"Monhegan Firetruck"

8x10" oil on canvas panel

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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. 

"Coastguard at Dusk"

8x10" oil on canvas panel

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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.

"House at Dusk"

8x10" oil on canvas panel

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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.

"House in Rockland"

8x10" oil on canvas panel

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A lovely fall day in Rockland, Maine. 

"Pickup with Crab Bouys"

10x8" oil on canvas panel

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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. 

"Breakwater"

8x10 oil on canvas panel

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This is a scene from a nearby beach known as the Breakwater. I recently painted a bunch of 8x10 panels, of which this is the first. I must admit it's a bit of an adjustment painting on canvas again after painting on masonite and Gessobord for so long.

"North Over the Gate" - SOLD

12x12" oil on masonite

"Polk and Union" - SOLD

12x12" oil on masonite

"Front Steps"

12x12" oil on masonite

"String of Lights"

12x12" oil on masonite

"One Headlight"

8x10" oil on canvas panel

"Corvette Takes Altamont"

12x12" oil on masonite

"Seaport Peterbilt"

12x12" oil on masonite

"Outbound" - SOLD

20x20" oil on canvas

"Pipeline"

12x12" oil on masonite

"Grind"

12x12" oil on masonite

"Business Trip"

20x20" oil on canvas

"Alamo Square, San Francisco" - SOLD

6x6" oil on Gessobord

"Pool Skater"

12x12" oil on masonite

"Fly Like a Hawk"

12x12" oil on masonite

"Wheel Out"

12x12" oil on masonite

This is small study for a much larger painting (36x36"). This was done from a photograph which was obviously shot with some sort of fisheye lens. I like how the lens distorts and exaggerates the sense of space in the picture plane. For example look at the size of the wheel compared to the head of the skater.  It's not quite 3-D, but it does create the illusion that the board is about to burst out of the picture.

"City Buildings"

14x11" oil on panel

"Girl on Ferry"

12x12" oil on masonite

"Work Van, San Jose"

12x12" oil on masonite

"Hilltop House, White Fence"

16x20" oil on canvas

Without mutation there can be no evolution. This was an enjoyable attempt to throw myself off balance. When this painting was first finished I didn't like it. I didn't like it because it didn't look like my other paintings. It's been on my bedroom wall for over a week now and my opinion has changed. I'm seeing things I really like, others that I'm still unsure of. There have been moments when I've been tempted to rework it but I've decided to leave it alone.

"Work the Saw"

20x16" oil on canvas

"Eucalyptus Grove"

36 X 24" oil on canvas

This is the largest canvas I've ever done. It felt big while I was painting it, but it seemed to shrink a bit when I hung it on the wall. I plan to do more in this size range until I'm more comfortable with the process. I'm realizing that a large canvas has the ability to change the feel of a whole room. Perhaps if I paint a few more of these my living room will have the peaceful feel of a forest.

This grove of eucalyptus is located in Junipero Serra Park, a short walk from my house.

"Winter Oak" - SOLD

20x20" oil on canvas

I've been wanting to paint leafless oaks all winter, there's so much character in their twisted, gnarly branches. They've just started to bud so I figured I'd better get to it. This is my first large canvas in a while. I had to alter my brushwork a bit to suit the subject. I experimented with shorter strokes and I didn't thin the paint at all. I think this gives the painting an early California look.

For some reason the early California painters focused primarily on eucalyptus trees. Some critics actually dubbed them the "Eucalyptus School". The oak is a very striking native tree so I'm surprised it wasn't painted more often. It could be due to their complicated structure, or the fact that they look a little spooky.

"Home"

7x5" oil on masonite

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This will be my last small painting for a while. I'm feelin' the need to paint big.

"Green & White"

6x6" oil on gessobord

This is a painting from a series I just completed focusing on paint tubes. It was a fun experience to really explore this one subject. There are four others currently in my DPW gallery.

I just picked up "Paintings in The Musee d'Orsay" at the library and I'm really enjoying it. I've been told the d'Orsay is a beautiful museum, it's set in an old train station. Unfortunately the one time I was in Paris it was closed "due to the tempest". Apparently it had flooded, thankfully none of the work was damaged. 

I went to the recent show at the De Young Museum in San Francisco featuring work from the d'Orsay so I recognize a lot of what I'm seeing in the book. It dawned on me that it sometimes takes a while for me to fully appreciate a painting. Seeing these paintings again in the book has me wishing I could visit them again.

I don't believe you can really experience a painting from a small photo in a book or an image on the web. I keep reminding myself to get out and stand in front of as many great paintings as I can. Whenever I do, I can't wait to get back to the studio and pick up a brush.