open space

good to be back out painting locally - it's cooler, with morning marine layer, near the beach and inland with all the fires - now in clean-up stage - it's downright hot and muggy. so rather than going to the watershed, we checked out a new spot, arroyo burro open space park. 

We started early and fog moved out as we worked, so I tried to get 2 quick studies done.

hazy morning, arroyo burro,  9"x12" oil on panel

mid-day, arroyo burro, 8"x10" oil on panel

summer mid-july

summer and it's attendant behaviors - fire, heat and wind. 
spent some time in the sierras - a bit of painting time and just being in the forest. some quick oil studies at 9000' in the high country.

old forest service cabin, kaiser ridge
oil on panel 
5"x7"

old man tree
oil on panel
5"x7"

early moonrise, smokey sky 
oil on panel 
5"x7"

pine point, from the lake
oil on panel
5"x7"








and a small gouache of a local boat rental shack:

boat shack, 
gouache on paper
4"x6"





I have some work up in the annual Semana Nautica art show at the Cabrillo Arts center, juried by Ralph Waterhouse. I won an honorable mention for 'beached boat'.
This show will be up through July 30.

beached boat, gouache on paper, 3"x6"

low tide, haskell's beach
gouache on paper 
3"x4"

mendocino coast, gouache on paper, 4"x4"



The Easton Gallery will close at the end of the month - current show on view until July 30 

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.