Swimmers

oil on zinc plate, 6" x 9"

Another fish study on metal, my favorite type of surface.

Green Dog

oil on aluminum panel, 12" x 12"

Just playing with color here, and abstract shapes.  Somehow, a dog insisted on making an appearance.  There you go!

Garden of Earthly Delights

oil on panel, 16" x 12"

This painting was inspired by the work of Flora Yukhnovich, a British painter who pushes disrupted realism to a new level.  After reading about her and pouring over her pieces, I felt like playing with paint and pushing the boundaries of realism myself.  It was fun and freeing, and I plan to do more of it!

Sunset with Palm Tree

acrylic on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

Here's another palm tree study.

Blue Heron at Ellis Creek

 

oil on panel, 8" x 6"

Ellis Creek in Petaluma has long been a favorite source of landscape painting inspiration for me, with its great variety of terrain, including marshes, ponds, grasses and distant hills, not to mention avian wildlife in the form of herons, egrets, swans, stilts, and many other winged species.  It's an ever changing ecosystem there and I never get tired of it.

White-necked Heron

oil on canvas, 12" x 6"

Another bird painting, a favorite subject of mine.

Four Palms at Twilight

oil on panel, 16" x 16"

Continuing with the palm tree theme . . .

White Ibis

oil on panel, 16" x 16"

The white ibis is said to be a symbol of optimism and good luck, which I could use a bit of right now.  With this painting, here's hoping the new year uplifts the spirit and brings good luck to all.

Black and Yellow Irises

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

Flower study.

St. John

 

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

This portrait of the great jazz saxophonist John Coltrane is the latest in a portrait series I'm doing on extraordinary Black American musicians, artists, and other creative types.  In addition to being a trail blazer in contemporary jazz, Coltrane was a spiritual seeker and wanted to bless people through his music.  Years after his death, he was canonized by the African Orthodox Church.

Hanalei Palms

 

oil on panel, 18" x 18"

I'm on a palm tree kick right now, as I gear up for a narrative painting that includes palm trees.  This one is of palm trees near Hanalei, Hawaii on the island of Kauai.

Japanese Moon Moth

oil on panel, 8" x 8"

It's been a while since I last painted a butterfly or moth, so here's a little painting of a beautiful moth.

Landscape in Green and Gold

oil on panel, 8" x 16"

Just trying to work quickly and intuitively with this study, not get fussy.  I especially like the gradation of colors from the minty green foreground to the pale yellow hills in mid-distance, to the gold ochre sky.

Capped Heron in Flight

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

The capped heron is, to me, one of the most beautiful birds in the world.  The colors, I mean, c'mon, that turquoise beak against the warm yellow of the breast is inspired!  

Of Beauty and Bravery

oil on panel, 12" x 9"

This is an alla prima portrait of Waris Dirie, a Somali model and activist who was the subject of the film "Desert Flower."  I saw that film some years ago and had nightmares over it.  The subject matter was, essentially, female genital mutilation (FGM), a horror that was visited on Waris at the age of 5.  As a teenager, she fled her homeland, scraped by in England for a while, and was eventually saved by her beauty, forging a very successful modeling career.  Later, she opened up about her early childhood trauma, helping to bring the issue of FGM out into the open.  Her bravery is simply staggering.   

The Comfort of Strangers

oil on panel, 9" x 12"

Just a fun, quick study.

Down in Dreamland

oil on canvas, 20" x 30"

STOLEN

I've had it in mind to do this painting for a long time, so it shouldn't have surprised me how quickly it came about.  I had done a loose digital version of this figure a long while back that I quite liked, but I'm happy with this version, too.  My aim was to evoke a sense of deep relaxation, and I achieved that, at least to my satisfaction.

Pedernal with Cottonwoods

oil on panel, 8" x 8"

Taking a trip down memory lane with this little painting of Cerro Pedernal from a photo I had taken from Ghost Ranch in New Mexico a few years ago.

Smoke and Mirrors

 

oil on canvas, 20" x 20"

Don't know what got into me, but here it is, a narrative painting of a love triangle.  I used a still from the French film, "La Baie des Anges," for the two figures on the left, then added a third figure to complete the story.  I decided to leave her hair sketchy and barely painted because when I stepped back to look with fresh eyes, it seemed to shimmer and glow, so what you see is mostly bare canvas.  Overall, I'm happy that I pretty much was able to execute my vision for this painting. 

Abstracted Landscape Study 10.30.22

oil on panel, 6" x 6"

A study in greens was the purpose of this exercise.  I like pairing cool and warm greens side by side.