Sunday, September 30, 2012

Saturday, September 29, 2012

"Daybreak Palm"


8x10" oil on canvas panel

Daybreak in San Jose. Yep, you guessed it, another from behind the wheel.

Tomorrow is the Paint Burlingame event, so I'm prepping my gear. Hear me rant about my Julian half box easel in today's video. Ok... I've gotta go find some glue.


Friday, September 28, 2012

"Pace Yourself" - SOLD


10x8" oil on canvas panel

Sometimes fate presents you with an opportunity too rare to pass up. That's exactly what happened to me while walking in San Francisco recently. I haven't seen an AMC Pacer in years, and this one was in perfect condition. It's not often you get a chance to paint the world's most ridiculed car. I'd love to hear some pacer stories in the comments. Rode to the prom in one? Dad drove you to school in one? It's time to vent! Tell that Pacer story you've kept hidden for so many years.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

"Point Reyes Boathouse"


10x8" oil on canvas panel

I painted this from an image taken in Point Reyes in Marin County. I'd seen this building before but wasn't sure if it was on private property or not. It probably is, but there was a nice little beach that was too inviting to pass up.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

"Paint Burlingame"



I spotted this poster in the window of Alana's Cafe while walking on Burlingame Avenue. I knew my work was to be featured, but I hadn't seen any of the promo material yet. Come on down and paint if you're in the area! Check out the video here: Paint Burlingame.

Monday, September 24, 2012

"Twin Beds"


8x10" oil on canvas panel

This is the front bedroom in a cottage called the Nanatuck. As lovely as it is, it's a challenge to sleep past 6am in this room due to unobstructed morning sun. I like to get up early, but not when I'm on vacation. Needless to say I settled in a slightly darker room with a slightly larger bed.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Saturday, September 22, 2012

"Gulls"


8x10" oil on canvas panel
click here for purchase info

This is my entry to last week's DPW challenge. I've been waiting for the appropriate time to paint these gulls, and here it is!

Friday, September 21, 2012

"Port Clyde Fishing Boat"


8x10" oil on canvas panel

I decided to experiment with medium on this painting. I usually don't use any medium at all, just odorless mineral spirits to thin the paint a bit. I think the medium gives the painting a different look, the paint goes down smoother. I find when I'm painting every day I need to change things up and experiment. Trying something new keeps things interesting and provides opportunity for discovery.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

"Hilltop Grocery"


8x10" oil on canvas panel

I remember a clear winter day not too long ago when I stopped off at this market for a beverage. Not just any beverage, it was a Monster. Now I don't usually drink energy drinks but on this occasion I had a long drive ahead of me and I was fighting the flu. Energy drinks usually make me feel jittery and give me heart palpitations, but to my surprise the Monster actually made me feel....normal. I guess a cup of coffee would have done the trick, but the Hilltop Market isn't known for its coffee.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

"California Street, Late Afternoon"


8x10" oil on canvas panel

Less is definitely more. I used to attempt to paint every car when doing cityscapes. I was never happy with the result. I ended up avoiding the subject for quite a while. I'm still working on developing my visual shorthand but I feel like I'm getting a lot closer to what I'm after. 

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

"City Apartments"


10x8" oil on canvas panel

This was painted from a photo taken on Pine Street in San Francisco. I love SF, it's a beautiful city but it's challenging to paint. I guess any city is challenging to paint. There is so much information, it can be overwhelming. I kept reminding myself to squint and have faith!

Monday, September 17, 2012

"The Preacher's House"


8x10" oil on canvas panel

The white house is the preacher's house, I heard his kids singing gospel songs as they mowed the lawn. This is another from Port Clyde, Maine.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

"Brick Building in Greenport"


10x8" oil on canvas panel

This painting was done from and image taken by fellow painter Nancy Colella. I was visiting her blog recently and saw this scene and thought it would be fun to paint. She was kind enough to let me paint from her photo and sent me a few more as well! It was taken during a Tim Horn workshop in Greenport, Long Island. I love Nancy's work, her paintings are simple and direct with a great sense of light. Be sure to check out here work at the link above!

