Thursday, March 31, 2011

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

"Extra!" - SOLD


6x6" oil on Gessobord

I figure this type of vending machine won't be around much longer. Paint em while you can!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

"Ducks at Dusk"


6x8 oil on masonite

I'm reading Dear Theo, Van Gogh's letters to his brother. I like that you don't have to read it chronologically, you can just open it anywhere and be pulled right in. Last night I read how both he and Gauguin had barely enough money for supplies. He would like to sell something but isn't very hopeful. The complete absence of sales doesn't dampen his enthusiasm though, he remains excited and inspired by the beauty around him and has so much he wants to paint. His birthday is tomorrow.

Monday, March 28, 2011

"Hungry Ducks"


6x8" oil on masonite

I love white ducks, I had two of them as a kid. They followed me home from a nearby park shortly after Easter.  Every year people dropped unwanted domesticated ducklings in the pond figuring they'd be fine, I hope they were. They made great pets and they make nice painting subjects too!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

"Friday Drive Home" - SOLD


6x8" oil on masonite

This is a section of highway 280 as it turns towards the Pacific Ocean. The windows on the hill ahead are reflecting the warm light of the setting sun. I've never seen anything quite like it, glad I had my camera with me.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

"Fish Beach"


6x8" oil on masonite

I've run out of 6x6 panels! I have them ordered from Jerry's but they're out of stock. I may be doing different sizes for a while.

Friday, March 25, 2011

"Village Ice Cream" - SOLD


6x6" oil on Gessobord

I love the mood around dusk when house lights begin to come on. This painting is an attempt to capture both the remaining natural light and the warm incandescent light of the ice cream shop. My daughter and her grandpa make a daily trip to Village Ice Cream while staying in Port Clyde. Sometimes they make two trips. They tell me you can eat as much ice cream as you want when on vacation, "it doesn't count".

Thursday, March 24, 2011

"Polk & Union" - SOLD



I tried to keep it very loose on this one. I think that may be the way to go when painting complicated city scenes in a small format. 

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

"East Beach"


12x12 inch oil on canvas panel

I've decided to do a few 12x12 inch paintings. I feel some of my smaller daily paintings might work as larger paintings so you may see some familiar compositions. This particular scene is on East Beach in Santa Barbara, a beautiful spot with gentle waves and much warmer water than we have here in the San Francisco area. I feel like I could use some beach time right about now.



Tuesday, March 22, 2011

"Last Light" - SOLD


6x6" oil on Gessobord

The party at the Studio Gallery was a good time as usual. I thought all the rain we've been having might dampen the turn out but the skies cleared and there was quite a crowd. The next  show is a landscape show featuring California landscapes.

Monday, March 21, 2011

"Dipnet at Dusk"



The Dipnet was an amazing seafood restaurant on the docks of Port Clyde. It's still there, but it's under new management so I'm not sure how the food is. For a while though it was a very special place.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

"Happy Cleaners" - SOLD


I thought it might be nice to take a break from the Maine paintings and do a California landscape. Here we have a laundromat right next to a discount liquor store.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

"Maine Summer" - SOLD


6x6" oil on Gessobord

I painted this from a photo I took in my rear view mirror. I've driven by this particular scene many times but for some reason it didn't grab me until I saw it reversed. I'm not sure why that is. It's Factory Rd. in Port Clyde, Maine.

Friday, March 18, 2011

"Canyon de Chelly"



Canyon de Chelly is a great hike. It's not very long but there's so much to see. We went towards the end of the day when there were big shadows and lots of golden light. 

Thursday, March 17, 2011

"Table and Chairs"


6x6" oil on Gessobord

I don't think I've painted an interior before. I'm not sure why it took me so long to get around to it.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

"Red Triumph" - SOLD



Most summer days you'll find this Triumph parked outside the Port Clyde post office. It belongs to the postmaster. Nice way to get to work!

The Studio Gallery show Delicious opens this week. I LOVE the shows at this gallery. Jen and Rab the owners are wonderful people and the work on display is so varied and unique. They put out a nice little spread too! Come on down and check it out if you're going to be in San Francisco this weekend, the reception is on Sunday from 2-6 pm.

