compelling to me.

In Transition

 

oil on panel, 8" x 8"

A mysterious little narrative piece I did recently.

Feelin' It

 

oil on panel, 14" x 11"

This is the third in a series of break dancers I'm having fun with.  She's wild!

Night Moves

 

oil on panel, 12" x 16"

A narrative painting about intersecting lives.  

Carefree

oil on panel, 12" x 9"

This little ditty came surprisingly quick and easy.  Fun!  Updated 8/11/2025.  I changed the title from "Driven to Distraction" so as to change the focus from the dude in the background to the girl in the foreground.  A simpler story now, lol.

Symphony in Orange and Green

 

acrylic on canvas, 24" x 24"

Another work in progress, I nearly gave up on this one.  It has turned around, though, and I may end up really liking it.

Tokyo Rococo

oil on panel, 12" x 24"

This is a work in progress.  The challenge will be when to stop.  Updated 8/3/2025:  Now it's done.

Neon Jungle

 

oil on panel, 10" x 10"

An experiment in pushing abstraction within an urban landscape.  

Umbrella Brigade

 

oil on panel, 16" x 8"

A palette knife painting of an urban scene.

Pam

 

oil on canvasboard, 14" x 11"

Here's another portrait study taken from the BBC's Portrait Artist of the Year.  The sitter was Pam Hogg, a British clothing designer.  She was an interesting subject, which everyone picked up on.  I'm thinking of doing a larger portrait of her from the same angle.  We'll see...

White Hydrangea

 

oil on panel, 11" x 14"

I rarely do still life paintings, but I came upon an early Matisse still life of flowers in a vase and felt compelled to do one.  

Portrait of Monica

acrylic on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

This is a portrait sketch of the Italian actor Monica Belluci.  I've painted her before from this same image, but this one was done fairly quickly, and I liked the green showing through in the lower part of her face and in the upper right of her forehead.

Head Series #2

acrylic on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

Here's the second head done from imagination with the self-imposed time limitation of 30 minutes.