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!