Daffodil by the Sea

August 2013 - 16" x 20" Acrylic on Canvas

Output has been VERY slow this year (and updating the blog has been even slower.)

I started this painting in July, while on a business trip to Monterrey, CA.  I'd began considering the possibility of a painting on a painting a while before hand, and had actually been considering something abstract or simply geometric.  But I so enjoyed the view from my hotel room, that I decided to try that.  Of course, I needed something to "hang" the painting on, so added the lattice fence.

As a learning experience, I picked up a lot of tricks in shadowing.  The super dark shadow cast from the daffodil's  "bell" (or corona) was a first, as I usually keep shadows softer.

Dancer III (Golden Slippers)

March 2013 - 8" x 16" Acrylic on Canvas

This years entry for my daughters ballet school auction.  This is my third ballerina and possibly the most serene of the group.  It's a bit smaller than pass entries, but the detail is much greater, especially on the face and tutu.

For the dress, I've used Pthalo Blue Red shade and Cad Red (with the ever present titanium white).  The tights are the same.  For skin tones, I generally like earth tones (is that a contradiction?); Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber and Yellow Ochre (with titanium white).  I've again gone with the dark background (this time Carbon Black) for dramatic affect.

Purple Iris

January 2013 - 5" x 7" Acrylic on Canvas Board

This is a little painting I did in January, just to get some time with my brushes.  The subject is simple, the background is not intended to look at all natural.  (I'm experimenting with dark backgrounds to provide more interesting contrasts.)

Dioxizine purple, with medium magenta and titanium white make up the flower, while the foliage is anthriquinone blue, hansa yellow and more titanium white.  The background is pure anthriquinone blue.

Carmel Mission

December 2012 - 24" x 30" Acrylic on Canvas

Time to paint has been scarce, and time to blog has been scarcer.  I completed this image late last year, but I didn't get around to photographing it until today.

The image is from a photo I took on our vacation to Monterey Bay in the summer of 2011.  Although the mission is clearly the dominant feature of the piece, the majority of work went into the negative space:  the gardens, the distant trees and the big tree at the left.  The finials around the done also took a lont tine to bring out the shapes without making them unnatural.  There's probably over 100 hours work of effort here, but I really enjoyed the entire process.

Different from most of my work, I did not do a gallery wrap on this, but instead, it's framed.  I will be donating this to the Holy Spirit Parish School auction.

Tulip IV

May 7, 2012 - 16" x 20" Acrylic on Canvas

I'm not sure how, but I somehow forgot to post this when it was completed.  It's the feature painting at my current show in Davis.

The image is from a photo I took in the neighborhood while on a bike ride with my daughter.I went with a two different styles (typically a no-no) but I wanted an impressionistic background and a highly detailed flower. I'm pleased with the outcome and, as I've told students, that's the most important thing.

I used a pretty simple palette of pthalo blue, cad yellow and cad red.  I added some cadmium orange to the gerbera daisies, burnt umber to the ground cover, cerulean blue to the foliage under the daisies and the tulip is medium magenta with titanium white.

Tropical Chicken

March 10, 2012 - 8"x10" Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

We spent a week on Kauai in mid-February, and I got a few pictures worth painting.  This is the first.  I completed between Preview Thursday and Second Saturday (March

Kauai is covered with chickens.  The theories are that the ancestors were brought by early Polynesians; or were in chicken coops that were destroyed by hurricane Iniki in 1992; or both.  This big fella was hanging outside our bungalow at the resort.

I've decided to start attributing paintings to series and this is the fourth in my Bird Series (after the eagle, hummingbird and love birds) and the third in my Hawaii Series.

The Dancer II

February 26, 2012 - 16"x20" Acrylic on Canvas (Sold)

I did this painting, the second in a series, as a donation to my daughters Ballet school auction.  The model for the dancer is an 18 year old ballerina from the Royal Ballet in London, named named Yasmine Naghdi.  I was blown away by the amazing skill, but even more by the grace and composure when performing such a difficult leap.  The smile on her face is not made up.

