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.