Black Butte River at Dusk

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

This is a quick sketch done as a loose study for an oil painting which I'm working on now from a photo I took the other day at this beautiful spot at the confluence of the Eel and Black Butte Rivers.  A gorgeous, unpopulated, swimmable place.

On Top of the World

acrylic on canvas, 12" x 36"

This was done from a photo I had taken up on Pan Toll Road the other day on Mt. Tamalpais.  I just had to bash out a painting of it.  The fog was just beginning to claim the trees in the distance, and I loved the shadow patterns created by those trees, set against the blond hills in the foreground.  

Two Plum Trees

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Just playing with color here, using memory and imagination.  This one makes no realistic sense, but I like it anyway.

Pan Toll Road

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

A quick digital sketch done while sitting on a big rock with the dogs under the shade of a pine tree.  There are dramatic views in all directions from Pan Toll Road in Marin County, especially this time of year, with the fog mingling with the cypress and pine trees and the bleached out hilltops.  

A Monumental Love

oil on canvas, 12" x 24"

This is the finished painting of the one I posted in progress a few days ago, under the working title of  "The Session."  I've now renamed it with the original title I had in mind but had been too timid to claim, until a friend of mind saw the painting and helped me get over that modesty.  Victor, former racehorse, and his beloved friend Marilyn at Covelo Ranch having one of their sessions in a big, grassy field.  

Nicasio Poplars

oil on canvas board, 9" x 12"

A plein air study done the other day in the little Marin town of Nicasio, a very popular location for plein air painters, mostly known for the picturesque church nestled against a hillside.  I've painted the church before, but turned my attention this time to a southern view featuring some beautiful glowing poplars. 

Some Kind of Pine

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Another 10-minute sketch done whilst on a walk with the dogs.  They are forcing me to work faster, which is probably not a bad thing.   I have no idea what kind of tree this is.  Could be a pine, could be a palm.  Never seen another like it, that I can recall.

The Session

oil on canvas, 12" x 24"

This painting is perhaps 90% done, a training session Marilyn is having with Victor out in the field at Covelo Ranch.  I used a photo taken in the spring when the grass was green and the temperature cool, unlike now when the heat here is unbearably hot, over 100 degrees Fahrenheit much of the time. 

Sheep Family Portrait

oil on gessoboard, 9" x 12"

A quick palette knife portrait of three sheep at Covelo Ranch, painted from a photo because sheep, like horses and cows, do not sit still long enough to have their portrait painted.  

Night Light

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

Now for something different, a night-time iPad painting.  Again walking my dog in downtown Petaluma, I thought this might make an interesting composition.  Rather Poe-like, isn't it?  Truth be told, these digital paintings are much easier and quicker to bang out than actual, organic paintings, one of which I've been slaving over the past few days, and I'm still not finished with it.  

Glads In Memoriam

acrylic on canvas, 24" x 8"

Got a little too frustrated working on this painting, so I wiped it.  I had taken a photo of it at this stage, as I often do, so that when I look back I can feel really bad about what I did.  Instead, I should have just put it in the time-out room.  Lesson learned.

Victory Walk

acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24"

This is one of the few horse paintings I've done to date.  Just trying to get more familiar with horse shapes and this one in particular, I already have another in mind to do of him.  This is my friend Marilyn's handsome boy Victor, a Thoroughbred and former race horse.  I dare say he's much happier now, living on a big ranch with someone like Marilyn to love and care for him.

Umbrellas of the Theatre District

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

Yet another umbrella digital painting done while on a walk with my dog.  For this one, we were sitting in an outdoor plaza in downtown Petaluma, in the theatre district.  I was drawn to the tropical colors and angular shapes of this scene.

Koi Pond Impression, Albion

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

This digital sketch was done while sitting by the koi pond at my friends' Albion residence.  The pond is fairly large (and gorgeous), but in this one I wanted to showcase the beautiful colors in the landscaping around the pond.

Tree Trunks Along the Slough

oil on gessoboard, 12" x 6"

This palette knife painting was meant to be a study in pinks and browns, but as you can see, I strayed a bit from that idea.  It was done from a photo I had taken at Covelo Ranch in the spring, when the slough was full.  I liked seeing that one tree trunk in the foreground set against the others on the far shoreline of the slough.