Along Alisal Road

Alisal Trail

18" X 24"

Oil on Canvas

I decided to paint a scene from Alisal Road which leads out of Solvang south to Nojoqui Falls. I have painted here and I like the big clouds that float by over the ridge here. I decided not to include the road in the painting and instead switched it with just  a trail. I'm still at the point of looking at roads in the landscape as pretty boring and not at all as interesting as a trail. Anyway...fun painting to work on.   

Small To Large

Original small painting, 5x7

I did this small painting a while back..last Winter I think. I always liked how it came out and while looking for some other painting I bumped into this one again. After looking at it for a few minutes I decided to try and use it as a reference for a much larger version. Originally it was painted in a vertical format but I wanted to try an do more of a horizontal/rectangle format. In the end I liked that larger version of the painting and was happy I tried to stay close to the look of the small painting. Too many changes would have made the larger one a totally different painting so I'm glad I stayed with what inspired the larger painting.

The smaller version shown with larger 24x30 painting

The larger painting went along really well and was finished alla prima in 3 hours. The only thing in the larger painting I really changed was lightening the grass and bush. I also added trunks and small branches to the bush this time. It's a nice typical fog clearing morning in the Santa Ynez valley.

Hillside Bouquet

"Hillside Bouquet"

6" X 8" Oil on Canvas
Winter naturally brings on thoughts of Spring so I suppose that's where the thought process began for this piece. A gentle hillside meadow covered with random Spring flowers, some green left in the grasses before Summer takes over. A very common sight along the mountainsides of the valley here.

Valley Grasses

"Valley Grasses"

6" X 8" Oil on Panel
A quick one painted this morning. I like the summer colors in late afternoon light and miss seeing them now that Winter is here. I used this painting to play with color and try a few things out...nothing serious just little things. Fun little painting to work on today.

Summer Moonrise

"Summer Moonrise"

5" X 7" Oil on Panel

Using the same mixed palette from the previous painting below I did a quick painting of the same theme. This time adding the trail and altering other elements of the scene. I like the variation between the two paintings and I like the higher background on the panel. I also like the addition of the rocks placed randomly on the foreground. The mountains around Santa Ynez seem to grow rocks so this is actually a more fitting view of the Santa Ynez Valley floor along the foothills.

$100.00

Santa Ynez Evening Trail

"Santa Ynez Evening Trail"

5" X 7" Oil on Panel
This actually is not a new painting. This one sat next to my easel for a long time. It didn't have the eucalyptus trees painted originally, just that back row of yellow green trees and looked boring. I decided to take it back to the easel and add the eucs for a little more contrast in the overall painting. I love the trail leading into the painting and I think the added trees give the painting a little more depth as well as some stronger contrasting colors.
I like the painting much more now so I'm glad to have given this little guy time to sit while I glanced at it over and over trying to decide how to improve it. I'm happy with it at this point.

Road to Foxen Canyon

"Road to Foxen Canyon"

6" X 6" Oil on Panel
This little downhill is actually a paved road but I wanted dirt...and it's my painting so you know how that goes. On the left-hand side at the bottom of this road is the Firestone Vineyard...yep, the tire company. On the right-hand side and up just a bit is the Fess Parker Vineyard...yep, Daniel Boone...well, Disney's Daniel Boone. He recently passed away and that was a shame because he was a very well respected man around here. Mention Fess Parker and you bring a lot of smiles to a lot of people. I like this view over Foxen Canyon. If you ever get a chance to drive through Foxen Canyon it is well worth the trip.

$115.00

Moonrise Near Adobe Creek

"Moonrise Near Adobe Creek"

6"x 6" Oil on Panel
Another view over my neighbors field. The distant mountain range are the Figueroa mountains. In the mornings I can see the grasses on them but by late afternoon they turn some very wonderful colors of blue....the clouds pink up and it makes for a very nice time of day.

