Viridian Vase

acrylic on canvas, 24" x 24"

This is a work in progress, having run out of the particular brand of viridian used here before I was finished.  To be continued . . .

A Walk in the Park

acrylic on canvas, 24" x 24"

This is an abstraction of a scene from memory, where the city buildings (New York) in the summer had this light mauve aspect that contrasted nicely with the neon green grass and foliage of the trees.

Barn Conversion

acrylic on canvas, 16" x 20"

This is cheating a bit by posting a painting I did a while ago.  I thought I had lost it, but I found it yesterday hiding behind another painting, feeling neglected.  I love the simple shapes of barns, so unpretentious.  Using a Wolf Kahn painting of a barn as a compositional springboard, I did make this one a bit more pretentious by converting it to a home in my habitual search for one myself.  

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

Red Umbrella by the Petaluma River

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

A little digital plein air sketch I did while on a downtown walk with Lola.

Untitled 12/10/2011

acrylic on canvasboard, 6" x 12"

This is an earlier abstract painting that I'm posting now because it is going to be part of an exhibit of my work at the aperitif-tasting room on the property where I have my studio.  

Swimming in Miami

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

My response to the recent heat wave here in Northern California.

Christmas in August

acrylic on canvas, 24" x 12"

Another abstracted landscape, playing with color harmonies.

Young David Hockney

acrylic on canvas, 30" x 15"

ON LOAN

This is a work in progress, nearly finished.  Not sure if I want the pink floor to compete with the pink stripes of his shirt, his shoes need some work, and a few other touch ups needed here and there.  I will replace the image when this painting is done.  David Hockney is one of my all-time favorite artists.  I've seen his figures at the National Portrait Gallery in London and an extensive exhibit at the deYoung Museum in San Francisco.  It was his recent plein air work in Yorkshire that inspired me to do more of the same in my area, and also his iPad paintings that gave rise to my own efforts at digital art.

Portrait No. 20

oil on canvas board, 12" x 9"

This portrait is the result of a 2-hour session with the model.  Her slightly downcast eyes and mouth gave her a rather severe aspect, which disappeared during her breaks when she "came back to life," as it were.  Most of the models I've painted in these portrait sessions are first-timers and I notice that they get very serious when sitting, or they think faraway thoughts because it's boring to just sit there.  In either case, the lack of presence is apparent on their faces.  I would like to see what I could do with a portrait where the model is looking at me, where there is a soul-to-soul connection, or just someone who can exude presence in stillness.  It might make a difference in the outcome.  At any rate, it's all a great learning experience and I fully appreciate the opportunity to paint from life.

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.

Portrait No. 19

oil on canvas, 12" x 9"

The result of a 1.25 hour session with the model.

Elmer's Wild

oil on canvas, 12" x 12"

Another color study done with palette knife, this time a derivative of an Elmer Wachtel painting entitled "Wild Buckwheat."  

Denman Street Lamp

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

Sleeping Lola

oil on canvas, 9" x 12"

I painted this tribute to Lola yesterday while my little angel was having dental surgery.  She is the most adorable little dog, my constant companion, and in fact a spiritual guide.  She teaches me to be in the moment and her effusive love towards strangers speaks to how we all would be in an ideal world.

Denman Studio

oil on canvas, 12" x 16"

This was done mostly en plein air and finished in the studio, the one depicted here.  The red leather Ikea couch was left there after a party on the property and I just had to include it. 

Strawberry Ice Cream

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

This little sketch was done a while ago and never posted, but it's so blazing hot here right now, I believe its time has come.

Brown Cow

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

A quick little iPad sketch, I like how the trees in the mid ground are set against the background trees. I may try to do something with that on canvas later.

Portrait No. 18

oil on hardboard panel, 12" x 9"

This is the result of a 2-hour session with the model in profile, done with a brush this time.  I am generally happy with it, although I can see that I made her a bit younger than she looked to me.  I chalk it up to early experimentation with paint consistency using a new medium to increase paint flow.  Also, with more time, I would have added more shading in her face, which would have aged her somewhat.  As it is, she has a nice aspect and so I am pleased.

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.