I completed the character a couple weeks ago, during the Second Saturday art walk.  At that time, the gallery owner urged me not to go too simple with the background (the original image is just a curtain and the floor beneath her.)  I tried to follow her advice, creating something more dynamic.  I first laid down a gold, but the contrast with the character was inadequate, so I used copper instead.  I then came upon the idea of a comet tail, with the airborne ballerina as the comet, flying through space, unbelievably powerful, and yet so graceful and beautiful.

The palette:  Her skin is red oxide, yellow ochre, titanium white and touches of raw umber for shaddows; her tights are cadmium red and titanium white (and add a touch of cad yellow for her slippers);  Her leotard is carbon black; and her hair is all of the above.  The comet is iridescent copper and the universe is pthalo blue, red shade and cadmium red.

Love Birdz

January 21, 2012 - 5"x7" Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

I did this little painting for the February show at the gallery, called Love of Letters.  Each artist showing had to do a painting that incorporated an assigned letter from the alphabet.  See if you can guess what mine was.

This really is a pair of Love Birds (specifically, Masked Lovebirds), which are from the parrot family.  Their name stems from the parrots' strong, monogamous pair bonding and the long periods which paired birds spend sitting together. There are nine different species, eight (including these two) from the African continent and one from Madagascar.

The paints:  The birds are my old standbys:  Pthalo Blue-Green Shade, Cad Red, Cad Yellow and Titanium White.  The background uses Cobalt Blue, Cad Yellow and Titanium White.  The branch relies on Cerulean Blue, Cad Red and Titanium White.

Carmel Mission Garden

January 16, 2012 - 16"x20" Acrylic on Canvas (Sold)

Man, it's been a while since I've added anything.  This painting took a lot of time and, with the Holidays, birthdays, etc. I haven't had that much.  It's been pretty exciting at the gallery.  I sold a piece three of the last four evenings I spent there.

This is another in the Monterey/Carmel series.  The image is a small garden in the courtyard of the Carmel Mission, which we visited last July while on vacation.

It's difficult to describe the most difficult part of the painting.  The foliage took hours and the shadows were a challenge, but the most technically challenging task was getting the adobe walls to appear mottled and aged.  I first applied a light tan/pink/peach color I'd mixed to the entire building.  Then I started adding layers of different paints; everything from raw umber and yellow ocher to pthalo blue and sap green.

For the foliage I used virtually every blue in my paint box, mixed with cad yellow and titanium white.

Although it doesn't immediately leap out, don't miss the calla lily in the lower left.

I haven't decided yet, but this may be my donation to the Holy Spirit School auction this year.

Crocus and Michigan Barn In Autumn II

October 15, 2011 - 5"x7" Acrylic on Canvas Board

There were two events last weekend at my studio.  First was the first annual Sacramento Midtown Modern Art Festival (from noon to 6:00).  The second was a private party held at the gallery.  I painted these two small paintings/studies at that time:

Crocus

This was the first of the two studies I did.  The image was a generic one from the web.  We don't grow much crocus in California.  It tends to like a had freeze and we rarely get that.  I love the bare earth in the distance and the bright green foliage close up, contrasted against the blue/purple flower.


Michigan Barn In Autumn II (Sold)

This is another image from Photographer Aaron Meyers.  The old red barn, partially hidden, and in front of a tree covered hill provides plenty of opportunities to imagine what you can't see back there.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this image is that, although it's very small, even from across a room, it can capture your entire field of visions.

Rose, Tulip III & Michigan Barn In Autumn

October 8, 2011 - 5" x 7" Acrylic on Canvas Board (all three)

This past week was preview Thursday and Second Saturday.  I started the Rose on Preview Thursday, but didn't finish until Saturday.  The other two were started and completed during Second Saturday.  With the holidays approaching, I thought it'd be a good idea to do something that would be affordable as gifts.  I love these little projects.  They're great subjects, good practice and beautiful in their own right.  (The only disappointing thing here is the quality of the images of the paintings.

