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

Going Large

On The Easel This Morning.....

Just wanted to show what some of these small daily paintings lead to. This painting is still being worked on and is not finished. Not all will be used as a reference sketch for larger pieces but some have. This one is one of them. This is a big 22" X 30" piece. I really liked the color combination of the background and dark oak tree. It's a simple composition but to me that simplicity was what enhanced the painting. This one is about mood, atmosphere and color. I'm still working on the grasses and the highlights on the oak tree so it has a few more hours headed it's way.
If you look to the right of the larger painting you can see the smaller original sketch that I worked from. I added some additional background oaks to promote some distance since this would be much larger and have the room for it. I wanted the feel of those oaks being just over the sloping hillside so there are no trunks on them. Overall and with a little more tweaking this should end up pretty well.

***Click on the image for a larger view***

Foxen Canyon Moonrise

"Foxen Canyon Moonrise"

5" X 7" Oil on Panel
I often feel I neglect painting more oak trees in my work so I've decided to do more in the future. There was a painting I've seen by Granville Redmond that he did in the Barbizon style. Unlike his work in later years veering towards impressionism, this painting was as representational as you could get, almost photographic, and the oak trees in that painting are the best I've ever seen painted....past or present.
$100.00

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