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.