Gretchen's Silver

iPad painting, 10" x 10"

For a change of pace, this is a practice piece, painting reflections on a metal bowl in this little digital still life based on a Gretchen Hancock painting.  I'm a big fan of her work.  I don't do a lot of still life painting, not because it doesn't interest me -- it does; but there's only so many hours in the day and something's gotta give . . .

Pied Heron

oil on canvas, 24" x 12"

This beautiful bird gravitates toward wetlands and wet grasslands.  I love to paint unusual and/or exotic birds' feet, such as those of the blue-footed boobies, jacanas, and various egrets and herons.  

A Little Birdie Told Me

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

Here's another cartoon I thought I'd share.  The color yellow is fraught with meaning, both positive and negative, depending on the context.  To name a few on the positive side, it connotes joy, optimism, hope, happiness, summer, and sunshine, while on the negative, it can signify cowardice, deceit, dishonesty, danger, betrayal, and warning.  Context is everything.  

Lucky Lola

oil on canvasboard, 9" x 12"

I painted this portrait of my little dog the other day while she was getting her teeth cleaned at the vet. I find her to be extremely challenging as a subject due to all the different colors in her hair, not to mention the elusive but powerful look of love that emanates from her eyes.  She is my constant companion and I was relieved and happy to learn that her teeth are in excellent shape at 10 years of age.  Lucky girl!

Black and Yellow Broadbill

oil on canvas, 8" x 6"

This odd looking but colorful little bird is found in parts of Indonesia and is currently threatened by habitat loss.  I almost let it go, but then gave it a bit of the "Lindsey" treatment (to be elaborated on in a later post) and now I like it much better.  Go figure!

Heart's Desire Beach

oil on gesso board panel, 8" x 10"

This rough plein air painting nearly lost its life at the beach when a gust of wind flipped it over face down onto my palette, but I managed to salvage it in the end.  There were a couple of other distractions for me at this location, what with my pizza box (which doubles as a wet painting carrier) flying away and getting slapped against a picnicking family down the beach, and somebody wanting to photograph me painting.  Oy, the joys of outdoor painting!  Still, I considered it a fun experience, as I had my friend and fellow painter Joyce Creswell with me to laugh about and share it with.

Rise and Shine!

oil on linen-mounted gatorboard, 6" x 8"

This little plein air painting was done mid-morning from a pullout on Shoreline Highway near the town of Marshall, looking west across Tomales Bay.  Seems the people aboard were having a sleep-in.  

The Cheese Factory at Dusk on the 4th of July

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

Like many dogs, my dog is terrified of fireworks, so we high-tailed it to the countryside in West Marin on the evening of July 4th to get a bit of respite from the boom booms going on in town.  We stopped at the Cheese Factory, which was nearly deserted, so we had the whole place to ourselves.  The scene was incredibly peaceful and exquisite, complete with a nearly full moon over the pond and all the various colors of foliage shown to best advantage and with a fog bank coming up over the trees.  I am itching to revisit this scene at the same time, from 7:30 - 9:00 pm, to do a plein air sketch.  

Purple Glossy Starling

oil on wood panel, 6" x 8"

This purple starling inhabits tropical Africa.  I am so drawn to colorful birds, and not surprised that most of those are found in tropical regions of the world.  I've always loved the tropical locales for their brightly colored vegetation, so it makes sense that I would be drawn to birds like this one.

Le President des Pirouettes

iPad painting, 10" x 10"

Just doin' my bit.  I had to squish him in a little box.  Feel much better now.

Pompadour Cotinga

oil on hardboard panel, 6" x 8"

Not much is known about this beautiful iridescent bird that inhabits Central and tropical South America, but I just love the brilliant rich red of this bird and thought it might be well served to set it against an abstracted neutral gray background.  

Estero Creek

oil on hardboard panel, 8" x 6"

This palette knife plein air painting was a rather hurried attempt to capture the golden light of late afternoon in a sweet pastoral setting that I discovered the other day in West Sonoma County.  I will definitely go back for another try, as I found it to be enchanting.  There were also black cows dotted here and there, but I didn't attempt to capture them.  Maybe next time.

Great Tits

oil on hardboard panel, 8" x 10"

For anyone interested, there is a theme within a theme emerging from my bird painting series.  Can you guess what that theme is?  These little birds are found throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North Africa.

Comb-crested Jacana

oil on canvas, 10" x 20"

This jacana, or lotusbird, as it is otherwise known, is found in parts of Australia, the Philippines, and several other lesser islands of that region.  I love lily pads, lotus blossoms, and the still warm waters that bring them to life and symbolize for me the feeling of peace and calm.  This delicate little bird is like a flower itself, so perfectly matched to its environment.  Just another miracle of nature.

