Loma Alta in the Clouds

acrylic on canvas, 16" x 20"

This was done as a value study from a photo of Loma Alta, a mountainous region near Santa Barbara (if I'm not mistaken -- I've never been there), prompted by my recent efforts at abstracted landscapes.  Done with a palette knife, I didn't spend too much time on it, but I like the overall effect.

Halong Bay

oil on hardboard panel, 5" x 7"

For this little palette knife painting, I used a photo reference.  Although Ha Long Bay is in Vietnam, this scene reminds me of my time in China in 2013, floating down the Yulong River on a bamboo raft, surrounded by these monolithic karsts.  The haunting echo of birdsong off the karsts lends a dreamy, otherworldly feeling to the scene.  This will be my 22nd painting as a result of that trip, and I feel I have at least 4 more Asian paintings in me yet to come.

Trailblazers

acrylic on canvas, 12" x 36"

This is another painting done mostly without a visual reference.  I cheated a little bit in looking at cow shapes online, but the landscape itself is imaginary, as far as I know.  This painting has gone through a lot of changes since its inception, due to the challenges it presented with the palette I had chosen, the colors of the shadow areas, and the scale and color values of the cows, trees and hills at various distances in shadow or light, all without a visual reference to work from.  My goal was not to create a realistic scene.  I wanted an overall feeling of warmth and space, a late afternoon on a hot day when it's just starting to cool off and the cows are on the move.  Who knows where they're headed?  

Chileno Valley in Summer

oil on canvas, 12" x 16"

This is a palette knife painting I did from a photo I had taken along Chileno Valley Road, just west of Petaluma.  There were already globs of dried paint on the canvas before I started, having gessoed over a previous painting that hadn't gone well.  The added texture did not get in the way here; in fact, I think it rather enhances this scene, giving it a rough textural effect.

Color Study II

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

This is a riff on Color Study, a variation of another iPad abstracted landscape I did some months ago. I see traces of Ellis Creek here, a favorite haunt of mine.

Green Umbrella with Sonoma Hills

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Another umbrella sketch while on a walk with my dog.  I like painting outdoor umbrellas on my iPad because I can generally finish them in 10-15 minutes, which is about all I get before my dog gets bored and starts to wander off.

Hill Town

oil on canvas, 6" x 8"

Here's another abstracted landscape from my imagination.  I just wanted to paint some geometric shapes, but of course it evolved into something somewhat recognizable.  I only had about an hour's time to do it, and knew that once I stopped, I would not be able to come back to it and pick up where I left off, because I would have changed by then, just as sure as the cloud patterns drifting by, never to look exactly the same again.  Once the moment has passed with these things, I find it's best to move on.

Pink Peony by the Pond

oil on canvas panel, 12" x 12"

This palette knife painting was done on site, next to the koi pond at my friends' ranch, and I was going to work on it a bit more in the studio, but couldn't get to it yesterday and won't be able to today, which means the paint will have dried in the areas I was hoping to work.  So, here it is in all its raw glory.

Plum Trees at Covelo Ranch

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Another plum tree painting, this one from Covelo Ranch.  The blossoms have fallen and the leaves take on either a purplish or reddish glow, depending on the light.  I just love the color of plum trees.

Green Field Study

oil on hardboard panel, 8" x 10"

A quick color study in further exploration of abstracted landscapes, again using only a palette knife.

Of Glads and Ghosts

acrylic on canvas, 36" x 12"

This still life was a way to use up the leftover paint on my palette from "Flora."  You can see all the same colors in this one.  For some reason, I saw a halo of light around the bottle, so I painted it.

No Enemies

acrylic on canvas, 8" x 10"

This was done as a form of relief from a larger painting I've been slaving over for the past three days.  Sometimes, there's just not enough paint.  I sketched it in and got to a point where I could go on with it forever or leave it in its raw form.  I left it at that.

Wistful

acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20"

Here's another painting from my imagination, working without a visual reference.  I saw myself lying in a hammock with a canopy of white wisteria drooping above me.  This one gets a time out, since I'm not sure I'm done with it quite yet.  Time will tell.

Ellis Creek Trail

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

This is a sketch I did while on a walk with the pups yesterday at Ellis Creek in Petaluma, just after a light rain.  This area, a nature reserve, is astoundingly beautiful, with all kinds of birdlife on view.  Swans, Canadian geese, stilts, and blue and white herons are all common sightings.  I'm hoping to carve out a few hours some day soon to do a plein air painting.

Sweet '16

acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20"

This is another effort to work without a visual reference.  My only plan was to stick to a certain limited palette (ivory black, Prussian blue, alizarin crimson, cad yellow light, and white) and the plant world.  I've always loved the underside of flowers, especially when they are backlit and get this deep glow emanating from the center.  It's a perspective that's kind of hard to capture without a camera, so I relied on memory and imagination.  The idea was to do something floral that looked like it would smell divine.  These giant buds turned out rather peony-like and, now that we're finally moving into spring, sweet! -- hence the title.