Rose - This little beauty is on a background of midnight blue (it's hard to tell from the image).  The painting consists of five colors: pthalo blue-red shade and quinacridone red make up the petals and pthalo blue-green shade and cadmium yellow make up the foliage.; titanium white allows for the highlights. (Sold)

Tulip III - This is the third tulip painting I've done.  The  vaining is more detailed than ever before, but the special challenge here was the soft background; the very blurred foliage and the slightly fuzzy tulips in the distance.  The paint was the same as I'd used on the rose above (with a lot more titanium white).

Michigan Barn In Autumn - The inspiration for this painting comes from the photography of a Silicon Valley based amateur photographer by the name of Aaron Meyers.  You can visit his web site for more of his beautiful images by clicking on Aaron Meyers Photography.  (The paint selection was too extensive to list here.  I used four different blues with multiple reds and yellows.)

Wave (Carmel Beach)

September 18, 2011 - 12" x 30" Acrylic on Canvas

The image that inspired this painting came from the same trip as my previous painting, though on a very different day, as you can tell if you scroll down to the previous entry. However, just to keep things a little challenging, the color palette is exactly the same: anthiquinone blue, napthol red, hansa yellow and titanium white.

Carmel Beach

August 28, 2011 - 24" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas

The image is from a photo I took on our summer vacation, this past July, to the Monterey Bay Area.  On the first full day we had spectacular beach weather.  The sun was warm, the air was cool, a gentle breeze and the fog sitting low on the other side of the bay.

This is my first sea scape and I learned a lot.  I'm happy enough that I'll display it, but I have a number of other images from the same area that I intend to play with.

Details:  I kept the majority to only four paints:  Anthriquinone Blue, Hansa Yellow, Napthol Red, and Titanium White.  There's a tiny bit of Yellow Ochre and Raw Umber in the point.

Hummingbird

July 10, 2011, 9" x 12" Acrylic on Canvas

This painting was mostly completed while watching my studio during the Second Saturday Art Walk while I manned my studio in Midtown Sacramento this past weekend.

The bird itself is obviously where I spend all my time.  I tried to give it a more detailed background, but it just detracted from the bird.  Perhaps, because the subject is obviously blown up several times larger than life, it makes sense the background is just a blurry green.

The "new" thing I tried in this painting was the eye.  Instead of painting on a reflection to give it dimension, I just added a lot of paint - about 6 thick coats of dioxazine purple - until I actually had an eye ball with shape, dimension and its own reflection.

I also used the Golden-brand open acrylic titanium white (blended with pthalo blue and hansa yellow) which gave me a lot of time to work the feathers into the soft layers you see.  It will be in my studio at 2110 K street in Sacramento starting next week.  If you're in the area, so drop on by to see it in person.

The Happiest Flower On Earth

July 2, 2011, 9" x 12" Acrylic on Canvas

The image is a photograph I took while standing in line for Mr. Toads Wild Ride at Disneyland this past Spring with our friends, the Browns.

Since I obtained studio space I've been trying to work during the Second Saturday shows, so I've needed some relatively simple subjects.  The flower filled the bill.  The leaves were a different story.  It's amazing (to me anyway) how much effort was required to paint a background I don't really want anyone to notice.

As in the past, I used only 4 paints for all the leaves (pthalo blue, cad red, cad yellow and titanium white.)  The flower is Magenta, with dioxazine purple mixed in for shadowing and titanium white for texture.

Autumn In New Mexico

June 8, 2011 - 30" x 40" acrylic on canvas

As I promised, the large landscape I was working on is complete (until I hear what's wrong with it.)  The photo that served as a model for this painting was taken by my sister's sister-in-law (or my brother-in-law's sister).  How about we just say Cindy?  Thanks Cindy!

