Putnam Plaza

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

A quiet scene in the downtown area of Petaluma, a peaceful and shady little spot I often pass by while walking my little dog Lola.  She loves it there, too.

Marshall Petaluma Road

acrylic on canvas, 16" x 20"

This is a studio painting done from a photo I had taken from the road.  Update:  I reworked the sky today, warming and lightening it according to the needs of the painting, rather than my misbegotten loyalty to the photograph I was working from.  I sometimes forget to remind myself where my loyalty should be:  with the painting and not the photo.  I've found that, when using a reference photo for a painting, I have to remind myself to paint what I know (or remember) and not what I see.  When painting from life, it's just the opposite:  to paint what I see and not what I know.  Both disciplines seem to complement each other, like stretching opposing muscles.  That's why I like to bounce back and forth between the two.  

View from the Cheese Factory III

acrylic on canvas, 11" x 14"

Another vantage point as seen from the Cheese Factory.  This one was done in the studio from a photo I had taken there, just playing around with design elements.

View from the Cheese Factory II

oil on canvas, 9" x 12"

Another plein air sketch of the Cheese Factory and environs.  I love that place.

Ghirardelli Barn

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

This is an old barn in Petaluma, which sits on the Petaluma River.  I've been meaning to paint that barn with real paint.  Will get to it one day.

Silent Watcher

oil on hardboard panel, 6" x 6"

This little ditty I painted on site at the Denman property, a corner of Robert's Barn with a bit of life inside.  

Color Study II

oil on birch panel, 8" x 10"

Another color study, this time with real paint. 

Redwood Way II

oil on canvas board, 6" x 8"

Another plein air sketch of the pastoral scene I pass on my way to the studio every day.  This one was done in the morning along another stretch of that wide area rife with structures, trees, pasture, distant hills, and cows (when they choose to appear).  Done with a palette knife.

Nicasio Reservoir II

oil on canvas, 10" x 30"

I painted this in the studio with a palette knife working from a reference photo and memory.  I loved the pinkish hills in the background and the mottling of rocks and bushes in the foreground hills.  The water was flat and still that day.

Ellis Creek, Western View

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Color Study

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

The idea for this started as an abstract study in purples and greens, but one thing led to another (as usually happens) and voila, another landscape was born!  I guess it's time to admit I love painting landscapes.  Living here in Sonoma County, there is such beauty and variety everywhere you look, it's hard not to be mesmerized by it all.  But this one is still useful to me as a color study.

Portrait No. 17

acrylic on hardboard panel, 14" x 11"

The latest portrait, which I worked on for 2 hours with the model and then another hour in the studio.

Plum Tree with Pines

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

Portrait No. 16

oil on hardboard panel, 10" x 8"

The result of a 2-hour session, this one done with a palette knife.  Uniquely challenging, doing a portrait with a palette knife.  There is no possibility of going into detail, which is partly why I do it.  I'd rather sacrifice detail than lose the big picture, the essence of the subject.

Old Eucalyptus

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

I've been wanting to paint this big old eucalyptus tree opposite the property where my art studio is for a while.  It is grand in scale and it is there every day, begging for my attention.  Probably why I keep putting it off.  I'll get to it this summer.

Point Reyes Barn

acrylic on canvas, 10" x 10"

This is a palette knife plein air painting I did the other day of a beautiful barn I spotted just outside the town of Point Reyes Station.

Portrait No. 15

acrylic on canvas, 12" x 9"

This was a one-hour effort, my second try after laboring for two hours over a full body painting of the model that ended up on the cutting room floor, so to speak.

Landscape of Leftovers

acrylic on hardboard panel, 9" x 12"

This is an abstracted landscape made up of leftover paint from my palette.  I kinda like it.

Petaluma Feed Mill

oil on canvas, 12" x 9"

This is a plein air painting I did a while back and forgot to post, a partial view of the feed mill appearing behind a row of what looks to be pine trees.

Portrait No. 14

acrylic on hardboard panel, 14" x 11"

The latest portrait, one of two I did that night.  The other was done in oil on metal, which I may post later.  This one I finished in the studio, as I only had 40 minutes left with the model.

Robert's Barn

acrylic on canvas, 12" x 12"

This was done half en plein air, half in the studio.  It took some doing to get the colors and values right on the distant hills.

Lakeville Lineup

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

This was a quick plein air sketch I did on my iPad of a series of eucalyptus trees along Lakeville highway I hope to paint live at some point, and hopefully when sheep are present, as they often are at this particular spot.

Trinidad Bay

oil on cradled hardboard panel, 9" x 12"

This was painted in the studio from a reference photo I had taken, since it was not possible to paint this particular scene on site, at least not that day.

Little Red Shed

oil on canvasboard, 10" x 8"

This is a little plein air study that turned out much more to my liking than I expected.  Another bucolic scene I pass on my way to the studio.