Flora

acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20"

This is an abstract painting from my imagination sparked by a desire to paint a gorgeous purple and white bearded iris that opened as I was leaving the ranch this past week.  As you can see, it morphed into something else entirely.  At least I kept to the plant world, sort of.  I do enjoy working without a concrete plan, just to see what happens.

Marlon

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

A digital portrait of Marlon Brando as a young man, just for practice.  Working on the human head again.  

Ely Road

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

The property where I have my art studio sits at the top of a knoll, and I've always liked the view south beyond the vineyard to the hill that shows Ely Road climbing up and over another knoll.  This was the view I had from my former art studio and as beautiful as it is, I still haven't gotten around to painting it with actual paint.  I see beauty everywhere, though, so to narrow the choice down is always a difficult one for me.

Looking South, Covelo Ranch on a Misty Winter Day

acrylic on canvas, 12" x 36"

This was done in the studio from a photo I had taken at the ranch, and I loved the subtle layers the mist made out of the distant hills.  I'm not quite done with this one, but will not be able to get back to it for a few days.  Who knows, it may be finished now.  I never know these things.  I find it helpful to sit with a painting for as long as it takes to receive the answer to that question.  I've heard it said you never finish a painting; you just stop working on it.

Filoli Garden Impression

acrylic on canvas, 24" x 18"

This is a work in progress, already significantly altered since the first go round.  

Swimming Upstream

acrylic on canvas, 6" x 12"

All those years of indoctrination in the mental practice of labeling things can work against the creative impulse in the artist.  I noticed it happening with this piece, as a fish appeared before my eyes, and so when I caught that (pun intended!), I tried to work against the tendency.  It was a bit like swimming upstream, hence the title.

Old Eucalyptus Branches

iPad painting, 14" x 11"

This digital sketch was done on the east side of Petaluma, looking east, with the ridge of Sonoma Mountain in the distance.

Annie

acrylic on canvas, 8" x 6"

I've been wanting to do faces again, so here's another one.  I was going to "finish" it, but now I think I'll just let it stand as is.  I like the sketchiness of the background and the minimalist treatment of her hair.  Once I saw the spirit in this painting, I was loathe to toy with it.  Update:  Couldn't help myself, had to do one more wee little thing to it.  

Flowering Plum Trees, Covelo Ranch

oil on canvas, 12" x 12"

Another painting started on site and finished in the studio, done with a palette knife.  This scene is of the side yard by the main house, with the slough running alongside and a large field beyond.  

Sheep in the Field, Early Spring at Covelo Ranch

acrylic on canvasboard, 12" x 16"

This started as a plein air painting which was finished later in the studio.  I wanted to paint the sheep relaxing in the white flowered grass, against the subtle color variations in the trees beyond, but as soon as I set my gear up, they were gone.  How dare they!  Luckily, I took a photo where some of the sheep were still lingering and used it as reference for the studio work.

Early Spring, Covelo Ranch

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Back at Covelo Ranch, I love this view of the property, looking north, with the lush green everywhere and lichen hanging from some of the oak trees that are just about to pop with foliage.  Then there's the plum blossoms adding that bit of pink here and there.  Love it!

Lovebirds

acrylic on canvas, 24" x 24"

Like the previous posting, this painting has gone through multiple incarnations as well.  It started out as a still life of roses, then I got frustrated because I found myself working too tight, so I took a large brush to it to shake that tendency off.  Finally, I picked up my palette knife and started sculpting an abstract with the leftover paint, letting my hand do the talking and keeping any thoughts about it at bay 'til the entire canvas was covered again.  When I stepped back, I saw these sweet little birdlike faces, to which I added a spot of color on their beaks and called it done.

Sonoma Mountain Road

acrylic on hardboard panel, 11" x 14"

This painting has been through many incarnations, as I tried and failed each time to capture my vision for it.  I finally got fed up and decided to just "mess with it," using a palette knife and mixing the colors directly on the surface.  I have to say, I like it much better now.  Even though it still doesn't match my original vision, at least it has some life in it.

Central Park Tree Tunnel

acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24"

This was done from a photo I took one day in Central Park last October.  I was mesmerized by the scene of these tall, graceful mauve trees set against all that green, with a pale yellow ball of light in the distance.

Un Reve de Vincent et Paul

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

This digital sketch came about as I was pondering Vincent van Gogh's cypresses and Paul Cezanne's Mont Sainte-Victoire, and their respective palettes, so I combined them in a picture from my imagination.

Mendocino Pass Road in Winter

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

This is a sketch from a photo I took last week on a short trip to the snow from Covelo.  It was my little dog Lola's first experience in the white stuff.  She loved it at least as much as the beach, but with her short legs plowing through 6 inches of snow, she didn't get very far before the snowballs stuck to her legs and immobilized her.  She didn't seem to mind the cold at all.  What a trooper!  

Iris Shoots Along the Slough

oil on hardboard panel, 8" x 10"

This little painting I started the other day at Covelo Ranch, thinking I'd work on it some more yesterday, but I had only brought two little palette knives with me.  Eventually, frustration overtook the project and I ended up wiping it.  Oh well, there's always another day, but I thought I'd memorialize it here, poor thing.  