I only tried one thing really new here and that's the sky.  I used Golden's open acrylics (which dry almost as slowly as oils) which allowed me to blend, from darker at the highest point to lighter below, more evenly.

Similar to other paintings I used very few paints.  Only pthalo blue, green shade; cad red; cad yellow; and titanium white, for everything except the sky and clouds (titanium white; cobalt blue; cerulean and cad red).

Cherries

June 4, 2011 - 8" x 10" acrylic on canvas

I know I said my next painting would be a landscape, and it's still true: My next painting will be a landscape.  However, we had a charity event at the gallery on the 4th, benefiting school arts programs, so I decided to do a small painting while students and their parents browsed.  This is the result. 

It's been a while since I did fruit, but on Friday night I'd had some cherries and they were wonderful.  So I got it in my mind to do a small painting  of the little gems.  It's pretty much a three color painting: pthalo blue, red shade; napthol red; and white (with a little cad yellow and pthalo blue green shade for the stem.)  Nothing fancy, but it's pretty.

Place Holder

I just realized how long it's been since I posted to my blog.  I felt a need to add a place holder.  I'm working on a 30" x 40" landscape painting of the New Mexico mountains.  I hope to have it completed in the next week or so.

Red Skies At Night

March 20, 2011 - 16" x 20", Acrylic on stretched canvas

This painting was never meant to be. 

For my previous painting (West Entrance), I painted the wrapped part of the canvas a dark mahogany to match the wood in the church.  I had a hard time mixing the color and had a lot more than I needed.  So I covered a 16" x 20" canvas with it, then added streaks of black while it was still wet.  I figured I'd use it as a wood background to a still life, oriented vertically.  When I painted the "top" and "bottom" I left it on it's side to dry.  I walked into the room a little later and what I saw was an ominous sky.  So I kept it that way.

I found an old farm house, "fixed it up" and transferred the image to the "sky".  I added defoliated trees and dark, "over-winter" looking shrubs behind, using raw umber, burnt sienna, sap green and a touch of titanium white.  I painted the house using cerulean blue with: 1. cad yellow and white for the roof; 2. cad red and white for the walls and trim.  Finally I added the grass by stabbing the canvas with a small, stiff bristled, straight brush, mixing in sap green, white and raw umber.

My wife calls it the "haunted house."

West Entrance

February 17, 2011 - 24" x 24" Acrylic on canvas (Sold)

No, I haven't switched my medium to stained glass.  This is a painting of the stained glass window in the west entrance of Holy Spirit Church in Sacramento, CA.  I look at these windows every Sunday and I love their design, color and symbolism.  I've thought about doing a painting of one for a long time.  This one will be donated to the Holy Spirit Parish School auction.  The color in the original is better than the image I could capture with my camera.

Unicorn Pegasus and Unicorn Pegasus 2

January 29, 2010 - 11"x14" Acrylic on Canvas Board (Sold and Sold)

I did these two paintings as commissions for a couple very special patrons.  Two of my daughters best friends, Ashley and Sarah.

The both wanted a Unicorn Pegasus, but neither image I had to work with included both.  The one on the right was a picture of Pegasus that Ashley requested, including the rainbow.  I only made minor modifications and added the shrore line on the lower right.

The image on the right started with Sarah's toy unicorn.  The scene is strictly my imagination, then I  placed her unicorn in the foreground and added the wings to create the Pegasus Unicorn.

I'll find out tomorrow if they like them, and I'm a bit nervous.  Adults would tell me they loved them, even if they didn't.  A six and eight year old are a different story...

Cruisin'

January 6, 2011 - 11" x 14", Acrylic on canvas

“Eagles come in all shapes and sizes, but you will recognize them chiefly by their attitudes.”

E. F. Schumacher

This is a project I've had in mind for a long time now.  The goal was to create a card from this that I could send to the parents and players from our U6 soccer team - The Eagles - to let them know how much I appreciate being allowed to work with them over thast year.

