Water Street Alley - Petaluma

Water Street Alley seen from across Petaluma Boulevard.

The week before last, while visiting a downtown coffee shop, I decided to sketch the wall in the alley across the street.  I wanted to see how well I could render textures of stone and brick with a fair amount of detail.  The challenge was to keep the line-work from becoming too "busy".  Not sure how successful I was, as there is always a fine balance between having too little, versus too much, detail in a drawing. Getting that balance right is something I work at continually.

Crane Creek Dry Season

Here's my painting of a dry stream bed at the northern boundary of Crane Creek Regional Park. Based on photos, pencil sketches and watercolor studies done on the spot during several visits to the park during late summer.   

"Crane Creek Dry Season" - Oil on Panel; 11x14 inches

Schoolhouse Beach, Again

Here is a sketch of Schoolhouse Beach done over the weekend.  Maybe an idea for a future painting.

Pencil on paper, 3.5" x 10.75"

Benicia Boatyard

A plein air painting I did of the Benicia Boatyard showing the Carquinez Strait in the background.

Oil on wooden panel; 8 x 16 inches

Recent Sketchbook Drawings

I have been making an effort to do more sketching as the opportunities arise, and then post them to this blog when I have filled a few pages in my sketchbook with drawings I think people might want to look at.  Here are some below:

"View of Baker Street in Petaluma, CA"

"Calm Day at Doran Beach, Bodega Bay, CA"

"Morning Shadows, Three Rivers, CA"

"Hillside, Three Rivers, CA"

"View of the hills, Three Rivers, CA"

A New Card Design

Since I have not posted anything in a while, I've uploaded this greeting card design that I worked on several months ago.  This is from a house plant we received and it was something handy for me to sketch at the time.  Later I worked it up into this watercolor design.  Shown below is my work area where I painted multiple versions of this card.  Hope to do more of these types of projects in the future.
 

The Gift

A simple still life arrangement with sparing uses of color; the flowers were a gift to my wife.

"The Gift" - Oil on Panel; 10x8 inches

View of Vineyards from Shiloh Ranch

Here is a new painting based on a pencil sketch that I did several years ago, while exploring Shiloh Ranch Regional Park in Sonoma County, California for the first time.  The view overlooks a vineyard that is adjacent to the park.  I kept the high-voltage transmission pylons in the background because  they add an element of linear perspective.

"View from Shiloh Ranch Park", Oil on canvas, 8x10 inches
Price: $400

Still Life Painting with Blue

Here's a recent still life composition that I completed at the end of April.  In this piece I limited colors to blues and neutral tones, while adding an accent of orange for interest.

"Teapot with Blue",  Oil on panel, 10 x 8 inches, 
Price: $400

Rain

This afternoon I did this sketchbook watercolor of the clouds and rain showers that moved through Sonoma County this afternoon.

Watercolor; 6 x 9.5 inches