Merry Christmas!

"A Tree for Baby Bunny"

May you find joy at Christmas!

Winter Plaid

Watercolor on paper

A page from one of my sketchbooks.

Winter Path

Watercolor and acrylic on paper

December Trees - Spring Lake

Size - 6-1/2x 5"
India ink, walnut ink, pencil and watercolor wash

Calistoga Art Show

"Bell Tower", Oil on Panel, 10 x 8 inches

Currently, I'm showing four recent plein air paintings in a group show at the Bank of America in Calistoga CA from December through February, 2013.

See link for more details: 
   
http://calistogaartcenter.org/firstthursdayartwalk.html 

Petaluma Sketch Crawl

I'm planning to take part in a "sketch crawl" this coming Saturday in Petaluma.  I did this sketch of the Open Door Church during the "Petaluma Sketch Crawl" last December. These events are really helpful for getting out and doing some drawing during a time of the year when I might not do so otherwise.

Update:  This event has been rescheduled for Saturday, December 8th, on account of rainy weather.

Pencil on Sketchbook page
11 x 8.5 inches

Winter Waves

A painting I did a couple years ago of Schoolhouse Beach on a winter day.

Schoolhouse Beach, Oil on Panel, 12" x 16"

Detail view.

Spring Lake Path

Last Light, Bodega Bay

"Last Light" - Oil on panel,  8 x 10 inches

A quick painting I did over the weekend.  A view overlooking Bodega Bay during the last moments of a summer day.  This one was sold directly off the easel to the property owner next door who sees this view from their house.

Another view of Mount Taylor

Here is a painting I did this afternoon at Crane Creek Regional Park.  I have done several paintings and sketches of this view in the last few years.  I keep coming back to it from time to time.

"Mount Taylor", Oil on Panel, 9 x 12 inches

Mount St. Helena

This morning I did a plein air oil painting of Mount St. Helena, as it appears looking across Lake Benoist.

View of Mount St. Helena, Oil on board

I have been planning to do this painting since last May, when I did a preliminary watercolor sketch at the same spot.

Mount St. Helena, Watercolor and pencil on paper, 9 x 12 inches

Note:  Since setting up at this particular spot on the lake shore requires carrying all my paint gear for a twenty minute hike from the parking lot, (and back again with a wet painting in hand), I probably wont be re-visiting this spot again in the near future.

Painting on the Fourth of July

Here is one of two paintings I did at a spot along the Sonoma Coast near Duncan's Cove, yesterday afternoon.  The weather was especially nice for painting.  The wind was calm and the light was perfect. 

"Rock Beach", Oil on Board, 11x16 inches

The spot where I set up my easel.

A Day at the Fair...painting

Last Saturday I took part in the Marin Fair Plein Air Painting Competition.

I found a good spot under some pine trees to set up my easel.

Some stilt-walkers came by,

and the band came by too...

 

...while I concentrated on my painting...

 

...until it was completed.

At the end of the day, I won a merit award and got to meet some new artists who are very talented.

Annadel Path

Watercolor and pencil on paper

Here is a watercolor I did from a photo I took while hiking on a path in Annadel State Park.  This is another one of those studies that I use as a guide for future studio paintings.  I have already started an oil painting of this scene, but decided to do this study to see if I can make some improvements with another version of the painting.  I like the composition of this scene, and think that it is worth while to do more than one version of it.

Scotty Creek

Watercolor and pencil on drawing paper

This is another watercolor from my sketchbook of ideas for future oil paintings.  The sketch is based on a photo I took at a spot on the side of the road (Highway One) where Scotty Creek meets the Pacific ocean.  It was a bright day and there was a lot of reflection from the sand and water.  

Charles Burchfield

Well, I fell behind on posting to my blog last week, so I'm sharing this link to a site that shows some examples of artwork by one of my favorite artist; Charles Burchfield.  I think there is a lot to like about his work and methods.

Charles Burchfield (1893-1967)

Schoolhouse Beach Sketch

Here's another page from a small sketchbook that I carry around. This is a view of cliffs and rocks at Schoolhouse Beach. I drew this while sitting in the truck because it was a windy day.

Clearing Up

Oil on Paper, 8 x 10 inches

This a small painting that I did last spring when the sun finally came out after several dark, rainy days.  I tried to show some of the interesting cloud shapes that were moving around when the cloud cover was clearing up.

