summer solstice

longest day of summer - bit of a hot spell with some leftover morning fog. enjoyed an overnight trip to cuyama - very warm and very different landscape from earlier in the spring.

salisbury ranch poppies, gouache, 3"x5"


I'm also continuing to work on the river project - focusing on some larger oil paintings.

moonrise at cachuma, oil on canvas, 15"x30"

gloomy june

travel and time away from home often mean time away from the studio and painting outdoors. a week in the sierras, opening the cabin, was mostly work - only one small gouache to show for it.

snow bank
3"x6"




this is another image I keep coming back to - old tree stump with a young fir tree growing next to it. I've painted this at least 6 or 7 times.

some some great shows on travel as well - san francisco had the matisse/diebenkorn show at sfmoma - a fantastic, inspiring exhibit, and early monet at the legion of honor (full of surprises and beautiful painting). 
a trip to denver had some surprising, elegant work by mark bradford, a great clifford still exhibit and some wonderful landscapes by both well-known and lesser-known early 20th painters.

coming back to the studio, i had time to work on a couple of starts from last month:

pool at white rock, oil on panel, 8"x10"

ranch view, oil on panel, 8"x16"


still currently on view:

out of place, westmont/ridley-tree museum

easton gallery, final exhibition

out of place

three paintings made it into the annual tri-county juried show at the Westmont-Ridley-Tree Museum. interesting show, with little that could be called representational, but some strong abstract, conceptual and more contemporary pieces. these are my 'out of place' images - all gouache on board.

lompoc train shack, 4"x6" 

sierra resort shack, 4"x6"

salinas pump house, 4"x4"

one never knows how a juror is going to interpret a theme, or whether or not your work 'fits' the theme. I felt these each had a sense of loneliness or abandonment - out of place and out of time.

now the focus is back on the 'river's journey' show - working on some larger oils as well as the usual small gouaches. we had a great overnight trip to cachuma, hoping for a full moon rise (cloudy) but instead had a great boat ride around and saw lots of wild-life.

view from the yurt at cachuma, 3"x5"


but along comes a 'small shack' and it gets my interest, so those will keep coming as well.

honeydew outhouse, 4"x4"

Easton Gallery Final Show

opening reception last night for the final Easton gallery show - terrific turnout -
 so many people coming to see the work, honor Ellen for her years of steadfast support in the arts community of landscape painters and just party. there was so much beautiful, strong and inspiring work throughout the gallery - and so many artists and old friends - it was really special.
Here's a catalog of the work I have up-

Gouache on archival board:

early moonrise, sedgwick, 4"x4" sold

high and dry, 4"x4"  sold

sheideck, amen  6"x4" sold

arroyo hondo, 6"X4" sold

backroad, 6"x4" sold

lifeguard, 3"x6"

november moonset, 3"x5" sold

naples, 3"x3" sold

ellen's garden, 3"x3"  sold

low stream, 3"x3" not available

path, 3"x3"

cloud, 3"x5" sold



oil on panel:

dos pueblos ranch, 10"x20"

sedgwick agave, 10"x10"

new fir, 10"x10" sold

los carneros, 10"x10"

carp salt marsh, 12"x9" sold

oak II, 8"x10"



if interested in purchasing, visit the gallery to see these works until July 30th or contact me.

may days

warmer weather, dry winds - only a bit of moisture from some morning fog. Libby and I worked up at paradise camp next to the river. mountains turning golden already, but water still moving in the upper santa ynez. reports are that it is mostly dry beyond the dam. it was already so hot and dry, the paint dried almost before we could get it on the paper.
Next week we will meet up to camp overnight at Cachuma lake - in one of the yurts - and try to paint the full moon. Should be fun!

some recent gouaches from our 'river's journey' work:

high water mark, 4"x6"

water shed, live oak 6"x4"


Opening reception for the Easton Gallery is on Friday - the work looks good and the gallery is filled with beautiful work from so many wonderful artists.

here's the last painting finished for the show:

dos pueblos ranch, 10"x20" oil on panel

I loved the way this line of trees looked, growing out of a grassed filled gully. The variety was interesting: sycamores, eucalyptus, ash trees and poplars. and that blue ocean horizon with a thin veil of fog.

April's end

nearly the last day of April - a hectic month getting ready for the show at Easton Gallery:

It's such an honor to be included with this group of artists in this beautiful and important gallery. Ellen Easton has been the preeminent supporter of landscape painters in Santa Barbara for so long, with the Oak Group painters and others, as well as publishing 3 beautiful and informative art books, 'Ranchos', 'Gardens of Santa Barbara' and 'the Santa Clara Valley of Ventura County'.

This will be the last show, as Ellen has decided to retire. It will be a grand party to honor her and her long commitment to the local art community.

I'll be showing 6 oil paintings and 11 gouaches. Will depend on how much the wall can hold and still look good. There are well over 80 pieces of work from all the other participating artists - so a rich and varied show!

Reception is on May 5 and the show will be up through July 30.

In the middle of all this preparation, I was able to get to Santa Cruz Island with friends for an overnight camp trip. lots of hiking, lots of photos and lots of island foxes. It was just gorgeous - green grass, wildflowers, beautiful vistas, the air and water -

oil drilling hut
santa cruz island
gouache
4"x6"

old wind mill, santa cruz island

gouache, 4"x4"

Also keeping up painting with the Rose Compass group and our "River's Journey" project. We had the opportunity to paint at Live Oak Camp - normally not open except for groups and events. Lovely to have it all to ourselves.

Plus our Monday painting days have been spent near the River as well. It's a changing environment - still water running in the river toward Cachuma Lake.

clouds breaking up near paradise camp

gouache, 4"x4"

young sycamores

gouache, 3"x5"

One more announcement: my work was chosen for the annual Westmont Museum tri-county juried art exhibit. This year the theme is "Out of Place". Very exciting, as only 52 pieces were chosen from 340 entries. I'll be showing 3 of my 'small shack' series: Sierra Resort Shack, Salinas Pump House, Lompoc Train Shack. You can see these on previous posts. Show opens on May 18, reception from 4-6 pm and closes June 24.

April Fools

Yes - it fools us into thinking it's Spring forever and that the world should always be this green. And that the drought is over.
Nice to have longer day length, warm temps and great days out painting.

Still working on the 'small shacks' in gouache - as well as the watershed project. 

salinas pump shack, 4"x4"

santa ynez pump house, 4"x4"

buell flat rock company - 4"x6"

arroyo hondo shack, 4"x6"

Shows coming up:

SCAPE: Gaviota Coastal Conservancy at the Bacara, April 14-15, 2017

EASTON GALLERY: Final Exhibition, featured artist, May 5 - July 30, 2017

WILDLING MUSEUM: A River's Journey, February 2018

ARCHITECTURAL FOUNDATION GALLERY: Double Vision, Paintings by Libby Smith and Nina Warner, September 2108

And perhaps some other exhibition opportunities in between...