Sketch

"Evening Serenity Thumbnail Sketch"

pencil on scratch paper about 2, 1/2 inches high.

This painting, like a lot of my paintings, started out with this small thumbnail sketch in pencil on a piece of scratch paper. I took a look at it a second ago and the drawing is about a little less than 3 inches high. Nothing fancy, no values or detail...just the "map" of what I wanted in my painting. Most of the details are in my head. Some of the details are left vague on purpose so I can make changes and fit in what works for the painting as I go along....sometimes it is nice to be surprised at what the painting creates for the artist. Too much planning can take out a lot of the enjoyment of painting and make it more of a chore so I let some things come as the paintings feel or mood dictate.

Here is the finished painting. I'm pretty happy with it and even though it isn't a small painting it is more what I work on in my normal painting day. Some of the idea for this painting came from the small studies, sketches and works that are on this blog. The small paintings are very important in trying things out, working out ideas and then commiting to larger works.

"Evening Serenity" 24" X 36" Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas

California Spring

"California Spring"

5" X 7" Oil on Panel

From looking at this hear this painting seems to be much larger than it's 5"x7" size. I like squeezing in as much real estate on a small painting to see what the limits are...and I haven't found them yet! I sat down to paint this one using nothing but my imagination. I wanted to paint a scene of what I feel areas of the Central Coast would have looked like before they became settled. I miagine it would have looked much like this scene...wide open valleys splattered with massive eucalyptus trees and poppies lining the valley floors in springtime...a California Spring.

$100.00

Morning Trail

"Morning Trail"

6" X 6" Oil on panel

SOLD
An early morning scene that was inspired by recently viewing the works of the early California Impressionist painters in a book I have. I was fortunate to see some paintings at the Wildling Museum in Los Olivos that were on loan from the Irvine Museum. I'm sure inspiration came from that visit too. One big difference in my work compared to many of those early painters is their use of very thick paint. Seeing the works in person and getting a close up of the brush work and paint thickness was eye opening. You've really got to know exactly what you are doing and where you are going to do it with each brushstroke when painting that thick. This painting isn't in any of their styles but to me has an essence of what they were going for in their work. It's about the color, light and the mood. I think most of their work was really trying to capture the mood in California scenes more than anything. I suppose you would have to live here to look at one of their paintings and "feel" that scene coming to life as you look at it. Like they've just caught something that you have been very familiar with all of your life.

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

A Moment

"A Moment"

5"x7" Oil on panel

This is a great little painting to start off this collection of small paintings. It has the elements in it that I really enjoy painting since moving to the central coast of California. Large dominating eucalytpus trees fading into the distance and large expanses of land not built over like you see down in southern California where I grew up. They had this type of view down there many, many years ago and it's a shame most of it has been lost due to growth and expansion in southern California. Just look at the paintings of the early California impressionsist painters and you can see how they enjoyed painting scenes like this right in the San Gabriel valley where I grew up. You'd be hard pressed to find such an idyllic scene there now. I enjoy seeing views like this a lot where I live now. Whew!

$100.00