Monday, March 14, 2011

"Light Bulbs"


6x6" oil on masonite

I did this painting a while ago but it never got posted. I work part time as an electrician so I guess this is appropriate subject matter. Maybe I'll do some fuses next. Actually that's not a bad idea!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

"Adirondacks" - SOLD



I made an adirondack chair once. I made it out of redwood. I know that's not very traditional but that's the wood of choice in California if you want something to last. It was a fun project, but these days I'd much rather paint pictures of them than build them. Gotta go, my daughter needs me to yank out her loose tooth!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

"Dinghies" - SOLD


6x6" oil on Gessobord

These are lobster dinghies on Monhegan Island. What attracted me to them was the interesting shadows and the strong abstract shapes. I think it was Emile Gruppe who wrote that it was a challenge getting red into a landscape painting. There are lots of blues and greens mostly. In this painting I did my initial sketch in a reddish color and let a little peek through.

Friday, March 11, 2011

"Street Shadows" - SOLD


The temperature was about thirty degrees and there was a cold wind off the bay but the light was beautiful. The above street scene was painted from an image taken just after sunrise in Rockland, Maine in late October.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

"Sea Spray, China Camp"


6x6" oil on Gessobord

This is an old shrimp fishing boat dry docked at China Camp on San Francisco Bay. It's got a few large holes in it so I doubt it will be back in the water anytime soon! China Camp is a beautiful spot about 45 minutes north of San Francisco.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

"Crowded Houses" - SOLD


Up until now I've been making my own 6x6" panels out of masonite. It's actually quite a bit of work! I'd rather spend my time painting so I decided to try Gessobord by Ampersand and save myself the trouble. This is the first painting done on the new panels. They're a bit rougher than the ones I make myself so the paint handles a bit differently, but I like them. This painting was done from a photograph taken in Rockland, Maine in late October.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

"Port Clyde Road" - SOLD


I bought a bunch of 36x36" canvases recently which I plan on for landscapes. It's nice to work out color and compositional ideas in the daily painting format. My goal is to paint landscapes that are representational yet have strong abstract qualities. I feel my paintings lean more towards painting "scenes" at this point. In the next few posts I'll be experimenting with pushing the abstract qualities.

Monday, March 7, 2011

"Lobster Shack" - SOLD


6x6" oil on masonite

This painting was done from a photo I took on Monhegan Island. It's the path to Fish Beach. I'm really enjoying doing landscapes again!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

"Chocolate Glazed"


"Chocolate Glazed" 20x20"

Jennifer at Studio Gallery asked me if I'd be interested in having one of my paintings on the promotional postcard for the upcoming show "Delicious". Of course I said YES. We decided that it should be a larger painting and what could be more fun than a large donut?! I tried to paint it as if I had just magnified the 6x6" daily painting donut I posted in February. I used the biggest brushes I had, squeezed out big piles of paint and must say I had a good time. The show begins later this month with the reception on the 20th. I'll post details and a link soon.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

"Dish of Olives" - SOLD


6x6" oil on masonite

I found the glass dish at Target and I had no idea it would cast such an unusual shadow. I love olives. I especially love them in martinis. I could use a martini, it's been a long week!!

Friday, March 4, 2011

"Seaside Inn"



Well this is my first 6x6" landscape and yet another submission to the DPW Challenge. I did this painting from a digital image taken while in Port Clyde, Maine this past summer. The orange/brown stroke of paint on the horizon is the Rose Cottage where we stay. 

Thursday, March 3, 2011

"Cinnamon Apples" - SOLD



My goal with this painting, other than meeting the DPW Challenge requirements, was to capture the light dusting of cinnamon on the top of the shaker. I wanted to keep the painting as simple as possible but I decided to add a few holes on top because it just wasn't lookin' right without them. 

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

"Red Onions"


Yet another DPW Challenge entry. I really struggled to get the bright red/purple color I was seeing. I finally just accepted that maybe there are limits to what oil paint can do. Or maybe limits to what I can do! Either way I still had fun.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

"Jar of Pickles" - SOLD



Here's another attempt at the DPW Challenge. I figured I'd try something a bit more difficult. More difficult for me anyway! Anyone else out there struggle with getting the tops of round objects (jar lids, mug openings, bowls, etc.) to look right?! Wow.. the digital image of this painting looks so RED.