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.

Denman Cottage View

oil on panel, 11" x 14"

This palette knife painting is a somewhat idealized interpretation of the view from my cottage on the Denman property.  I painted it from a photo and not from life because, while my camera was off with the colors of the background hills, I quite liked its skewed version, and yet the values were not far off the real thing.  

Oh, to See the Light!

oil on hardboard panel, 12" x 9"

This is a plein air painting of the south end of a rustic barn on the property where my art studio is located, which is now called Denman Ranch.  Robert, a wonderfully upbeat and creative man, makes high-end lighting fixtures inside that barn.  Ironically, the narrow opening in the lower left illuminates nothing of the interior space, rendering it all the more mysterious.  The barn is graced by irises, grapevines, and a privet tree, and the lawn in front is one of my dog Lola's favorite hangouts.  Denman Ranch is a special place for sure.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Faye with Plum Trees and Foot Bridge

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

This is a sketch of the side yard by the main house at the Covelo Ranch, with the slough in the mid ground, and Faye is one of the three very lucky Border Collies who get to call this home. 

Ron's Barn

oil on gessoed hardboard panel, 6" x 12"

This palette knife painting was done on site at my friends Ron and Marilyn's ranch in Covelo, looking south to a brown barn just over the property line that Ron had built and lived in years ago.