The bird comes from a photograph.  The background from my imagination.  I love the result.  I hope the kids like it too.

Madonna

December 21, 2010, - 5" x 5", Acrylic on Canvas Board (Sold)

I had some paint from the Dancer and somehow the colors reminded me of the icon paintings I'd seen when traveling in Russia.  I was also interested in doing another figurative subject.  This is what came from it.  The subject is a Rennaisance painting called the Madonna in Sorrow.  I gave it a bit of a modern twist and it didn't look all that sorrowful, thus a minor name change.

While I was working on it, I was reminded of my Sister Catherine of our parish.  So I decided to make it a Christmas present to her and presented it at Christmas Eve Mass.

The Dancer

December 5, 2010 - 16" x 20" acrylic on canvas (Sold)

I did this painting as a donation to the annual fund raiser/auction for my daughters ballet school, Deane Dance Center.  I've always wanted to paint a dancer, inspired by Edgar Degas.  I've been intimidated when contemplating human subjects, but this may have gotten me beyond that.  I'm very happy with the outcome.

In contrast to my last painting, I used very few paints and almost all earth tones in this painting.  Her skin tones are red oxide, yellow ochre, titanium white and touches of raw umber.  Her dress is  yellow ochre, titanium white and raw umber.  The floor is red oxide, yellow ochre, raw umber and a hint of anthriqinone blue.  The curtain is gold and raw umber.

Girl On A Bridge

November 23, 2010 - 30" x 40", Acrylic on Canvas

This is the largest painting I've done to-date; it took me about three months to complete.  The subject is a from a photo I found on the internet.  The resolution wasn't great, so a lot of the details come from my imagination.

While I used almost every color in my box, I think of this as a study in blacks. There are at least 6 different "blacks", from carbon black in a tube, to multple combinations of different blues (pthalo, cerulean, anthriquinone and cobalt), yellows (cadmium and ochre) and reds (cadmium and oxide). One is actually just a very dark purple, most, under very close scrutiny, are more like a very dark brown or olive green.

Next up, I need to do a couple things for the Deane Dance Center and Holy Spirit School charity auctions

Heliconia

August 14, 2010 - 9" x 12" Acrylic on canvas


This painting is from a photo I took at Waimea Gardens on the North Shore of Oahu last March. The plant is very large and the flower is about seven feet off the ground. It is sometimes called a false bird-of-paradise.

I again used the Liquitex paints and frankly, I can't get used to them. They're thinner than I'm used to and since I don't paint fast, it really thins out on the Sta-Wet Pallette. I'm going back to Golden.

Şanlıurfa

July 28, 2010 - 16" x 20" acryic on canvas (Sold)

I did this painting for my next door neighbors, Steve and Bill. It's from a photo they took on a trip to Turkey. The location is in Urfa (that is Şanlıurfa to you - Atatürk renamed it as "Urfa of the heroes") - it is in the SE region of Turkey, about an hour north of the border with Syria.

This is the first time I've painted a night scene. I'm especially happy with the way the glow around the lights came out. I used titanium white, water and a stiff bristled brush to great the "glow."

I used pthalo blue, red shade and added a little napthol red and titanium white for the sky; the trees are my standard pthalo blue, green shade and cad yellow; the building is various combinations of dialyride yellow, napthol red, yellow ochre, raw umber and titanium white; the deck is mostly pthalo blue, red shade, with a little dialyride yellow and titamium white.

Roxy

June 8, 2010, 16" x 20" acrylic on canvas (Sold)

Another commission from a friend and co-worker, Leigh. This is her dog, Roxy; Half standard poodle and half golden doodle. We struggled for a very long time to get a photo we were comfortable with and we were never satisfied with the background. So, she decided to go for a simple red. The picture was taken outdoors, near midday, so the san is coming almost straight down, just a bit to the left.