I've been reading a large, fascinating tome about Vincent van Gogh entitled, "Van Gogh:  The Life," by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, and I've been letting my colors veer a bit from what is considered "correct," in search of my own sense of color harmony.  Van Gogh himself decried abstract painting, but in the last year of his life he loosened that view as his paintings veered ever closer to abstraction themselves.  I was attempting to do that here, with the turquoise grass in the upper left corner, simply because I found it so beautiful against the brownish water and linking it to two of the iris shoots next to the tree trunk.  I hope to explore this whole idea more in my paintings, but will need all the tools at my disposal for it.

Faye with Plum Trees and Foot Bridge

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

This is a sketch of the side yard by the main house at the Covelo Ranch, with the slough in the mid ground, and Faye is one of the three very lucky Border Collies who get to call this home. 

Mustard Field, Eastside Petaluma

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

An iPad sketch of the Lynch Creek area on the eastside of Petaluma in between rains.  The walls in my new art space were painted a pale dull green and I realized it was negatively impacting my color choices, so I've been busy repainting the walls white.  Until the walls dry, it will be mostly digital art.

Plum Blossoms in Petaluma

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Even though they blossom in winter, plum trees always make me feel like spring has arrived.  A simplified interpretation of a scene looking east in Petaluma, with the bright greens set against the contrasting pinks, oranges, and mauves, symbolizes optimism to me.  Spring is coming!

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.

River Rocks

oil on gessoboard panel, 6" x 6" 

These are just a few of the many colorful rocks to be found in the Eel River and its tributaries.  The big yellow rock looked like a gold nugget under the water, so, of course, I had to paint it!  This is a fun exercise in loosening up and going with the flow, as it were.

Apple of My Eye

acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24"

This started out as something entirely different.  I wanted to produce a high key abstract painting, and was trying to come up with a composition using certain color pairings, such as viridian and magenta, or lemon yellow and a tropical blue.  I had spring on my mind, though, and one thing led to another, then out popped an apple.  I've also been wanting to do a New York skyline painting, and this has traces of that thread in it.  Ironic, the apple, innit?

Victor

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

A quick little iPad sketch of my friend Marilyn's thoroughbred horse Victor, done from a photo I had taken on their property the other day.

Ron's Barn

oil on gessoed hardboard panel, 6" x 12"

This palette knife painting was done on site at my friends Ron and Marilyn's ranch in Covelo, looking south to a brown barn just over the property line that Ron had built and lived in years ago.  

The Lake in Central Park

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Back to New York here, with a digital sketch from a day I spent in Central Park.  I loved the faint view of San Remo in the distance.

The Golden Hour

oil on canvasboard, 6" x 8"

This little study was done from a photo I had taken in Anderson Valley last fall when the sun was sinking on the horizon, creating that late afternoon golden glow in the hills.  My favorite time of day to capture in a painting.

Coy Koi

acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20"

There is a little koi pond off the front deck at my friends' ranch and I love the juxtaposition of the green/gold algae against the purple fish, which in reality is more gray than purple yet the same or similar in value.  I painted this from a photo I had taken, just to get the hang of koi shapes.  I don't believe I've painted fish before, but it won't be my last attempt.  They're fun to paint, and I may try a plein air sketch of them at some point.  

Three Sheep

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

I'm back at Covelo Ranch, where sheep abound, getting some practice painting their sheep shapes so that when I attempt a plein air painting in the spring I will have a better handle on it.  Sheep, like cows, move surprisingly fast when you're trying to capture their essence.

White Magnolia

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Another in my white flower series, this one a quick digital sketch to keep me going until my studio is ready.  I'm anxious to go back to the easel, which I can do starting next Tuesday.  Yay!

Plumbing the Depths

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

Old Farmhouse, C Street, Petaluma

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

I painted this view of an old farmhouse from the church parking lot on B Street in my neighborhood.

Mill Creek at Covelo Ranch

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

This was done on site at my friends' ranch outside the town of Covelo in Mendocino County, in between storms, which left the creek a beautiful orange/brown color.  I am hoping to do some plein air paintings there this spring.  They have about 21 sheep, 3 border collies, 2 horses, and 100 acres of wild, natural landscape.  That adds up to a lot of painting possibilities.  Now, if the weather will just cooperate, . . .

Seated Nude Study

acrylic on canvas paper, 12" x 10"

This was a quick tonal study of a nude that I have had in mind to do a painting of for quite some time.  

I have been in limbo for the past month, as I had to move out of my beloved art studio and into a smaller space on the same property.  They just installed electricity in the unit and now I await the installation of a sink and the removal of their storage items.  I will likely be able to set up my space early next week, which I am anxious to do.  Although smaller, it will be warmer, and the light is just as good.  I will also be able to share the space and yet retain privacy, something I could not do in the other space.

Nicasio Cow

oil on masonite panel, 6" x 12"

This was done on site a few months ago and somehow never got posted, so here it is.