Reflections on a Barn

acrylic on canvas, 12" x 24"

This was done in the studio from a photo I had taken during my road trip through Oregon.  I loved the dappled light on the side of the barn created by the trees.

Denman Vines

acrylic on birch panel, 8" x 10"

This palette knife plein air painting I did on the property where I have my art studio.  It was one of those brilliant, sunny California days, where all the colors were at their most intense.

Portrait No. 13

acrylic on hardboard panel, 14" x 11"

Another portrait, trying something different with this one.

If Trees Could Talk

acrylic on canvas, 24" x 24"

Just for fun, working with a limited palette again.  I like the colors in this one.

Grants Pass Grove

acrylic on hardboard panel, 11" x 14"

This scene of black and white oaks was painted from the deck of the cottage I stayed in just outside of Grants Pass, Oregon the other day, where I passed through on my way through the state.  

Redwood Way

acrylic on canvasboard, 10" x 20"

This began as a plein air painting of a scene I pass by every day on my way to the studio.  Naturally, I had to fiddle with it in the studio later, where I nearly killed it, but I gave it some CPR because I really like that barn in the mid-distance.  The scene is full of subject matter, so I will try this one again.

White Peonies

oil on canvas, 12" x 6"

Another in my white flower series, done with a palette knife.  Update, 5/26:  I thought the blue background was competing too much with the green bottle, so I changed it to a light gray.  To me, the bottle is more enhanced now.

Grazers

acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24"

Working from a photo for this one, there was a monolithic, cliff-like effect I was getting from the background trees and so I just went with it.

Rodeo Beach

oil on canvas, 8" x 16"

This palette knife painting was done mostly on site, a spot that bears returning to. 

Darling Buds of May

oil on hardboard panel, 14" x 11"

Another palette knife oil painting, a bunch of peonies I got from Trader Joe's.  I used a brush for the Japanese symbol for spring on the vase and also my siggie.  I love peonies!

Follow the Lavender Road

oil on hardboard panel, 14" x 11"

Another palette knife painting.

Cottonwood Cluster

acrylic on canvas, 16" x 20"

For some reason, the acrylic color of violet oxide does not translate well to digital media.  I used it to paint the background hills here, and tried every which way to get the color of those hills to read accurately online, to no avail.   A live viewing of this painting will show the hills to be less purple, more reddish, and slightly paler.  This problem seems to happen only with violet oxide, but it is one of my favorite mixing colors.  What to do, what to do.

Plum Tree

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Portrait No. 12

acrylic on canvas, 12" x 12"

The latest portrait from a 2-hour session last Tuesday.  The sitter was a good friend of mine, Erin Parsley.  This is my first attempt at painting someone I know, a thing much harder to do, I discovered, than painting a stranger.  Funny, that.

White Iris

acrylic on canvas, 20" x 10"

Another in what has become my "white flower" series.  I'm going through all the white flowers I can think of to paint, all because I enjoy painting the shadow areas.  It's fun to paint a non-white color that still reads as white within a greater context.

Giraffe and Acacia Tree

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

This is for Tex, a beautiful soul who appreciated this little digital painting I did a while ago and have never posted, until now.  I love you, Tex!

Portrait No. 11

acrylic on canvasboard, 10" x 8"

Another 2-hour portrait sketch from my Tuesday night group.

White Carnations

oil on canvas, 12" x 12"

This may be my last oil painting using a brush, unless I can figure out a way forward without using mineral spirits.  I used both brush and palette knife on this one, but from now on, it will be palette knife only with oils, since the mineral spirits have been talking to my kidneys.  It saddens me because I do love working with oils using both brushes and knives together to make a painting.  It's not the end of the world, since I can do that with acrylics, and if I had to choose one medium, it would probably be the plastic one; the colors are just so dynamic

Mammoth Rock

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Ellis Creek Study

acrylic on canvasboard, 12" x 16"

This is a plein air study I did at my new favorite spot, Ellis Creek.  I plan to paint that particular scene again, as I am mesmerized by all the colors in the water.

Island Girl

acrylic on canvas, 16" x 12"

This was painted from a live model last weekend in a 2.5 hour session.  There were two models and I wish I could have painted both, but I ran out of time.  

Yunnan Rice Field

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Shollenberger Reeds

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

A quick iPad study of one of my favorite local painting spots, Shollenberger Park.

Portrait No. 10

acrylic on canvasboard, 12" x 6"

This is the result of a 2-hour session, a portrait of a young Japanese-American woman.

Window Reflections

acrylic on canvas, 12" x 12"

Portrait No. 8

oil on canvas, 8" x 8"

Another portrait, the result of a 2.5-hour session, this time in oil.  As an exercise, I forced myself to do it entirely with a palette knife.  I used two knives to create this one.  The sitter was an exchange student from Beijing.