On the technical side, the painting only has four different colors: Cadmium Red, Anthriquinone blue, Carbon Black and Titanium White. The background is red with a touch of blue, the dog is blue with a bit of red, and varying quantities of white blended with red, blue or red/blue for the fur. The eyes and nose include black.
Figuring out the fur was the most challenging part of the painting. I ended up using an old, very stiff bristled, straight brush, applied gently in very short strokes. Leigh's very happy with it (and thinking of surprising her husband for Fathers Day. Hopefully he does not visit this blog.)

New England Barn in Autumn

May 26, 2010 - 24" x 30", acrylic on canvas (Sold)


It's been awhile since I completed a new painting. Partly because the rest of my life has been very busy, and partly because this painting has absorbed a lot of time in the details, especially the stone foundation and the trees in the foreground on either side of the barn.

I was given a set of Liquitex, heavy body acrylic paints and chose to use them on this painting. It's probably becauase I'm so used to Golden, I had a hard time adjusting to the properties of the paints and the way they blended, so I ended up redoing a lot of things. But in the end, I'm very satisfied with the result.

Orchids

April 24, 2010 - 9" x 12", Acrylic on Canvas (Gifted)

First, the photo of the painting is not great. I took a half dozen pictures, without flash, and there's still glare coming off of it.

I did this painting as a gift for the Whites. They've been very special in my life over the last 6 months. The image comes from a photo Bill took, of Theresa's orchids.

The background comes from a mix of left over paint from the Japanese Garden painting. I used a large, stiff brush to add strokes of green, pale yellow, dark blue and red. The flowers are medium magenta, dioxazine purple and titanium white.

Japanese Garden

April 13, 2010 - 24"x30" Acrylic on Canvas

This is from a picture of the Japanese Garden at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California (near Pasadena). I was there once, years ago and it's definitely worth a visit.

I love the painting and the photo doesn't totally do it justice. There's so much going on here. And, except for the lake, grass, eucalyptus and willow trees and the flower petals, everything (including the house, bridge, trees, shrubs and rocks) is derived from the same four colors - cad red, cad yellow, pthalo blue and titanium white.

Hawaiian Coast

March 21, 2010 - 8" x 10" Watercolor on Paper

Well, I've proven (to myself at least) that it's true that watercolors are hard. Correcting mistakes is difficult and mid-course changes are near impossible.

I don't love this painting, but thought I'd put it out there in the interest of full disclosure. I think I'll put the watercolors aside until I can get a little more guidance.

Bird of Paradise

March 3, 2010 - 5"x7" watercolor on paper


This is my first experience with watercolors (since elementary school). I was in Hawaii for a week's vacation with my family. My wife wouldn't let me bring my paints. Something about wanting to spend time with me... Anyway, there was a watercolor workshop at the resort, conducted by a local artist named Donald Hall.

I couldn't begin to list the paints used as the palettes were prepared for us. I know we had thalo blue, cad yellow, cad red, lemon yellow and sap green. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine.

Long story short, I really enjoyed it and as soon as I got time after getting back, I purchased watercolor supplies.

Sossusvlei

February 25, 2010, 24"x30" acrylic on stretched canvas (Sold)

This was done as a commission for my boss (also a good friend, but don't tell him). He took the beautiful picture on a trip to Africa. The location is called Sossusvlei, a clay pan in the central Namib Desert, lying within the Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia (according to Wikipedia). It's known for the high, red sand dunes which surround it forming a major sand sea. The trees in the foreground are dead acacia trees, believed to be 900 years old.

The sky is cobalt blue and titanium white. The red sand dunes started as burnt sienna and titanium white. I then added accents of olive green (pthalo blue, yellow ochre and titanium white) and pure burnt sienna. The sand is titanium white, a touch of raw umber and the olive green. The trees are just a mix of all the colors above.

I was surprised by how much I like it and my boss is happy too.

