"Railroad Crossing"

10x8" oil on canvas panel

I managed to paint four small paintings in Burlingame yesterday. The plein air event in Davis is tomorrow so I've been painting outdoors as much as possible. I started my first painting around 8am and finished my last just after 6pm. It was a long day but I had a good time experimenting with subject matter and composition. I posted all four paintings on facebook, if you're interested you can check them out here.

"Eucalyptus"

10x8" oil on canvas panel

I've doing quite a bit of plein air painting lately, with mixed results. Most plein air painters mention needing to paint from life in order to see subtle colors that don't show up in photos, but I'm finding it much harder to judge colors while outdoors. I think this painting of eucalyptus trees is a step in the right direction. I painted this while standing in the shade next to a dry creek bed. It was really hot today so it felt good to find a cool secluded spot to paint.

"Weskeag Bridge"

10x8" oil on canvas panel

I had to put myself in a precarious position to get the photo for this one. Maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but I did have to climb over a guard rail and then part of the way down a steep slope. One slip and I would have been in the water, washed under the bridge and on my way out to sea!

"Fire Hydrant"

10x8" oil on canvas panel

This was done with one brush, a Utrecht #6 filbert of some sort.

I'll start by saying hydrants are difficult to draw. This is my second attempt, I couldn't live with the drawing on the first one. What's the point of painting a hydrant? Good question. I'm not sure. I will say that the hydrant, perhaps overlooked and unappreciated by all except dogs, would surely be seen as a thing of great beauty if one's house were on fire.

As a painter I think I was attracted to the pattern of light, the colors and the challenge of drawing an oddly shaped structure.

"Used Cars"

10x8" oil on canvas panel

Back to experimenting with big brushes. I only had an hour to paint today so I quickly chose an image and got started. An hour goes by pretty quickly when painting but I like to work fast, it forces me to be spontaneous.

"Pancho Villa, Taqueria"

10x8" oil on canvas panel

"Desert Auto Repair"

8x10" oil on canvas panel

"Taco Shop"

10x8" oil on canvas panel

"Mansard"

10x8" oil on canvas panel

"Pescadero Bridge"

10x8" oil on canvas panel

I should probably be taking some sort of notes about my process. I was recently looking at a painting I did a while ago and couldn't remember how I painted it. I couldn't remember what brushes I used or if I used medium or not. I really enjoy varying my tools and methods, it keeps me from getting in a rut, but it would be nice to remember how I achieved certain effects.

This one was painted mostly with one large brush and a bit of medium after scrub in. 

"Fitzgerald Marine Reserve"

10x8" oil on canvas panel

This is one of my submissions to the Coastside Land Trust Gallery's midwinter show which opens on February 3rd, in Half Moon Bay, CA.

I actually painted this one a while ago but never posted it. I came upon it while looking for potential paintings for the show. I have boxes of older paintings which are fun to look through. Some I'm not so fond of, but others, like the one above, were indicators of the direction I was headed. 

I know some of my current paintings contain hints as to where I'm going, but often it's hard to tell at the time they're painted. Sometimes it takes awhile to fully appreciate that you've taken a step in the right direction.

"Side View Mirror"

8x10" oil on canvas panel

"Hauling Gravel"

10x8" oil on canvas panel

I really like painting on Utrecht canvas panels. A box of seventy-five 8x10s just arrived on my doorstep so I'm well stocked and ready to go. The thing I like about them is they're inexpensive (and archival) which frees me up to experiment painting anything and everything.

"Stonefish"

10x8" oil on canvas panel

I went to the San Jose Museum of Art today and checked out the Eric Fischl exhibit. I was reminded how important it is to actually see art in person. Like most people, I primarily view paintings online. Seeing his work was inspiring, especially because the exhibit was directed at showing his working practices. 

I also discovered an artist I'd never heard of before by the name of John Register. He paints lonely Hopperesque scenes in a very meticulous way. Great light and mood in his work.

"Hoop"

10x8" oil on canvas panel

"Santa Calls Home"

10x8" oil on canvas panel

"Lookout"

10x8" oil on canvas panel

"Liquor Store Alley"

10x8" oil on canvas panel

"Driveway After Rain"

10x8" oil on canvas panel

"Beach Umbrella"

10x8" oil on canvas panel