Christmas and New Year's Greetings

India ink, acrylic and gouache on paper

Wishing everyone a joyful Christmas and happy new year.

Tomales Bay

A page from my sketchbook, Size 8x10-7/8", Pencil and watercolor.

Doyle Park Corner

Sold

8"x10"

Oil on Canvas

A study of trees in the neighborhood park.

Oklahoma Red Rock

"Red Rock Canyon"


This is a small painting I did a while back.  It is a view of the sandstone formations in Red Rock Canyon, (located south of Hinton, Oklahoma).  I recently added this painting to my  Etsy store.

A Rainy Afternoon on My Street

Medium:  Oil on Panel,  

Size:  10 x 8"  Sold

Here is another view from my studio.  The day was too wet for outdoor painting, so I did the next best thing from the comfort of my studio, standing at my easel looking out the window. This painting was recently purchased by a local art collector.

Art Notecards on Etsy

If you havn't yet visited my new Etsy store, please take a look at the notecards that I'm offering for sale there. My notecards are...

• quality digital prints of my artwork
• individually signed by me 
• blank inside to write your own message 
• with a matching white envelope
• individually wrapped in a plastic sleeve for gift-giving 
• "affordable art" and suitable for framing

See below some cards that I've listed for sale.  
(Click on each title/link to go directly to the item in my store).

"Bottle and Lemons"

"Gleason Beach Rocks"

"Market Turnips"

My Pocket Drawing Kit

I have always been fascinated to learn about what other artists consider their essential tools to carry with them at all times. Currently, I have been making it a habit to always have a sketchbook and drawing supplies with me wherever I go.  In this post I want to share a little bit about the drawing kit that I have put together and carry with me, and how I use it.

The drawing tools I've selected allow me to make basic monochromatic sketches and drawings which can be developed into more finished pieces later on.  I use pencil, charcoal,watercolor and gauche, which allow me a range of media to capture different transient effects of light and form. At the very minimum, a few quick pencil lines jotted in a sketchbook are of more value to me than a photograph for recording the fleeting impressions that I may later develop into a painting.

My drawing kit consists of a "Moleskine"-type notebook and a small metal tin to hold my drawing tools.  Together these two items easily slip into a jacket pocket or side compartment of a courier bag, etc.

Everything must fit inside this tin, or it stays home.  Since there is no room for pen and ink, I learned that if needed, I can add ink-work to drawings later on at home.

 

Inside:

• 1 small "Altoids" tin with four colors of watercolor pigment 
• 1 tube of opaque white gouache
• 3 "Utrecht" brand travel-type watercolor brushes, sizes 1, 5 and 8
• 4B Conte crayon
• an eraser
• BBB charcoal pencil with pencil holder
• Hardtmuth flat sketching pencil
• No.2 pencil stub

(the ruler is for scale)

The watercolors that I use are sepia, Naples yellow, Venetian red and Payne's gray.  I use colors for laying in cool and warm neutral washes to establish masses, rather than to record particular colors.  Since finding containers and water for brush washing is usually easy, I normally don't carry these, unless I know that I am going to be out in the field somewhere. Drawing and painting away from home still require some planning.

Lanuched my Etsy store!

I have just launched an Etsy store to handle all my on-line art sales!
Visit me at this link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/paletteandeasel to see the wares that I have recently listed for sale.  I will be adding more pieces soon and plan to add note cards and other items that are in the works.

South Jetty Beach

Here's another page from my sketchbook.  This is a view of the dunes on the south jetty of Humboldt Bay on a cool, misty July afternoon.  (My wife and I had just traveled from a part of the country undergoing a massive heatwave and drought).  What a contrast!

Size 8-1/2 x 11"
Watercolor and pencil

Pier 39 Sea Lions

This is from one of my sketchbook pages where, at my wife's request, I did some quick sketches of sea lions that gather around Pier 39 in San Francisco.  It was a while back and the first time that I saw these sea lions.  I was impressed by their interesting postures and movements; not to mention sounds.

Size 8-1/2 x 11"
Ink and Conte crayon on paper

Entrance to Doyle Park

Medium:  Graphite stick on paper
Size:  9 1/2 x 6 3/4"

One of several recent sketches I did of this view for a possible future painting.  Over the summer I have been doing a series of on-site sketches of places that I may later develop into paintings.

Plein air painting of boulders at Spring Lake

"Spring Lake Boulders"
Oil on panel, 11"x14"

Pewetole Island Sketch

Here is an older (circa 2000) watercolor sketch I did of Pewetole Island near Trinidad, CA.  A camera malfunction meant that none of my photos of this scene developed, so this sketch is all I have to record this trip.

New Paintings

I will be showing my new paintings during the month of June at Louies Coffee in Santa Rosa.

"Sunflower Array"
Oil on paper, Size: 12x9"

Mount Olive Tower

"Tower on Mount Olive Drive"
12x9" Oil on Panel

This is a recent painting of an old water tower just up the hill from where I live.  It is one of those interesting buildings that I see every day and think what a good subject it would be to paint.  At the end of April I finally decided to do just that.  I worked from the tailgate of my truck, standing with my easel out in the road. This was the result.

Sketch of Surf at Bodega Head

Ink and sepia wash on paper, 5 1/2 x 8 inches

It was a cold, windy day when I made this sketch of the winter surf at Bodega Head.