Goleta Beach

acrylic on canvas, 12" x 24"

Another plein air painting from my trip south a few weeks ago, this one also finished in the studio.

Desert Dawn

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

Goleta Slough

acrylic on linen mounted on gatorboard, 12" x 16"

I recently spent a few days painting at Goleta Beach, just north of Santa Barbara, with Marcia Burtt, hoping to glean a few pearls of wisdom from an absolute master.  In the two plus days I had with her, I started five paintings and finished none.  This was my last effort, the result of a two-hour session on the morning of my return home.  I worked on it for another two hours in the studio, until I was done with it and the next unfinished painting called out to me.  More to come.

A Prayer for Christine

acrylic on canvas panel, 9" x 12"

NFS

This was painted while my housemate and friend Christine was having breast reconstruction surgery after breast cancer.  It is going to live with her now, and I am very pleased.

BJ on Blue Bed

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

A little sketch of a beautiful and very tired feral cat who adopted us at Waldruhe Heights back in 2006.  BJ stood for Bonzo Junior, Roy's dog, and also Betty Jo, a dear friend of his.

Nicasio Reservoir

acrylic on canvasboard, 12" x 16"

This was done from a photo I took at a spot that was not amenable to onsite painting.

Guilin

acrylic on canvas, 16" x 20"

Yet another painting in my China series.  I used a very limited palette of only 4 colors for this one, trying to create atmosphere and depth in the background.

Porch View, Rose and Tony's Place

acrylic on gessoboard, 12" x 12"

This is a plein air sketch I did the other day at Rose and Tony's house in rural Petaluma after a storm blew through the area.

Above the Fog at Dawn

acrylic on masonite panel, 16" x 20"

This was to be the underpainting of a scene looking down at Nicasio Valley on a cold, foggy morning, but I'm finished with it for now.

Enterprise Road

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Lower Nelligan Road

acrylic on canvas, 16" x 20"

Nelligan Road is a gorgeous road outside the town of Glen Ellen, Sonoma County.  Roy and I lived at the end of the 4-mile-long road, and I gawked at this scene daily.

Eric's Optimistic

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Me and My Shadow

oil on hardboard panel, 12" x 9"

I was just playing around with this study from a found photo of someone else's painting -- whose I have no idea, but was drawn to the purple sky at first.  Sky can be any color imaginable -- in fact, the sky's the limit!

Bougainvillea Pond at Haidao Island

acrylic on canvas, 16" x 20"

Another in my China series, this painting no longer exists, except for the rock formations in the foreground.  I worked on this a few months ago and was not happy with it but vowed to rework it.  I thought I would post it just for the record.

Potala Palace

acrylic on canvas, 12" x 24"

China and Tibet just won't leave me alone, so here is another in that series, a quick painting sketch of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet.

View from the Cheese Factory

oil on hardboard panel, 12" x 9"

I'm cheating a bit with this one, which I did around this time last year at the Cheese Factory in Marin.

Wolfy

acrylic on canvas, 12" x 12"

This painting started as an abstract, but of course I couldn't leave well enough alone, and before I knew it, I was channeling Wolf Kahn.  This time I had the sense to leave well enough alone.  

Update, 1/7/2018:  Extensive additional information on Wolf Kahn and his work can also be found at www.artsy.net.

Yellow Field

acrylic on canvas, 24" x 24"

Le Bistro

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

Paint

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Marion

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

Ely Road Farm, Late Afternoon

acrylic on gessoboard, 8" x 10"

A plein air painting of a farm I spotted on Ely Road in Petaluma.

D and 10th Street, Petaluma

iPad painting, 14" and 10"

The back view of a large house on the corner of D and 10th Streets in Petaluma.

Bolinas Lagoon

acrylic on MDF panel, 12" x 16"

This is a plein air painting I did the other day from the roadside just outside the town of Bolinas, looking across the lagoon to the wilderness beyond.  It is a spot I will return to again because it is a scene of such staggering beauty.

Gracy

acrylic on canvas, 8" x 6"

This is a portrait I did a few years ago that never got posted.

Ipswich Abstract #1

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Ovanes's Roses

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

This is a color study using a still life painting of Ovanes Berberian as reference.  I love red.

Light on Lavender

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Essentially a cloud painting, this is a study of what will later be used to create a canvas painting.  Add it to the list, Geeves, will you?

Ely Road

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

The Swimming Hole

acrylic on canvas, 6" x 12"

A plein air sketch that I started tweaking in the studio, then stopped because it all started to go pear-shaped.  I couldn't remember how I mixed the colors that day by the pond, and once you start in with a slightly different palette, there's no end to the changes that ensue.  I liked some things about this effort sufficiently to want to preserve them.  So, I chalk this one up to a successful learning experience.  Onward!

Marcia's Pond

acrylic on masonite panel, 9" x 12"

This was started as a plein air on Marcia Burtt's beautiful property, but I ran out of time with it and so had to finish in the studio.

Limantour Beach

acrylic on canvas, 10" x 30"

This is an attempt at a seascape.  I battled with it mightily and perhaps should have stopped after the first session, as my paints had dried and I had to remix an approximation of the palette, which changed everything, of course.  Another challenge was presented by the yellow ochre ground on the canvas I had chosen.  I loved the yellow ground peeking through as the painting emerged, especially in the mid ground on the right.  This is not an accurate image of the painting, colorwise, and I may not be done with this one.  I need a break from it, though, and to come back with fresh eyes. 

Old Rancheria Road

acrylic on canvas, 11" x 14"

sold

Slugger

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Dusty Spring Field

acrylic on canvas paper, 12" x 9"

Cho Oyu Study

oil on canvas panel, 8" x 8"

Another study of Cho Oyu, the mountain peak in the distance of the Himalayas of Nepal/Tibet.  

Spirit Rock, Early Morning

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

David

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

A little iPad portrait of David Hockney.

Roadside Attraction

acrylic on foamcore, 20" x 20"

This is a palette knife painting I did on foam core, just to see how it felt to paint on that surface.  I like it.

Setting Sun at Sowle Ranch

acrylic on canvas, 12" x 24"

This is a plein air sketch I did last weekend at Marcia Burtt's property in Southern California.  She is a fantastic artist, a gracious host, and a fountain of knowledge, which she shares generously.  I had a great time with her.

Chileno Valley Horses

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Into the Mist

acrylic on canvas, 16" x 20"

I used a recent iPad painting as reference for this one.  

Blastoff!

acrylic on hardboard panel, 16" x 12"

Abstract in Turquoise, Yellow, and White

acrylic on plywood, 36" x 36"

David's Flowers

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

Bolinas Lagoon, Low Tide

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Springtime

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Greg's Distant

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

After the Rain

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

View from Denman Studio

oil on panel, 6" x 6"

This is a quick little palette knife sketch of the view from my studio in Penngrove in the early morning.  I'll be doing a larger version of this scene at some point this summer.