$115.00

On The Easel

"At The Foothills"

24" X 36" Oil on Canvas
I've been working on this piece for the last 3 days. This is a scene at the foothills along the north side of the Santa Ynez valley. The mountains are the Figueroas and are about 10 minutes from my house. I did this painting from a reference photo I took in the evening about 2 years ago. I love the warm earth tones you get in the evening, probably my favorite light. This painting is at the stage where I have called it "done" which means it will sit for the next 2 or 3 days and I'll take another look to see if there is some part of it that could use a touch up.

Mustard on Chalk Hill

"Mustard On Chalk Hill"

5" X 7" Oil on Panel
At the end of our street is a field that looks south across the Santa Ynez Valley. The view from the Chalk Hill area is one I have really grown to love. When the weather changes I am never far from my camera. The changes in weather or in seasons usually bring awesome vistas over the valley. This scene was back at the beginning of Spring when the mustard began to bloom here in California. This years mustard was incredible and even the drive along the freeway was a steady stream of mustard and other wildflowers.

Hills Above Cachuma

"Hills Above Cachuma"
5" X 7" Oil on Panel

Another scene from my hike up in the hillsides above Cachuma lake in the Santa Ynez valley. I was fortunate enough to go there as the spring wildflowers were in full bloom. They created a wonderful carpet of color on the light brown grasses. My goal here was to capture the closer flowers, and using aeriel persepctive, push the distant ones back. This would add the depth to the painting that is seen here.

$100.00

Summer Grasses

"Summer Grasses"

6" X 6" Oil on Panel

A study of grasses in summertime nudging the edge of a hillside oak. I like using yellow ochre and love it's wonderful earthy tone to warm a scene up. Once I discovered how nice it makes earthy greens for oak trees I began to use it a lot. You can get some wonderful variety in warm greens using yellow ochre.
$115.00

Over Chalk Hill

"Over Chalk Hill"

6" X 6" Oil on Panel

This scene is practically right in my backyard...it's my neighbors backyard. I saw this scene in late afternoon yesterday as some of the clouds were blowing out of the valley headed for the San Joaquin valley inland. We always get great clouds here blowing in from Pacific storms out at sea. It's always a treat to see them heading across the valley moving inland especially in late afternoon light.

Lupine and Poppies

"Lupine and Poppies"

5" x 7" Oil on panel

Spring along the Central coast of California brings an abundance of lupine and California poppies. These wildflowers grow along the hillsides and valleys giving color to the landscape and drive artists and photographers into a frenzy. The Santa Ynez valley gets it's share of these beautiful small plants which are always fun to capture on the canvas.

$100.00

"Springtime"

6" X 6" Oil on panel

I was driving in the Figueroa mountains a few weeks ago and couldn't help but enjoy all of the plants along the road in bloom. I'm not sure what this plant is called but it had these really nice looking purple flowers. The grasses around the plant were plattered with tiny yellowish gold flowers and there were billions of them. What a great day to be out on a mountain drive.

$115.00

Valley Oak

"Valley Oak"

5" x 7" Oil on Panel
More of the ever present oak trees familiar to the California landscape. Oak trees are pretty fun to paint. They have a very common shape which is somewhat an oval with large clumps jutting out...like layering snowballs on top of each other. Oaks have great shadows too especially in late afternoon. From the road along the ridge of Foxen Canyon you can see oaks sprawled across the hills at the base of the Figueroa mountains...it's a great sight.
$100.00

Santa Ynez

"Near Santa Ynez"

5"x7" Oil on panel

"Artist License"...I love taking liberty of that rule in art. Artist License allows an artist to change, adjust,edit, omit, add...you get the idea, any part of a painting as they choose in order to make a painting work better. I took it here omitting many of the ranch fences and buildings you see in our valley. I like that wide open space feel in a valley scene so you do what works.

The Santa Ynez valley is really a beautiful place located just above Santa Barbara. Originally the Chumash Indians inhabvited the valley and mountains surounding it....then came the missionaries and the rest of the world after that. Today it is mostly horse ranches, vineyards, farming and a few small towns so it's pretty laid back still.

$100.00