This was a little freeform experimental piece just for fun.
Thursday, May 29, 2025
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Emily
On of my favorite shows to watch is the BBC's Portrait Artist of the Year. I decided to paint one of the sitters as an exercise. The competition for each portrait is what can be accomplished in four hours. I spent 3.5 hours on this one. It could be good practice to do more of these, since many of the sitters are unfamiliar to me. Emily is an award-winning singer/songwriter based in the U.K. I thought she had a regal bearing and I liked the three-quarter angle. Updated 5/29/2025: I changed the background a wee bit with an overlay of lavender.
Monday, May 19, 2025
Facade
This is the finished painting of an abstract that I started way back when, then consigned it to the time-out room forever. Patience.
Thursday, May 15, 2025
Fierce
A portrait of a young Choctaw Indian woman. I found her stare compelling.
Thursday, May 8, 2025
A Heart of Gold
This painting has been in the making for a while. It was a slow process as I sat with it and pondered how I wanted to paint it and what I wanted to say through it. I'm happy with the result.
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Sunday, May 4, 2025
Saturday, May 3, 2025
Monday, April 28, 2025
Yellow Frock
This was an exercise in relinquishing control. Sometimes you just need a reminder . . .
Sunday, April 27, 2025
Sunday, April 20, 2025
The Unfolding Flower
A painting of a rose in closeup as it unfolds its petals. I've done this before but thought I'd try it again because of its abstract quality. Plus, I was jonesing to paint in reds, a color I find challenging to get right.
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Hip Hop Hooray!
Monday, April 7, 2025
Flippers
This painting presented an interesting conundrum. I originally painted it in landscape format, which would have rotated this image 90 degrees counterclockwise. However, I found it a bit disconcerting to paint it in that format, so I flipped it to portrait format, which is the way you are seeing it. I had painted another pair of swimmers in 2023, called "Floaters," and this one is the next incarnation visiting this theme. I find these narrative two paintings quite amusing. Updated 4/9/2025: I decided I like it better in landscape format, which is how I originally meant it to be. Works just fine this way.
Monday, March 31, 2025
Polina
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Fun 'n Games
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Inner City Blues
This urban night scene might be done; I'm not sure yet. I tried to keep it simple and focus on the depth of field in it. These urban scenes are fun to do, so I'll be doing more of them.
Saturday, March 22, 2025
Monday, March 17, 2025
Little House on the Prairie
An abstracted landscape that ended up more abstract than landscape. Fine with me.
Saturday, March 15, 2025
Saturday, March 1, 2025
Prodi
This is a portrait of my friend Ron's beloved border collie, who passed away in December not long after my own Lola died. Prodi was Ron's first border collie, to be followed by many more. He loves the breed. Prodi was special, though. He had a fondness for fish and befriended a yellow one in Ron's koi pond named Smokey. I've painted Smokey before and suggested him here but this painting is all about Ron's beautiful boy.
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Poisson Ange
Another little fish painting to add to my series of little fish paintings. What can I say, they're fun!
Wednesday, February 19, 2025
Here's Lookin' at You
Here's another painting of my little angel Lola, who passed away in early December last year. I'm building up a series on her. What an amazing little being she was.
Monday, February 10, 2025
Emerald City
With all I've got going on right now, it's a miracle I've done any painting at all. I might spend more time on this one later, but for now, I'm finished with it. This is a scene I pass frequently on my way into San Francisco. It's a view from the freeway looking east after passing through the bridge toll. I love those curved streetlights. Updated 5/21/2025: I felt the need to warm up the green in the mid-distance. I also added some pink highlights to the copse at the right end.
Friday, January 31, 2025
Cornish Cows
This painting was a distraction that served a purpose. That's all I have to say about it.
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Cerisehead with Black Bird
I thought I was done with these bird girl portraits, but I guess not. Here's another one that wanted to come through, so I went with it. This will be included in the upcoming show, if it dries in time.
Monday, January 20, 2025
The Overpass
This is an abstracted landscape sketch, an aerial view of a freeway I did way back in 2020 that I'm pulling out of the archives for possible inclusion in an upcoming exhibit in SF whose theme is Portraits of the City. I thought it apropos to this theme, and on second viewing, I like it. Sometimes, painting + time = pleasure.
Sunday, January 12, 2025
Streetlights in Twilight
Here's a little urban painting sketch that I did in November of 2022 that somehow slipped through the cracks. Anyway, it is going to be part of this upcoming show of my work in mid-February, along with some other urban scenes, portraits and figurative pieces.
Saturday, January 11, 2025
Metal Uke on Green Chair
This was actually the first painting I did upon returning to my current studio after a couple years' absence. It is going to be included as one of the few, if not the sole still life in my first ever exhibit in mid-February in San Francisco. More details about that to follow. I sold my beloved uke to the owner of a music store in Taos, New Mexico in 2018. I hope it found a good home. I have no idea what fate met that green leather chair, which belonged to my partner Roy. I loved that chair, so I hope it, too, found a good home.
Sunday, January 5, 2025
Sunset Study
This is just a quick little cloud study over an estuary. I'm in a flurry of activity finishing, varnishing and framing paintings for my first ever exhibit in mid-February. I've been painting for 20 years and it's well past time I parted with a few of them. Gonna try to squeeze in some more little ones as time permits.