Anitque Glass Bowl With Apples

February 19, 2010 - 11" x 14" acrylic on stretched canvas



I was drawn to the image by the the antique glass and intrigued by the challenge of reproducing those effects in paint. I am really happy with the result.

The apples are primarily cad red, highlighted with cad yellow, titanium white and pthalo blue. The bowl incorporates the same paints with touches of irridescent gold. The background is something of an experiement: I started with a thin coat of carbon black. Then I mixed cad yellow and pthalo blue (heavy on the blue) to get a dark green. I then used a smallish straight edged brush to add thick dabs, alternating green and black.

Tulip II

February 4, 2010 - 8" x 24", acrylic on stretched canvas

Okay, I admit it. I love flowers, plants, gardens, etc. I also love bold color; and few subjects provide the kind of opportunity to explore that like flowers.

The background here is anthraquinone blue with a touch of napthol red. The Leaves are pthalo blue, cadmium yellow and titanium white. The flower petals are Napthol red, titanium white and a touch of anthraquinone blue for shading.

Well this is now gone as I was asked to donate a paiting for a charity auction for my daughters ballet school, The Deane Dance Center and Crockett-Deane Ballet.

Sleeper's Dream

January 25, 2010 - 16" x 20", acrylic on stretched canvas



I did this painting as a commission from a good friend and colleague at work. His last name is Sleeper and the image is from a photo of his boat on Lake Tahoe, from the deck of his vacation home. His self-described "happy place".

The color palette is pretty simple. I used cerulean blue, cad red and titanium white for the sky, dark clouds and water. The bright cloud reflecting the setting sun is dialyride yellow, hansa yellow, napthol red and titanium white.

Tulip and Red Barn

January 16 & 17, 5" x 5" Acrylic on Canvas Board














Work is very busy, so I've had very little time to paint. Over the weekend just passed I had an overwhelming desire, so I grabbed a couple of 5-inch square cards and did these two, somewhat primitive, tiny paintings. The Tulip was done on Saturday and the Red Barn on Sunday. Both were staight from my imagination.

The inspiration for the barn was something I saw on a Second-Saturday Art-Walk in downtown Sacramento on January 9. The artist used a minimum of colors. I only used yellow ochre, raw umber, red oxide and titanium white. The challenge was fun. I might try it on a larger scale soon.

Autumn Country Road

January 10, 2010 - 11" x 14" Acrylic On Canvas


The image is a road in southern Ontario. I love the colors, and the way the road draws you into the scene.

A good friend called and asked if I'd do a painting for a charity auction. I've had this one in my mind for quite some time and was looking for an excuse. This seemed perfect.

I started by blocking the major colors in: the yellow green on the left, the sky, the road, a dark under coat on the right and the mixed trees in the distance. Once I thot that done, I added the tall tree in the foreground and the dark shadows on the road. Next, I got out my number 6 short filbert brush. virtually every tree leaf, the ivy in the right foreground, the leaves on the sides of the road were done with this brush; I darn near wore it out.

I finished by adding the splashes of sun on the roadway.

Garden Path in Spring

January 2, 2010 - 8" x 10", acrylic on stretched canvas


Welcome to 2010.

This was a quick painting I did over the New Years break. I think the rain and fog here in Sacramento lead me to thinking about something warmer and voila.

The sky is creulean blue with titanium white; the trees are magenta, purple (magenta combined with cobalt blue) and titanium white; the grass is a new color for me, green cobalt, to which I added cobalt blue (in the shadows) and white (where the sun lands.) The not-yet-leafing tree in the distance is a comination of yellow ochre, cerulean blue, raw umber and titanium white.

Still Life With Lavender Flowers

December 28, 2009 - 5" x 7" acrylic on stretched canvas


I received some unusual paint colors, along with some small canvases for Christmas and I was in the mood for a little instant gratification. I've been intrigued with creating the image of gathered fabric for a long time. I'm blown away when I see representations of complex fabrics by da Vinci, Rembrandt or Vermeer.

