Blue Heron at the Pond

oil on hardboard panel, 8" x 10"

Here is another rough palette knife plein air sketch from the same afternoon at the Cheese Factory.  I just had to capture the beautiful blue heron I spotted standing by the pond.  I'm currently back at the Covelo Ranch, churning out more work.  It isn't easy working outdoors in 104 degree weather, wiping sweat droplets off my palette as they fall from my face.  Wow, it's hot here!

View from the Cheese Factory, Looking West in Summer

oil on gessoboard, 8" x 10"

This simple scene was sketched looking a bit to the right of the last one I did at the Cheese Factory, along the same ridge of hills, and earlier in the day when the sun was at its height.  I may add some cows later.

Sunrise in the City

oil on canvas, 8" x 6"

Just using the leftover paint from the architectural painting of my last post.  I hate to waste paint, and this gives me an excuse to play with color and form.

Yellow Van

oil on canvas, 18" x 24"

I've been working on this abstracted architectural landscape for the past few days, as an exercise and a warmup to another abstracted urban landscape I've had in mind to do for months but wasn't sure how to approach.  I've hardly done any urban landscapes to date, so just playing around with geometric shapes and perspective has been quite helpful.

The Slough in Spring

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

This was done from a photo I took at Covelo Ranch in the spring, when the slough was full.  Now it is completely dried up and you can walk across the bed to the field beyond.  I loved the subtle gray-greens set against the pink of the plum blossoms and their reflections in the brown water, with the charming little turquoise foot bridge in the distance.  

Plum Trees with Wheelbarrow, Covelo Ranch

oil on linen-mounted panel, 8" x 10"

Another palette knife plein air study.  I've painted these plum trees before, but that was in the spring when they were full of blossoms.  I love the rich dark color of plum trees in summer, which I painted yesterday under the shade of an apple tree next to the horse corral.  I'll get to those horses at some point, hopefully.

Roses and Lavender

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

I started this digital sketch with a black background and, as an experiment, left much of it untouched.  I think I'll leave it that way.  

From the Cheese Factory, Western View

oil on canvas panel, 8" x 10"

My first plein air sketch in a while, working with a palette knife.

Abstract in Orange and Blue

acrylic on canvas, 24" x 24"

I used a very limited palette for this color field study, just cad orange, cobalt blue, and titanium white.  I may do more to it, but I kind of like the overall effect as is.  

The Pond, Late Afternoon

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

This was a quick sketch of the pond at the Cheese Factory along Point Reyes-Petaluma Road in Marin County.  It is a venue worth revisiting for the sheer variety of subject matter.  

Sky Blue Umbrella

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Yet another umbrella sketch.  I do wish they'd change their seating arrangements once in a while, so I could get another angle whilst sitting and watching my dog watch people -- her favorite thing.  What am I to do?  It's a compromise in favor of Lola's well being.  She lives to socialize, and I live to paint; we are at cross purposes, my dog and I.  My deceased partner Roy warned me about this very thing.  Oh well.  I see a lot of umbrellas.

Bunny

oil on canvas, 16" x 8"

I was in the mood for a nude, so here she is.  This was done mostly with a brush, using a palette knife in a couple spots only.  I miss oil painting, and I miss painting with brushes.  Note to self:  do some more.

Country Living

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

This digital painting is from a photo I had taken a while ago somewhere in the countryside northwest of Petaluma.  I found the bathtub to be a charmingly odd curiosity, and one that added scale to the massive barn behind it.  Care for a soak, anyone?

Under a Lichen Tree

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Done on another walk with my dog, I loved the color of the lichen on the trunk juxtaposed with the greens of the grass in shade and sun.

Sidewalk Poppies

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Painted from a bench, looking at the arrangement of orange poppies springing out of a cement sidewalk in Petaluma.