Red-billed Blue Magpie

oil on hardboard panel, 12" x 6"

This one practically painted itself.  Initially, I was frustrated by not having any ultramarine blue on hand, a color I considered essential to the success of this painting.  I ended up using a mix of ultramarine violet, cerulean blue, and prussian blue, and was pleasantly surprised by the results.  Another member of the crow family, this blue magpie is found mostly in the Indian Subcontinent and other parts of Southeast Asia.

Spread Eagle

acrylic on canvas, 10" x 20"

My idea for this painting was not fully realized and so it stands to get partially reworked at some point.  I might be lying about that, as I seldom "partially" rework a painting.  Once the brush hits the surface, one thing always leads to another, and before I know it, I'm looking at an entirely different painting.  For this reason, I can't approach it until I have a better idea how to achieve the desired result.  I do like the bird, so I may just switch to oils and start a new one, an easier proposition.

Rufous Treepie

oil on hardboard panel, 12" x 6"

In my recent research of bird species, I came across this one I'd never heard of before, with a beautiful long blue/gray tail.  The rufous treepie is a member of the crow family and native to Southeast Asia.  Had to paint it! 

Cattle Egret

oil on canvas, 20" x 10"

Yet another bird painting.  I can't seem to stop myself!  The cattle egret is fond of hitching rides on cows and feasting on insects to be found among them.  This egret is in mating mode.

Green Jay

oil on hardboard panel, 8" x 10"

Another bird painting, this one in the blue jay family.  I loved the yellow underside and the pale green back feathers.

Birds of Ellis Creek

acrylic on canvas, 12" x 24"

This is just a small sampling of birds to be found at Ellis Creek on any given day, a local wildlife sanctuary that I frequently visit.  On this particular day in spring and after a good rain, there were a number of egrets, along with the usual swans, Canadian geese, and even a great blue heron adding to the magic of the place.  I love Ellis Creek!

Ain't Talkin'

acrylic on canvas, 8" x 13"

This was just for fun.  The reference photo I used for this painting is of a nicobar pigeon.  I was intrigued by it, especially by its hidden head, which made me wonder, what else is it hiding?

Blowin' in the Wind

oil on canvas, 14" x 14"

A snowy egret on a ledge above the sea on a blustery day.

Great White Egret

iPad painting, 10" x 10"

I've been working on several paintings that feature birds as a subject.  I often visit Ellis Creek, a local bird sanctuary, and seem to be getting more obsessed with them by the day.  The colors and sheer variety of bird species in the world are simply astounding, most of which I was almost entirely unaware until recently.  Due to all the egrets I've studied lately at Ellis Creek, I was able to do this digital sketch from memory.

Wisterian Path

iPad painting, 14" x 10"

We're not quite out of spring yet, although it feels that way where I live in Sonoma County, with temps reaching into the mid-80's already.  It has me longing for a shady path like this to walk my dog, and sit for a bit to take it all in.

Study in Orange and Green

iPad painting, 10" x 10"

This sketch was done as an experiment in complementaries, and since I think about landscapes so much, it seemed a foregone conclusion that I would dream up a scene like this.  I do like the colors, though.  It reminds me a bit of the English countryside, perhaps somewhere in Devon I once passed through.

Tweeters

acrylic on canvas, 12" x 12"

I had this idea to incorporate birds into an abstract painting, and the result is pretty close to my original vision, a rarity for me.

Blue Fairy Wren

oil on wood panel, 5" x 5"

Continuing with my bird theme of late, here's a cute little round bird I had fun painting.

Wings of the Dove

iPad painting, 10" x 10"

Thinking about birds again, here's a quick little digital sketch of a dove in flight, with the light illuminating its feathers.

Hills of Woodacre

oil on hardboard panel, 12" x 16"

This is a palette knife plein air painting I did on the spur of the moment recently while driving home unexpectedly from work due to a power outage.  The hills in Marin and Sonoma Counties are quite lush and green from all the rain we had this past winter.  

Bryce Canyon

acrylic on canvas, 38" x 24"

This was an exercise in values.  I wanted to get those cool blues and light violets in the background to complement the warmth in the rock in the foreground on the right.  A work in progress.

In the Pink Boat

oil on canvas, 12" x 12"

This is a painting that I'd been wanting to do for about three years but never got around to . . . until now.  Ever since rafting down the Yulong River in China, I've been in love with the jagged karsts that rise up like monoliths in the distance.  This scene was painted from a photo of a woman boating along the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, and I just loved the pink interior of the boat set against the cool greens and blues around it, not to mention the repeating "cone" theme sparked by her hat.

In the Pink

acrylic on canvasboard, 6" x 6"

A little abstract painting I find rather uplifting for reasons I can't seem to articulate.

San Francisco Bay

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

This was a quick sketch I did the other day from the Sausalito Ferry after a power outage in San Francisco had caused me to abandon my desk at 9:00 a.m. and head back to Marin County.  It was a brilliant day, but a bit disorienting to find myself on a ferry boat when I was expecting to spend it tied to a computer in a high rise building in downtown SF.

