Red Bud

oil on canvas, 10" x 10"

I worked from a photo I had taken to create this painting of a scene I passed along Highway 162 last spring, a road full of breathtaking beauty at this time of year.  The magenta blossoms of the red bud bushes springing out of the bright green grass and set against the dark greens and blues of the many trees make for an eye-popping natural bouquet.  

Flaming Archway

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Another digital sketch done at Covelo Ranch, where the leaves were already in various stages of yellow, orange and red at the end of September.  This scene looks northward from the house and edge of a side garden toward the razed hay field and hills beyond.

Looking North, Covelo Ranch on a Hot Summer Day

oil on canvas panel, 6" x 12"

This is a palette knife plein air sketch I did in late afternoon the other day at Covelo Ranch, as the heat was just beginning to abate.  That viridian green hay barn in the mid-distance is just beyond the property line of the ranch, and the hot summer sun seemed to intensify its color just before the shade hit its roof.

Reflections on a River

oil on gessoed panel, 6" x 12"

This is now what I would call an abstracted landscape, having messed with an actual landscape painting to the point where it is now almost unrecognizable but seems to have a life of its own.  You just never know.

Trees of Covelo Ranch, Summer Impression

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

Another quickie digital landscape sketch.  This one I was unable to finish on site, but when I looked at it later, I liked it as an abstracted landscape, something I'm wanting to do more of.

Conversation at the Confluence

oil on linen mounted on board, 12" x 16"

This painting was done from a photo I had taken of my friends Ron and Marilyn with their dog Dot at the confluence of the Eel and Black Butte rivers in Northern California.  The rocks in shadow on the far bank were actually lighter than the sand mound in the foreground.  The time was that golden hour of a summer day, around 7:00 pm, and I loved the warm and varied colors lit by the setting sun.

River Rock Rose

oil on hardboard panel, 6" x 6"

I've been working on several paintings simultaneously, all of which have presented challenges.  One is a closeup of the Eel River near Black Butte River Ranch in Northern California.  I thought I had finished it, but when I looked again with fresh eyes, I felt the need to rework it with a different palette.  Instead of mostly blues, greens and pinks, I want to see what I can do with blues, browns and oranges.  This abstract painting was created using the leftover paint from that one.

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.

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.  

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.  

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.

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.

The Slough in Spring

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

This was done from a photo I took at Covelo Ranch in the spring, when the slough was full.  Now it is completely dried up and you can walk across the bed to the field beyond.  I loved the subtle gray-greens set against the pink of the plum blossoms and their reflections in the brown water, with the charming little turquoise foot bridge in the distance.  

Plum Trees with Wheelbarrow, Covelo Ranch

oil on linen-mounted panel, 8" x 10"

Another palette knife plein air study.  I've painted these plum trees before, but that was in the spring when they were full of blossoms.  I love the rich dark color of plum trees in summer, which I painted yesterday under the shade of an apple tree next to the horse corral.  I'll get to those horses at some point, hopefully.

Plum Trees at Covelo Ranch

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Another plum tree painting, this one from Covelo Ranch.  The blossoms have fallen and the leaves take on either a purplish or reddish glow, depending on the light.  I just love the color of plum trees.

Looking South, Covelo Ranch on a Misty Winter Day

acrylic on canvas, 12" x 36"

This was done in the studio from a photo I had taken at the ranch, and I loved the subtle layers the mist made out of the distant hills.  I'm not quite done with this one, but will not be able to get back to it for a few days.  Who knows, it may be finished now.  I never know these things.  I find it helpful to sit with a painting for as long as it takes to receive the answer to that question.  I've heard it said you never finish a painting; you just stop working on it.

Flowering Plum Trees, Covelo Ranch

oil on canvas, 12" x 12"

Another painting started on site and finished in the studio, done with a palette knife.  This scene is of the side yard by the main house, with the slough running alongside and a large field beyond.  

Sheep in the Field, Early Spring at Covelo Ranch

acrylic on canvasboard, 12" x 16"

This started as a plein air painting which was finished later in the studio.  I wanted to paint the sheep relaxing in the white flowered grass, against the subtle color variations in the trees beyond, but as soon as I set my gear up, they were gone.  How dare they!  Luckily, I took a photo where some of the sheep were still lingering and used it as reference for the studio work.

Early Spring, Covelo Ranch

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Back at Covelo Ranch, I love this view of the property, looking north, with the lush green everywhere and lichen hanging from some of the oak trees that are just about to pop with foliage.  Then there's the plum blossoms adding that bit of pink here and there.  Love it!