Blue Heron at Ellis Creek

 

oil on panel, 8" x 6"

Ellis Creek in Petaluma has long been a favorite source of landscape painting inspiration for me, with its great variety of terrain, including marshes, ponds, grasses and distant hills, not to mention avian wildlife in the form of herons, egrets, swans, stilts, and many other winged species.  It's an ever changing ecosystem there and I never get tired of it.

Lynch Creek Cow

 

oil on copper plate, 8" x 10"

It was such fun to slap oil paint on a metal surface, I had to do another one straight away!  This painting came about super fast, and I left some bits of the copper plate showing through the background hills.  You can't see that in this photo, but in good light at the right angle, you can make out the shiny copper surface in a patchwork pattern within the background and the cow.  I've done metal paintings before and each time it has been an extremely satisfying experience.  Can't wait to do it again!

Fifth Street Flowers

acrylic on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

The other day, I passed by a section of sidewalk on Fifth Street in Petaluma with the most amazing collection of wild flowers which inspired this floral study.  I may attempt another version, as I found the scene utterly enchanting.

Moon Over Rivertown

acrylic on canvas paper, 12" x 9"

This is a study done from a photo taken at dusk of the Rivertown section of Petaluma along the river. 

Indian Summer Dusk, West of Petaluma

oil on panel, 8" x 16"

This painting of the hills of West Sonoma County near Petaluma was done from a photo I took in the early evening on my drive home from work recently.  I love the pink and orange hues in it, as I was trying to conveying the warm glow emanating from those velvety hills.  I never get tired of this view.

Lynch Creek Mustard

oil on panel, 9" x 12"

Painted from a photo taken when the mustard was at its height in April, this scene looks east toward the hills of Sonoma from Lynch Creek Trail in east Petaluma.  It's a scene that I never seem to tire of, always changing yet very peaceful.

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.

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).

Spring Scene, Eastside Petaluma

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

With this loose digital sketch, I tried to capture the pillowy lushness of spring growth in a field of weeds and mustard flowers on the Eastside of Petaluma. 

Lakeville Lineup

oil on canvasboard, 6" x 12"

Another palette knife painting, this piece was started en plein air the other day under a brilliant blue sky.  I got only about two-thirds done before I had to pack my gear and leave the scene.  It was finished later in the studio with the help of a reference photo I had taken, using a limited palette of cad yellow light, cad yellow medium, napthol red, and ultramarine blue, plus white.

Point Reyes-Petaluma Road at Dusk

oil on hardboard panel, 6" x 6"

This was an interesting exercise.  I started this painting on an unprimed panel and when I paused and stepped back, I realized the color of the panel itself was well suited to the composition and so I left parts of it unpainted, particularly on the left side.

Winter Pond

oil on canvasboard, 6" x 8"

I was lying in bed the other night thinking of a color combination, of pairing a yellow ochre with a mauve or slate blue.  It got hold of me, for some reason, and when I awoke the next morning, it was the first thing on my mind.  So, I went to my studio and started laying down the colors I envisioned.  It turned into a landscape painting, and although not one based on an actual reference, I can see the influence of my many visits to Ellis Creek here in Petaluma.  The whole thing is an invention, really, and I am most pleased by what I see on the right side, where the blue/gray water of the pond meets the yellow ochre reeds, which are set against the dark red trees.  

Marshall Petaluma Road in January

oil on canvasboard, 6" x 8"

The sun came out the other day and so I worked on this palette knife plein air sketch until the cold air forced me back into my car.  The grassy hills are intensely green now, after all the recent storms.

Pond Swan at Ellis Creek

acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24"

This painting was done from a photo I had taken at Ellis Creek not too long ago.  I painted it with a palette knife, except for the swan and the slim tree trunks in the mid-ground, for which I used a brush.  The black area surrounding the swan was left unpainted, having been primed with black gesso.

Ellis Creek Reeds and Trees in Winter

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

From a recent foray to one of my favorite spots in Petaluma.  The subtle color variations are so beautiful to me, especially when set against a gray sky.

Ellis Creek in Autumn

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

A quick digital impression of Ellis Creek I did the other day while on a walk with the dogs.  It started to rain, so I just had time for the basics.

Egret at Ellis Creek

oil on canvasboard, 6" x 12"

I started on this palette knife painting from a photo I had taken at Ellis Creek, but had to finish it from memory when my computer crashed last Tuesday.  It had just rained after a long dry spell and there was a carpet of mustard flowers in the mid-distance that I just loved, not to mention the beautiful snowy egret standing in the shallow water.

Tree of Life

acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24"

I've been wanting to paint this tree for a long time, as it captures my attention every time I drive by this wondrous thing.  Cows frequently gather underneath its shelter, and I love the tunnel that forms from within the curve of its trunk.  

Eastside Petaluma, Early Autumn

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

Another digital painting here, since I haven't had time to do any actual painting lately.  I'm itching to get back to it and hoping to carve out some time next week, but this time of year is always challenging for me, with various life demands taking precedence.  

Lakeville Poplars

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

A 10-minute sketch of poplars along a section of Lakeville Highway in Petaluma.  The leaves are turning yellow now, giving the trees a glow around their perimeters, something I find quite beautiful, especially when they sway in the breeze.