Airborne

acrylic on canvasboard, 8" x 8"

Another abstract painting done with leftover paint on the palette.  I really enjoy doing these freeform pieces, with no agenda other than to respond in the moment.  

Springtime in the Foothills of Mt. Diablo

acrylic on canvasboard, 9" x 12"

I used a photo I had taken recently for this palette knife painting.  It was raining at the time, and I just loved the neon green of the distant hills framed by the gray skies and the violet ceanothus (mountain lilac).  Had to paint it.  

Moon Over the Sierras

acrylic on canvas, 12" x 16"

I had the urge to paint this scene for the juxtaposition of the dark violet sky against the pink glow of a snow-covered ridge at dusk.  I find it soothing to gaze at a full moon; it's such a magical orb, so round, so light, so seemingly still.

Inside of a Tulip

iPad painting, 10" x 10"

I love gazing at the insides of flowers, where they store their jewels.  Tulips are especially provocative in that way, with their petals curved in a protective manner around the center.

Wild Irises

iPad painting, 10" x 10"

This was painted from memory, an impressionist take on a large patch of bearded irises I spotted on a neighborhood walk.  The flowers are explosive this year due to the prodigious amounts of rain we have gotten, with more rain on the way.

Marilyn

acrylic on canvasboard, 12" x 9"

I saw a photo of Marilyn Monroe in a local curio shop downtown the other day and felt the urge to paint it.  I wanted to capture the bemused expression she had on her face, intrigued by what might be behind it.

Fragile

acrylic on canvas, 24" x 24"

In keeping with my yellow/gray exploration, I could go on and on adding branches, birds and butterflies to this painting.  Instead, I decided to quit before it loses its feeling of space, something I find rather appealing.  Those little yellow birds are warblers, and I love how their cool yellow color pops next the cool gray, in this case payne's gray.

A Nice Pair of Boobies

acrylic on canvas, 11" x 14"

I must confess, I came up with the title for this painting ahead of its creation.  I've been having a bird fixation lately, and when I came upon these Blue-footed Boobies, I was itching to paint those cute aqua blue webbed feet.

The Source

oil on canvas, 24" x 24"

This is a somewhat abstracted painting of a rose in closeup.  I loved the light emanating from its core, giving the outers petals an intense, multicolored glow.  I may abstract it further at some point, but I'm giving it a timeout for now, unless and until I know my way forward with it.

Backlit Nude

acrylic on canvas panel, 14" x 11"

This painting was fun to do, using only Indian yellow, terracotta (a muted orange color produced by LUKAS), ivory black, plus white.  The mix of black and white to get gray in semi-shadowed areas like her upper right arm look bluish next to the warm colors of her skin in direct light.

Study in Yellow and Gray

oil on wood panel, 8" x 8"

Another favorite color pairing of mine is yellow and gray.  I drove by a building recently done in those two colors and all of a sudden I felt uplifted.   I had to rush home and play with those two colors.  For this study, I used cad yellow light and payne's gray, plus white.  Both the yellow and gray are on the cool side, and mixing the two renders beautiful shades of green.

Eye Candy

acrylic on canvas, 10" x 10"

A colorful little ditty, again using springtime as the theme.  When I think of spring, I mostly see pink and green, one of my favorite color pairings.

Anza Borrego in Spring

oil on canvas, 10" x 10"

Anza Borrego is a stretch of desert in Southern California that has a profusion of colorful wildflowers in the spring, and this year, with all the rain it got, is slated to be a superbloom year.  I wish I could go there and paint my immediate response to it all, but alas, I cannot get away.  So, I comforted myself by painting it from a photo I found online.  Not the same as being there, but still fun to do and another useful learning experience.

Red Bud

oil on canvas, 10" x 10"

I worked from a photo I had taken to create this painting of a scene I passed along Highway 162 last spring, a road full of breathtaking beauty at this time of year.  The magenta blossoms of the red bud bushes springing out of the bright green grass and set against the dark greens and blues of the many trees make for an eye-popping natural bouquet.  

Spring Scene, Eastside Petaluma

iPad painting, 10" x 14"

With this loose digital sketch, I tried to capture the pillowy lushness of spring growth in a field of weeds and mustard flowers on the Eastside of Petaluma. 

Red Rock by a Pink River under an Orange Sky

oil on canvas, 6" x 9"

This was just for fun, exploring warm-to-hot color combinations in a landscape. 

Pond Algae

oil on canvas, 10" x 10"

I've been wanting to introduce more warm colors into my paintings, so here's an imaginary landscape done with that in mind, again using leftover paint on the palette.  I seem to gravitate toward cool colors, particularly blues and greens, perhaps because I am surrounded by them in the local landscape, but those neglected warm colors need to have their say!