Oak Tree Sketches

Here's a set of on-site sketches I did for a painting that I have in mind for the future. An old oak tree would be the central element of the painting.  I did these sketches between late April and early May at about the same time of day to get the same light and shadow effects on the tree trunk and branches.

Woodland Scene

Woodland Scene, Watercolor on sketchbook page, 5x3.5 inches

Something to look at.  A page from one of my sketchbooks.

Studio Tools

In Full Sun

"In Full Sun"

Oil on panel

8x10 inches

This is a plein air study that I did during a walk along the west edge of Annadel State Park.  It shows a mound of brush catching the warm  rays of afternoon sunlight.  I will be glad to see some warmer days like this again.

Picnic Table

Oil on canvas, 8x10 inches

Here is a small painting I did last spring of a picnic table and trees at Spring Lake Regional Park.  In this piece I concentrated on using strong colors and thick paint with minimal detail to show the effect of afternoon light coming through the trees.  (Click on the image to get a closer view of the heavy paint texture).

SMART Train

Last Friday I attended the ground breaking ceremony for the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) Train at the Petaluma station site.  During the proceedings I did a small sketch of the crowd listening to a speech by Sonoma County Supervisor Valerie Brown.  Note the two men wearing hard hats and safety vests in the drawing.

Ponytail Palm

This afternoon while I was waiting for my wife to get home, I did this watercolor and ink sketch of a potted "ponytail" palm. I used a new watercolor sketching kit, based on the one that Sonoma County artist Richard Sheppard showed me during the Healdsburg sketch crawl.

Calistoga Plein Air

This is really old news but...back in October (when I was not keeping up with this blog), I participated in the 1st Annual Calistoga Plein Air Paint Out competition.  The weather was perfect, I had a great time painting and met some really talented artists.  I look forward to taking part again next October.

"City of Calistoga", Oil on Panel, 9x12 inches

On the first day of the two-day event I painted this view of the Calistoga City Hall building.  I spent more time trying to "fix" the palm tree behind the bell tower than on the rest of the painting.

Third Place ribbon

I won third place for this painting.  I was very excited to receive the award.

"Pioneer Park", Oil on Panel, 11x14 inches

On the second day I painted this gazebo in a city park, not far from the City Hall building.

Bodega Head Cliffs

Watercolor and pencil on paper

Here's a small watercolor sketch I did a while back of the cliffs at Bodega Head.  I've tried to show the effect of late afternoon winter light by contrasting the long dark shadows against the bright foam of the surf.

Hogbacks

Late yesterday afternoon I did these two quick drawings in my 3.5 by 5.5 inch pocket sketchbook of the "Hogback Rocks" at Wright's Beach, .  The weather was perfect for plein air painting, considering the time of the year.

Winter Shadows

Duncan's Landing Shadows, 3.5 x 5" sketchbook, December 2011

Duncans's Landing Cove, 11x14", Oil on Panel, January 2009

Duncans's Landing is on of our favorite spots along the Sonoma Coast of northern California.  We have stopped here many times over the years to watch the ocean waves crash on the rocks, or just read and relax here.  By now I have done more than a few sketches and paintings from this spot.  One feature that I have returned to draw and paint is the cliff and beach of the small cove at Duncan's Landing.  Above are two of my attempts to capture the deep winter shadows that are so characteristic of the northern California coast at this time of the year.

Happy Valentine's Day

"Starfish in Love", Chalk on kitchen blackboard

Radio

India ink, reed pen and chalk on wove paper

Often, while painting in my studio, I enjoy listening to the radio, especially whenever I can tune in a good classical music program.  The radio in this drawing is one that I currently have packed away in our earthquake kit.  I also have a vintage Westinghouse transistor radio that I use.  There is a picture of it at La Vie Graphite, from a blogger who shares my interest in radios, as well as manual, portable typewriters, fountain pens (and other writing instruments) and journals.  I really enjoy looking at the photos on his site.

Coffee

Pen and ink drawing in sketchbook, 5.5 x 7 inches

I like to grind coffee beans in this old hand crank coffee mill.  I found it on eBay a few years ago.  Made in Germany during the 1950's; it continues to serve me well each day.  I did a pen and ink drawing of it one of my sketch books.  I didn't leave enough room on the right side to show the knob on the end of the hand crank.