Des Oiseaux Sur un Bateau

 

oil on panel, 24" x 18"

I've been sitting with this painting for a while, wondering whether it's finished or not.  I've done quite a few of these "bird girl" paintings and I think there might be one or two more in me before I'm done.

Floralescent

oil on panel, 16" x 16"

The title of this painting contains a double entendre, as the inspiration for it is a painter named Flora Yukhovich.  It's another in my abstracted botanicals series.

My Cup Runneth Over

oil on panel, 16" x 16"

This is the next in my abstracted botanical series of paintings, originally inspired by those garbage can bouquets in New York City created by Lewis Miller.

Arden

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

A portrait of the actor Arden Cho done using a mix of brush and palette knife.

Mixed Breeds

oil on panel, 16" x 16"

This composition is for me a meditation on springtime.

On Fremont

oil on panel, 8" x 16"

I'm not sure if this is Fremont Street in San Francisco or not, but I've dubbed it as such for this little palette knife composition.  

Hill City Glare

oil on panel, 12" x 12"

This is a palette knife painting of a particularly enchanting view of San Francisco with the East Bay hills in the distance, based on a "drive-by shooting."  I got two shots from it, each slightly different.  I may paint the other scene at some point.  Updated 3/27:  I made a few minor tweaks to the foliage here and there.

Faces in the Crowd

 

oil on panel, 20" x 20"

This painting started out with a struggle because I had ordered the wrong panel for the job.  It slowed my process way down until I gave up wanting to control the thing and let it dictate my moves.  I'm happy with the result.  Wanting to go full-on abstract at some point.  

Marina

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 9"

This is a portrait study of an old friend of mine with whom I lost touch a number of years ago.  She was Russian and fluent in five languages.  We met in a French conversation class at the local college and took a fun trip to Hawaii together.  The reference photo for this portrait was taken in Hawaii.  Later, I attended her wedding to an Argentinian man on Kauai.  I hope she's doing well.  I suspect so.  She was brilliant!

The Jockey

oil on canvaspaper, 12" x 12"

I nicked the sitter for this portrait from the annals of the BBC production Portrait Artist of the Year.  I thought this jockey, Tony McCoy, had a very interesting face, which was made all the more intriguing by the twotone quality produced by the protective goggles he must wear.  It's a sport for the brave.

Spring Flowers in a Green Pot

 

oil on panel, 16" x 16"

I was in the right mood to paint this loose, spontaneous abstracted bouquet.  I get like this every year just before spring hits, and I may have another one in me before too long.  This was fun!

Sylvie

 

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 9"

This is a portrait study of Sylvie Vartan, the French actress and singer popular in the 1960s and 1970s.  I did it in palette knife, with a few minor refinements in brush at the end.  I was surprised how willing she was to be painted.  I sometimes get a definite vibe when painting a portrait (without their permisison), and this one was all in for it.  So, yay!

Gary's Friend II

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

This is another portrait study I had done in 2024 of someone known to me as "Gary's friend."  This time I just had fun with it, not so concerned with getting a likeness as I was with the interplay of colors.

Blondie

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 9"

This was a quick and loose portrait in thick paint, something I've been wanting to do for ages.  I was in the right mood for it, and it worked!

Transitory

oil on panel, 12" x 12"

This is a scene from New York City back when yellow cabs were ubiquitous and helped define the color character of the city.  That iconic yellow no longer predominates like it once did.  Everything in this world is transitory.

Pretti Flowers

 

oil on panel, 10" x 10"

This is my rendering of a bouquet of flowers left in honor of Alex Pretti, the ICU nurse who was gunned down by ICE agents in Minneapolis on 1/24/2026.  They are partially covered in snow and ice, lest we forget the cruel irony of his martyrdom.

It's been a while since I've posted any paintings to my blog due to a ruptured aneurysm, followed by a fall that led me back to the hospital with a fractured lumbar.  It's been a slow healing process and I can only spend a couple hours a day, tops, standing at my easel.  Hopefully, that time will increase as my bones continue to mend.