In the portrait of The Girls, I got a start on trying to capture that feeling and was pleased with my first efforts. I kept that up here, but without much "growth" (although the small scale makes detail difficult.)

The colors here are very simple and only include 5 paints (magenta, pthalo blue, titanium white, light turquoise pthalo and cadmium yellow.)

The Girls

December 20, 2009 - "11 x "14, Acrylic on Canvas Board


This work is a commission from a family friend. The girls are close friends of my daughter, their mother is one of my wife's best friends and their father is a good friend and my sponsor through the RCIA program. This is also my first portrait.

The photo was taken at the older girl's "graduation" from pre-school, about June of '08 and is a Christmas gift for their maternal grand parents. The light is coming from behind and their faces are in full shadow.

I presume I'm not the first to talk about the challenges of painting a portrait, as compared to anything else; however, I will take a little space here to do so:

First, since the middle of the 19th century, if you want an exact record of what a person looks like, nothing can compete with a photograph; therefore,

Second, an artist should attempt to capture the emotion or feeling behind the picture, rather than simply reproduce the image. On the other hand,

Third, the image must be recognizable, as the individual, without looking cartoonish.

This is hard and I have a lot of room to grow, but their mom is happy with the picture and so am I.

Rose Studies

October 29, 2009 to November 10, 2009 - 24" x 24" acrylic on stretched canvas


I have struggled with flowers and want to get better. I've scoured the web for photos of roses and rose buds. Instead of painting some smaller studies, I chose to do this exercise on a 24" by 24" canvas, divided into sixteen six-inch squares.

The backgrounds are divided evenly between blues, greens, golds and reds (if you'll buy the purple on the bottom row is a "red").

I did quick, impresionistic style flowers (third row far right), modern style (orange bud on the bottom row, third from the left), detailed images (top and bottom row, far right, Blue Girl Rose and Peace Rose) and everything else I could imagine.

I think I may be ready to take on a bouquet now. We'll see.

Weathered Barn with Sun Flowers

October 26, 2009 - 24" x 30" acrylic on canvas


This is one of the largest paintings I've done to date. I find myself really drawn to the strong colors and simple composition: blue sky; grey/purple clouds, black & white barn and green field.

The image is from a photograph taken near Omaha, NE, south off Interstate 80.

The color pallete is even more limited than may be obvious: cobalt blue, napthal read, hansa yellow, titanium white, carbon black and raw umber. Almost everything contains some cobalt: the sky; the clouds, with some red and a touch of yellow; the gras with varying amounts of yellow and white; and even the barn. Raw Umber makes the barn look a bit more weathered and adds the shadows to the sunflowers.

Red & White Rose

October 10, 2009 - 5" x 5" acrylic on canvas



I had some paint left on my pallet from the lemons and barn, and I had a small canvas board, so I decided to do some experimenting. I covered the board with a dark green (lots of pthalo blue, cad yellow and a hint of cad red) and a few lighter "leaves" (really just two strokes with a number 6 round brush). Once that was dry (about 15 minutes) I began creating circles with a stiff bristle round brush. Just "smooshing" in alternatating bands of napthal red and titanium white; letting the color blend together.

I love it. In fact, the next day I did the same thing (except adding cobalt blue to the red to creat a purple rose) on a piece of card stock and sent it to my siste-in-law for her birthday.

Bowl of Lemons

October 7, 2009 - 8"x10" acrylic on canvas board



I've wanted to do a still life of lemons almost since my first painting. Here it is, and I hope it's not the last.

There were only 5 colors on my pallet: Hana Yellow, Raw Umber, Titanium White, Pthalo Blue and the tiniest dab of napthal red.

The picture came off the internet because I hadn't been able to get a photo I liked. The compositin was great and I thought the bowl itself would be a fun challenge. I only spent about 4 hours on the basic painting and maybe another hour or two making adjustments.