Cornish Cows

oil on panel, 18" x 24"

This painting was a distraction that served a purpose. That's all I have to say about it.

Lower Ranchitos

 

oil on canvasboard, 6" x 12"

This study is a rural scene from the lower end of Taos, New Mexico, mostly done with palette knife.  

Early Morning, Chileno Valley

acrylic on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

This is a study of a scene that I gazed upon daily from my living room window years ago when I lived in Chileno Valley.  I may do a larger, more fleshed out version in oil.  It was a magical place not only because of the beautiful contours of the terrain, but being so close to the coast often gave the atmosphere a mystical quality.

Landscape Study 9-13-2021

 

acrylic on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

This is a study of a scene I pass by often while walking my dog along the Lynch Creek Trail in eastern Petaluma.  It is a study of the particular light that hits these hills at dusk, creating beautiful grays, with an intense strip of sun glow at the top of the hills.  I had a difficult time getting the values that I wanted, mostly because I was using ivory black in my color mixes to dull the colors down a bit, which tends to darken as it dries.  If I paint this scene again, I will do it in oil, not acrylic.  That'll solve that problem!

Springers in Spring

acrylic on panel, 10" x 20"

I've heard young cows who have yet to give birth referred to as "springers."  I've been wanting to paint these springers in this scene since last spring, in fact.  So, now I've done it and I kinda like it.

West Marin Ranchland

acrylic on MDF panel, 8" x 16"

The golden hills of California are so beautiful to me at this time of year, and the local landscape is looking gorgeous right now.  This was painted from a photo, but I'm hoping to get out there and do some on-site painting soon.

Sunlit Ridge

acrylic on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

Painted from a photo, here's another quickie I did to distract me from the two paintings I'm currently struggling with.  I think it helps to do these quick studies, because I notice that it puts me in a different frame of mind when I return to the more challenging paintings.

Taos Mountain with Cows and Clouds

oil on canvas, 12" x 36"

This was a scene that I passed by daily in Taos, NM.  Every time I drove past it, I had to stare at that magnificent mountainous landscape.  The photo I worked from was taken in July, so this is a summer scene.  The mountain has many moods within each season, however, and I am not done with it, not by a long shot.  

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.

Midday on the Mesa

oil on panel, 6" x 8"

This little study was started on site, at a pullout looking west on Blueberry Hill Road on the outskirts of Taos, and finished in the studio.  It was a hot day and I had started just as the sun was getting intense.  It seems my fascination with cows has followed me to New Mexico.  

Taos Mountain from Millicent Rogers Road

oil on panel, 9" x 12"

This is a plein air study from the day before yesterday, in the afternoon at a location just north of Taos.  No refinements, just a quick impression.  I bashed in the cows later, from a photo I had taken at the scene.  I had the pleasure of Diza's company for the session, who was working in watercolor -- not an easy medium in the best of conditions, but in hot and dry weather, super challenging!

The Steering Committee

oil on canvasboard, 18" x 24"

This is a painting I've had in mind to do for a long time, simply because I loved the colors of the four steer in combination.  I used a carving block for some of the foreground, one of my new favorite painting tools acquired from a recent workshop, and the palette from that workshop as well.  Ever since this workshop, my output has slowed down considerably in order to apply coats of Liquin in between painting sessions.  The Liquin seals the paint on the surface so that any new paint applied will not mix with the underlying layer(s).  This is especially useful for glazing, a technique that I've never employed until now.  Lots of learning going on in my studio at the moment!

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.

Hills of Nicasio

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

This plein air sketch was done the day before yesterday after the latest storm broke, leaving some neon green hillsides in its wake.

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.

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.  

Chileno Valley Hills

oil on canvas, 8" x 24"

This scene has been nagging at me for a long time.  I had taken the reference photo for it in June of 2006.  There was a mist in the morning air, which made the distant hills appear lighter and the foreground brighter, at least as captured in the photo.  I wanted to play with neutrals to see if I could recreate that atmosphere.

Trailblazers

acrylic on canvas, 12" x 36"

This is another painting done mostly without a visual reference.  I cheated a little bit in looking at cow shapes online, but the landscape itself is imaginary, as far as I know.  This painting has gone through a lot of changes since its inception, due to the challenges it presented with the palette I had chosen, the colors of the shadow areas, and the scale and color values of the cows, trees and hills at various distances in shadow or light, all without a visual reference to work from.  My goal was not to create a realistic scene.  I wanted an overall feeling of warmth and space, a late afternoon on a hot day when it's just starting to cool off and the cows are on the move.  Who knows where they're headed?  

Chileno Valley in Summer

oil on canvas, 12" x 16"

This is a palette knife painting I did from a photo I had taken along Chileno Valley Road, just west of Petaluma.  There were already globs of dried paint on the canvas before I started, having gessoed over a previous painting that hadn't gone well.  The added texture did not get in the way here; in fact, I think it rather enhances this scene, giving it a rough textural effect.

Green Field Study

oil on hardboard panel, 8" x 10"

A quick color study in further exploration of abstracted landscapes, again using only a palette knife.