Saturday, September 15, 2012

"Apartments Down the Street"


10x8" oil on canvas panel

Electrical work is rough on the body. I was drilling some rather large holes through some rather hard wood with something known as a "Hole Hawg"about six weeks ago and it was a bit too much for the elbow joints. I'd been able to work through the discomfort until a few days ago. I'm taking a few days off to hit the ice pack. The good news is I can still paint, so I've been having fun working my way through a stack of 8x10 panels.




Friday, September 14, 2012

"Rowboats"


8x10" oil on canvas panel

I found these colorful little rowboats at the dock in Port Clyde. I love painting rowboats, they have such strong abstract shapes. I like the colors in this one too, I may have to do it bigger.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

"Green Pickup"


8x10" oil on canvas panel

If I had painted this image a year ago I probably would have eliminated the clutter in the background and just painted sky instead. For some reason I decided to leave the clutter and I'm glad I did.... I kinda like it.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

"Morris Minor"


8x10" oil on canvas panel

I stumbled upon this very cool Morris Minor while walking around trying to find subject matter for the "Paint Burlingame" plein air event. This little English gem is parked in front of the Olde English Garage, probably waiting for a carburetor adjustment. Or perhaps it needs some electrical work. I owned a Jensen Healy back in high school and remember visiting this very garage on more than one occasion. 

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

"Blue Car on Olive Street"


8x10" oil on canvas panel

I should be cleaning the kitchen but I've decided to do my post instead. When I'm in a painting groove things get neglected. My backyard was first. I stopped watering it at the beginning of the summer and it soon turned turned golden brown. Well most of it turned golden brown. There were some amazing weeds that seemed only to need the blazing sun for nourishment. My neighbor Roy was kind enough to give me a battery powered weed whacker to get things under control. I'm proud to be doing my part for the drought, but I feared I was creating a fire hazard. Next to go was the dining room. There's nothing quite like a dining room table for storing painting supplies. It's not bad for storing camera equipment either. There was a time when letting things go would have bothered me, but for now I accept that if I'm going to paint every day something's gotta give.



Monday, September 10, 2012

"Pickup Pulling Fishing Boat"


8x10" oil on canvas panel

How's that for a title? Not very cute, I admit. Here's another one from behind the wheel. I'm painting anything that catches my eyes these days. I guess I felt I needed to test my drawing skills.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

"Monhegan Firetruck"


8x10" oil on canvas panel

I'm not sure how many vehicles there are on Monhegan, but here are two of them. You'll pass them on your way to the fairy houses. I can't tell you exactly where that is since we got a bit lost, but I'm pretty sure it's on the way to the cliffs.

I've decided to return to the traditional blog format. The "dynamic views" template was cool, but it seemed to have problems loading. 

Saturday, September 8, 2012

"Coastguard at Dusk"


8x10" oil on canvas panel

I saw this Coastguard ship while on a "Puffin Cruise" out of Port Clyde. We only saw four puffins but there was a beautiful sunset.

Friday, September 7, 2012

"House at Dusk"


8x10" oil on canvas panel

I love the feel of dusk. I was really drawn to the warm, welcoming look of this particular house. This was painted from an image taken in Port Clyde, Maine.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

"Pickup with Crab Bouys"


10x8" oil on canvas panel

I've been listening to "Psychedelic Furs Radio" on Pandora while doing my latest paintings. Depeche Mode, INXS, Flock of Seagulls, New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen, Tears for Fears... stuff I listened to in college. Very fun, but I can only listen for a few days and then I'm ready for a change. Any Pandora suggestions?

This painting was done from an image taken in Half Moon Bay, California. 

This is my second effort in what I hope will be an in-depth exploration of the potential of the 8x10 inch canvas panel. I've done about fifteen so far and just went to Utrecht and bought thirty more.