Abstracted Landscape of 6-23-2024

 

oil on canvasboard, 8" x 10"

A palette knife painting using wax medium but no hot air.  It seems whenever I reach for the gun, it's not there, so I proceed forth without.

Abstracted Landscape Study 9-16-2021

 

acrylic on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

This was just a quick study using a palette knife, having a bit of fun using a palette of cad yellow, cad orange, light green permanent, pthalo blue, viridian and ivory black.  I've had very limited time to paint these last few days, so when I went to my easel, I had to work fast and furious.  Let's just say I'm not unhappy with the result.

Bodega Bay at Dusk

 

oil on canvas, 12" x 24"

This is a scene of my new favorite beach that somehow escaped my notice until recently.  It is a wide stretch of beach with few, if any, beachgoers at any given time.  The golden hour is quite something there.

Labor Day at Bodega Bay

oil on wood panel, 8" x 10"

I came upon this enchanting but rapidly changing scene at Bodega Bay, and was glad I snapped a few photos before I had to pack up and leave so that I could add those fleeting elements in the studio later.  I was frustrated with the gessoed surface, which had vertical grooves left by the brush, but decided to use those grooves to help me create some interesting textural effects.  I loved watching this photographer pursue her labor of love in an area of low tide to try and capture in closeup a very large white bird, probably a great egret.  The fishing boats were returning from their day's outing and various smaller white birds were dotting the shallow end of the bay, an altogether charming scene.

Tomales Bay Triangles

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

This is a plein air palette knife painting of a scene that I simplified in order to emphasize the triangular patterns I saw in the cliff, the trees, and the two sailboats floating on a quiet Tomales Bay.  I have to say, it's quite a challenge to paint boats with a palette knife.

Naked Ladies of Salmon Creek

oil on canvasboard, 10" x 8"

I took an impressionistic approach to this palette knife painting, which was done from a photo I had taken at Salmon Creek the other day.  Didn't have time to paint the scene on site, and by the time I get back there, those pink ladies will likely be gone.  I will get back there some day and paint whatever is there, as it is quite a lovely spot, just north of Bodega Bay.  Update 9/11/17:  I've been informed by someone in the know that these flowers not called Pink Ladies but are, in fact, Naked Ladies -- a far more catchy label, don't you think?  So, I hereby retitle my painting to more accurately describe this scene.  I stand corrected!

Point Arena Plateau with Red and White Pagoda

oil on wood panel, 8" x 16"

This plein air painting from yesterday was worked on a bit more in the studio this morning.  It was a strikingly brilliant day at Point Arena, around 82 degrees, with a slight, soft sea breeze.  It was a challenging scene to paint, but I couldn't ask for better painting weather, or better company in the form of my good friend and fellow painter Joyce Creswell.  This plateau is part of Stornetta Public Lands and sits just to the north of the famed Point Arena Lighthouse. 

Algae-covered Rocks, Waimanalo Beach

oil on canvas, 6" x 8"

Waimanalo Beach is maybe my favorite beach in the world.  It is a gorgeous, pristine expanse of white sand beach on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.  I've been feeling a bit nostalgic for it, so here's a small memento.

Goat Rock

oil on canvasboard, 9" x 12"

A seascape painting of Goat Rock, which sits along the coast near Jenner.  It was a light overcast day when I took this photo.  

Russian River at Jenner

oil on gessoed textured hardboard panel, 6" x 12"

This started as a plein air painting on a mostly overcast day, but I was none too happy with my effort, so I reworked it in the studio.  It didn't help that the panel I had chosen was damaged in the upper left corner and was one of those textured surface panels made to emulate canvas that I don't care for, but it was the only 6" x 12" format I had brought with me.  It seemed that no matter how much paint I applied, the texture still showed through.  I prefer to work on actual canvas or a smooth hard surface, the simple reason being that I want the paint application to form the texture, not the prepared surface.  Lesson learned, in the future I will either sand down the textured surface or gesso a layer or two over it so as to smooth out those ridges.

Rise and Shine!

oil on linen-mounted gatorboard, 6" x 8"

This little plein air painting was done mid-morning from a pullout on Shoreline Highway near the town of Marshall, looking west across Tomales Bay.  Seems the people aboard were having a sleep-in.  

Blowin' in the Wind

oil on canvas, 14" x 14"

A snowy egret on a ledge above the sea on a blustery day.

Sunset at Secret Beach

oil on canvasboard, 8" x 8"

This is essentially a cloud study done from a photo of Secret Beach on Kauai, my favorite Hawaiian island.  Update:  I have uploaded a more accurate image of this painting, as the one I posted earlier today was too light.

Bodega Bay on a Sunny Day

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

This was a quick little 10-minute sketch done the other day while on a walk with the pups, looking south from Cheney Creek Trail at Bodega Bay.  I was lucky to get even 10 minutes before they started bugging me to get off the bench.  The upside is that it forces me to work really fast, which makes for good practice.

Sous la Mer

oil on wood panel, 6" x 6"

Another colorful abstract made from leftover paint on the palette, done with a palette knife, the implement of my choice lately.

Sunset Study

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

This is a study I did as a warmup for an organic painting I have in mind.  Here, I'm playing around with design and searching for the palette I want to use for it.  I've been using a limited palette on all of my recent paintings, which changes from painting to painting.  I try to use between three and five colors, plus white, for each -- colors I choose according to the dictates of each particular motif I have in mind.

On a separate note, I have four of my digital paintings on display and available for sale at a local venue here in Petaluma, the Aqus Cafe, through 2/26/2017.  They are each printed on a 5" x 7" metal sheet and wall mounted, and can be printed larger by request.

Estuary with Lighthouse

oil on hardboard panel, 11" x 14"

Another palette knife painting.  I believe the reference photo for this painting was taken in Eureka or thereabouts but I cannot remember for sure.  I just know I had been wanting to paint this scene for a while.  Again, a very limited palette, this time all cool colors, save for a bit of warmth in the use of yellow ochre in the sky and the foreground.

Pierce Point Cypresses

acrylic on canvas, 30" x 15"

I painted this sketch from a photo because I loved the shape of these trees with their pale trunks and wanted to see blue and yellow together, another color pairing favorite of mine.  

Sand Dunes and Pampas

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Tomales Bay at Dusk

acrylic on canvas, 36" x 48"

This is a painting that has gone to live in the aperitif-tasting room on the property where I have my art studio.  I am putting up an exhibit of paintings there, and although I considered this an underpainting to be worked on some more, the woman who makes the aperitifs, Laura Hagar, fell in love with it in its current state and so I feel I cannot touch it now.  I guess it's done.  It is the largest painting I've done to date, but all four of my largest paintings have been snatched up for this exhibit.