"Winter Tree"

24x18" oil on canvas

I painted this with a single brush, a big old filbert. After I finished I noticed that it still had an 89 cent price sticker on it. I guess that would explain why it was shedding bristles. It was given to me with a bunch of other mid seventies brushes, most of them worthless, but I had fun experimenting with this one.

I decided to add another to the "From Behind the Wheel" series.

"Winter Calla Lilies"

6x6" oil on Gessobord - $100

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I painted these lilies from a photo I took on a walk to the library last month. I admit to being a bit intimidated by the complicated background. I finally decided to embrace the complexity and have fun with it. 

"Pool Rider" - SOLD

6x6" oil on Gessobord

My brother and I found an old skateboard in my cousin's basement and took it to a nearby hill. It was a skinny old board with metal wheels. It was a rough ride but we were hooked. We begged my dad to buy us one on the way home that night and were shocked when he exited the Jersey Turnpike in search of a Toys R Us.

It was 1976 and skateboarding was just starting to catch on. We bought every issue of Skateboarder Magazine and soon learned the names of all the best riders. It seemed like all the action was on the West Coast. California was experiencing a drought and some daring skaters began skating in empty swimming pools. We were blown away by the photographs and desperately wanted to move to Orange County. I've lived in California for over thirty years now and I've yet to make it to the OC!

I recently came across some vintage images online and I just had to paint one. 

"Pink Barrette"

6x6" oil on Gessobord - $100

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This is my entry to the "Simplify Cute Challenge", it was painted from an image posted by Carol Marine. The challenge for me wasn't the background, it was the little girl. I find painting faces the ultimate challenge, especially when trying to keep the brushwork lively and spontaneous.

"Salt Shaker and Green Bottles" - SOLD

6x6" oil on Gessobord

I've been feeling the need to paint some glass. I especially love old blue-green glass bottles. I have one but it has writing on it so it would be too complicated to paint. I plan to go have a look around at the Salvation Army store and see what I can dig up.

"Dark Chocolate"

6x6" oil on Gessobord

I'm having fun catching up on the DPW challenges. This is my entry for the "Paint Your Breakfast Challenge". Dark chocolate seems to be the one constant in my breakfast diet. I do my best to keep it to one or two squares with coffee and a banana. Doing my best means eating three or four squares. The good news is dark chocolate is full of antioxidants (whatever those are) so it's practically health food!

"Coffee & News" - SOLD

6x6" oil on Gessobord

I decided to do another DPW Challenge, this one is for the "Seated Figure Challenge". I painted from the photo posted by Dana Cooper. I tried to keep it loose which I find difficult when painting figures. This was a fun challenge maybe I'll do another!

"Toaster & Apple" - SOLD

6x6"oil on Gessobord

It's been a while since I've done a DPW challenge so I figured I'd give one a try. I really love the challenge of painting reflective objects so I was immediately drawn to the toaster challenge. Unfortunately I have a toaster oven, and it's white! I decided to use the image posted by Shelley Ross.

"Stop Light Shadow"

24x18" oil on canvas

Here's another backlit street scene that caught my attention while driving. For a while I only painted scenes with side light but lately I've been experimenting with different lighting. I love how the shadows come toward the viewer when a subject is backlit. 

"Eucalyptus Shadows"

20x20" oil on canvas

Here's another view taken while driving. The second in a series maybe. I haven't painted many eucalyptus trees which sort of surprises me since there are so many around here. The California Impressionists certainly painted their share. These particular trees are along the El Camino Real in Burlingame.

"El Camino Stop Light"

16x12" oil on panel

Obviously this was painted from a photo I took from the driver's seat. It's been an unusually sunny winter here in Northern California and the light and shadows are beautiful. I carry a point and shoot camera in my glove box and I've been reaching for it a lot lately.

I'm following my instinct to paint anything that grabs my attention, even if I'm not sure what it is attracting me to a particular scene. I'm also attempting to paint more spontaneously and use thicker paint while working on larger canvases.