Naked Ladies of Salmon Creek

oil on canvasboard, 10" x 8"

I took an impressionistic approach to this palette knife painting, which was done from a photo I had taken at Salmon Creek the other day.  Didn't have time to paint the scene on site, and by the time I get back there, those pink ladies will likely be gone.  I will get back there some day and paint whatever is there, as it is quite a lovely spot, just north of Bodega Bay.  Update 9/11/17:  I've been informed by someone in the know that these flowers not called Pink Ladies but are, in fact, Naked Ladies -- a far more catchy label, don't you think?  So, I hereby retitle my painting to more accurately describe this scene.  I stand corrected!

Night Owl

oil on canvas, 12" x 9"

Another bird painting, this one of a barn owl on a black gessoed canvas where all the black you see is unpainted canvas, except for the eyes, which were painted in ivory black.  To create this painting, I used a limited palette of indian yellow, burnt sienna, ivory black, and titanium white.

Flower Power

oil on canvasboard, 10" x 8"

Here's a colorful little composition using leftover paint from Falkland Barn.  I enjoy these little freeform experiments.  This one has grown on me over the last few days.

Point Arena Plateau with Red and White Pagoda

oil on wood panel, 8" x 16"

This plein air painting from yesterday was worked on a bit more in the studio this morning.  It was a strikingly brilliant day at Point Arena, around 82 degrees, with a slight, soft sea breeze.  It was a challenging scene to paint, but I couldn't ask for better painting weather, or better company in the form of my good friend and fellow painter Joyce Creswell.  This plateau is part of Stornetta Public Lands and sits just to the north of the famed Point Arena Lighthouse. 

Snowy Egret Portrait in Profile

oil on canvas, 12" x 12"

This is the second in a series of bird portraits I've had in mind to do, the first being Flamingo Portrait in Profile, which I posted to this blog on January 14 of this year.  For this portrait, I was experimenting with a tool I recently purchased, called a brayer, which I will hopefully learn how to use with more skill in an upcoming workshop with a fantastic painter, Lindsey Kustusch.  A brayer is a rubber roller typically used for printmaking and to achieve decorative effects on surfaces.

Falkland Barn

oil on wood panel, 12" x 12"

I stumbled on a photo of a red barn in a cornfield online a while back while searching for something else, and knew I just had to paint it.  

European Goldfinch

oil on panel, 8" x 6"

I've been wanting to warm up my palette since the last few paintings have all been cool-dominant.  So, here's a warm little painting of a colorful goldfinch, native to Europe, North Africa, and western Asia.

Perchance to Dream

oil on canvas, 24" x 12"

This painting came together more like a sculpture than a painting, in that I painted the negative space first and gradually whittled it down to the bird, and the rock on which the egret stands somehow morphed into a fish, as if in a dream.  There is an ethereal quality to this piece that I find quite appealing.

Algae-covered Rocks, Waimanalo Beach

oil on canvas, 6" x 8"

Waimanalo Beach is maybe my favorite beach in the world.  It is a gorgeous, pristine expanse of white sand beach on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.  I've been feeling a bit nostalgic for it, so here's a small memento.

Goat Rock

oil on canvasboard, 9" x 12"

A seascape painting of Goat Rock, which sits along the coast near Jenner.  It was a light overcast day when I took this photo.  

Chileno Valley Oak

oil on canvasboard, 6" x 8"

This was a quick little plein air sketch done from a pullout on lower Wilson Hill Road, looking north to the hills that surround Chileno Valley.

A Terning Point

oil on wood panel, 11" x 14"

This painting was done in the studio, a subject I've had in mind for a while.  I love the peaceful feeling I get when gazing at shallow still waters and grounded boats, and of course, I had to include a few birds to complete the picture, in this case crested terns.  This scene takes place at the edge of Lake Victoria, Uganda, with Bugala Island off in the distance.

Curiosity Called A Cow

oil on canvasboard, 8" x 6"

I was hoping to paint some cows in a landscape yesterday from a pullout on lower Wilson Hill Road, and was delighted to spy a bunch of them off in the distance.  When they saw me setting up my gear, though, the entire herd came running up to the fence.  I switched my focus to portraiture instead, and God bless her, this Holstein cow held perfectly still with this gaze for the 20 minutes it took me to bash in her portrait.  That's a first!  I finished it off in the studio later, and will definitely return to that same spot again to paint more cows, one of my favorite subjects (aside from birds, that is).

Russian River at Jenner

oil on gessoed textured hardboard panel, 6" x 12"

This started as a plein air painting on a mostly overcast day, but I was none too happy with my effort, so I reworked it in the studio.  It didn't help that the panel I had chosen was damaged in the upper left corner and was one of those textured surface panels made to emulate canvas that I don't care for, but it was the only 6" x 12" format I had brought with me.  It seemed that no matter how much paint I applied, the texture still showed through.  I prefer to work on actual canvas or a smooth hard surface, the simple reason being that I want the paint application to form the texture, not the prepared surface.  Lesson learned, in the future I will either sand down the textured surface or gesso a layer or two over it so as to smooth out those ridges.

Another Little Piece of My Heart

oil on canvasboard, 6" x 6"

This little abstract piece was done with leftover paint from Swanderful, for which I had used a palette consisting of cyan blue, alizarin permanent, vermillion (all used up, so none in this painting), permanent yellow deep, and white.

Abbott's Lagoon

oil on canvasboard, 8" x 10"

This rough color study was done with a palette knife from a photo because I couldn't figure out how to haul my painting gear to this spot, as I've been told there is a long sandy path to get here from the road.  I really wanted to paint that light caramel colored water.