Thanks for the Memory

acrylic on hardboard panel, 16" x 16"

I set a new record for myself with this one:  only 3 colors!  And another record:  it was done totally from memory.  I can't even tell you the type of flowering bush this was.  It was not a rose bush, that's all I know.

Davis Lane

acrylic on canvas, 10" x 20"

Another barn painting, this time on Davis Lane in Penngrove.  The two sheep were hunkered down against this beautiful barn, perhaps awaiting a storm.  The sheep, the gorgeous barn, the sunlight on the distant hills and that neon yellow mustard field in the mid-ground all begged to be painted!

Pink Rose

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

Nude Redhead

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Pink Barn on Adobe Road

acrylic on plywood, 12" x 36"

This is painted from one of my "drive-by shootings," from the car as I was driving by this pink barn on Adobe Road in Petaluma.  I did an iPad painting of it in a different format earlier, and left the brown railing out of this one, which I may add later. 

Holstein

acrylic on plywood, 16" x 20"

I thought I would pay homage to the cow, since the art studio in which this was painted is, in actuality, a calf barn.  More to come, I hope.

Italian Cypresses on a Summer Afternoon

acrylic on canvas, 14" x 18"

Weimaraner

acrylic on hardboard panel, 12" x 12"

This was a quick sketch using a photo of a painting I found online of this dog.  I loved the perspective and, using the same limited palette I've been working with lately, bashed in the shapes over a dull orange ground, leaving bits of it poking through on the neck, mouth, and in the eyes.  I used a cool, pale blue wash for the background, which gave it a pink glow.  I quite like the effect.

Cherry Blossom Trees

acrylic on canvas, 14" x 18"

Leopard

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Welsh Countryside

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

This is from a photo I took on my travels with Roy near Betws-y-Coed, Wales.

Kenyan Elephant with Baby

acrylic on wood panel, 24" x 18"

Still working with a limited palette (5 colors, plus white), I'm learning what freedom is when the choices are few.  I may tweak this one, but the exercise is essentially done.  I love elephants in their natural environment, at peace with the world.

Adobe Road

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Holstein in a Field

oil on hardboard panel, 6" x 6"

Robert's Barn

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

An iPad sketch that I hope to later turn into an oil painting.  In this barn on the property where my art studio is, Robert creates lighting fixtures for restaurants and high-end residential interiors.  The property also has vineyards and will be offering wine-tasting/aperitif-tasting soon.

Roos' Bulbfields

acrylic on plywood panel, 36" x 36"

I have rented a light-filled art studio where I can finally start producing some larger works.  This was just for fun, an interpretation of a Roos Schuring painting to loosen me up for the bigger stuff, a Dutch tulip field.

The Big Tree

acrylic on canvas, 14" x 18"

I used one of my iPad paintings as reference for this landscape.  

High Wolds

acrylic on canvas, 16" x 20"

sold

This painting was inspired by the landscapes of David Hockney and his homeland, the Yorkshire countryside.

Oregon Coast

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Tashilhunpo Monks

acrylic on hardboard panel, 8" x 8"

Two monks polishing the stone steps in a courtyard inside the Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse, Tibet.

Male Nude

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Giacomini Wetlands

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

A marshy area near Point Reyes, with a view of Black Mountain.

Rose and Bouncie at RCA Beach

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

 A sketch from a photo I took of Rose and her adorable dog Bouncie at RCA Beach in Bolinas last December.  Bouncie is a Hurricane Katrina rescue dog, and what a beautiful spirit she has, not to mention the beautiful spirit of her rescuer!

White Magnolia Tree

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Two Italian Cypresses

oil on zinc plate, 7" x 5"

This is the organic version of the iPad painting I posted on January 12, 2014.  The trees wanted to be slimmer.  It's not my fault!

Little Red Barn

oil on zinc plate, 5" x 7"

This little painting is based on an iPad painting I posted on December 30, 2013. Working in different media changes everything. The iPad painting is freer simply because I could work so much faster, not having to mix the colors and wipe the brushes in between applications. They are two very different paintings, but I like the sculptural quality of the tree mass in this one, as well as the rear half of the barn roof, which I left unpainted.

The Mill at Berrio Bridge

acrylic on canvas, 9" x 12"

This scene witnessed from across a field of bluebells is of an old mill near Berrio Bridge, Cornwall.

533

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Two Italian Cypresses

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

Pacheco Pond

oil on wood panel, 8" x 10"

This is a plein air sketch I did last summer that I'm posting to remind myself there is life beyond the digital format.  I've become addicted to painting on my iPad, simply because it is so fast and there is no cleanup involved or toxic fumes to inhale.  

Bathpool

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

The entrance to one of my favorite places on earth, Bathpool, an idyllic village in Cornwall, England.

Catherine's White

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

Red Barn

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Here I go again.  Can't help it.

Annecy

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

I swear I'll get back to REAL painting soon.  In the meantime, another digital sketch.

Rusty's Valley

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

Pond at the Cheese Factory

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Barn in West Petaluma

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Plein air sketch from the car that I may use as reference for an oil or acrylic painting.

Nude Blonde

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

Another iPad sketch in preparation for a figure painting workshop this weekend.

Schoolhouse Beach

oil on canvas, 8" x 6"

This started as a plein air sketch along Highway 1 north of Bodega Bay.  I was unhappy with it, but before giving up, I gave it the "Rushton treatment," and with a palette knife, some cold wax medium, and a hot air gun, managed to transform it to my liking.

Sleeping Nude

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Lac D'Annecy

oil on zinc plate, 8" x 6"

As promised, I have delivered . . . yet another metal painting.  I just can't seem to stop!  For some reason, it feels like a guilty pleasure, the paint sticks like glue to the surface, which I love, and the shiny metal ground pokes through to give it a certain glow.  These metal paintings are luminous, if I do say so.  So strong and yet so fragile, all at once, they need the kid glove treatment.  They're divas!  This one I painted from a poster of a cruise ship on the lake and left it incomplete because I got attached at that point.  Always a good time to walk away, in my experience.

Flowers in a Paint Can

iPad painting, 14"x10"

Inspired by David Hockney's iPad and iPhone art, I've started playing around with that medium and find it to be very addictive.  I used the app ArtRage to create this little composition.

I love you David Hockney.
Although you're not a Cockney,
You really really rock me.
I LOVE you David Hockney!

Swan

oil on zinc plate, 4" x 5"

Not done yet with these metal paintings.  I kinda like the pink water in this one.

Tibetan Landscape

oil on zinc plate, 6" x 8"

Yangshuo Grain Field

oil on zinc plate, 6" x 9"

Another in what is becoming my China series.

Swan Sketch

oil on hardboard panel, 6" x 6"

These swans are residents of The Swan, a beautiful pub alongside the River Thames in Walton, where Harriet's friend Mark was celebrating his birthday in August.  It rained all day, but that didn't stop us from partying outdoors.  Love those Brits!  

Elio's Afternoon

oil on zinc plate, 6" x 8"

Here's another metal painting.  I particularly like the color of the sky behind the clouds.  

Four Flowers

oil on zinc plate, 5" x 7"

After a month-long hiatus, I'm back at it again.  I love painting on metal and plan to do more of it.

Hicks Valley Road

oil on canvasboard, 6" x 8"

sold

A plein air quickie outside of Petaluma.

Kunming Kutie

oil on hardboard panel, 6" x 6"

Christine and I found this adorable little girl dancing on the sidewalk in Kunming, China, one evening while the rest of our group was waiting at the train station for the night train to Dali.