Healdsburg Clock Tower

Acrylic on Panel

No, I never got around to putting the clock-face in. I didn't feel like the rest of it was going well enough to warrant one.

I'm discovering that by using a green I really like, right from the tube, that I'm not getting enough variety in my greens. This is a perfect example of that lazy behavior. I'm gonna try mixing my greens from scratch more often from now on. If I remember.

Far Hill

Acrylic on Panel

I found myself in a landscape setting I was bored with, so instead of painting my immediate surroundings, I picked one distant hill as my subject. It was early in the morning (a time of day I rarely see) so the hills were the same fiery orange they are at sunset, though unlike sunset, they get lighter and brighter as you sit there and you find you're questioning your initial swathes of orange.

Blue Flag

Acrylic on Canvas Panel

It's Abstract Sunday! (though Surreal Sunday rolls off the tongue better).

Copy Study

Acrylic on Canvas Panel

This is a copy (sort of) of someone else's work. It was basically a challenge issued to try and see if their style could be deciphered. Well, even though the colors are pretty close, as is the composition, the brushstrokes reveal the lie. I'm not even close.

I guess you can play Jimi Hendrix's songs, but you can't play 'em like Jimi.

Japanese Tea Garden

Acrylic on Canvas Panel

Again I picked something I thought would be easy and turned out to be far more complex than I thought. That's why I think the sketch worked better. It remained simple and calm.This is a little all over the place with nothing really hitting the mark. I may have to try again.

Tea Garden Sketch

Marker on paper

This will make more sense tomorrow.

I just think this turned out better than the painting.

The Raven

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - SOLD
My driver dropped me off at a nice shady spot across the street from the Raven, and while she went antique shopping, I painted. The light shifted a lot, as expected, but I had a good sketch and could keep in mind where the highlights were when I got started.
The most challenging part, believe it or not, was the color of the sidewalk and street. I know it's grey. I also know it's in sunlight. So it's warm grey, right? And yet I wound up with an orangey putty color. Hmmm.

Garden House

Marker on Paper

It's sketchbook Monday!

A study for a possible painting. I think I may try a few different angles first, though.

Bowling Tree Small

Acrylic on Cardstock

You know I love doing these "after" sketches. Once you've worked out the shapes, colors, values etc. it's really fun to whip another one out while waiting for pasta water to boil. Mmmmm... pasta.....

Bowling Tree Big

Acrylic on Canvas Panel

This is a tree that towers of the lawn bowling lawns in GGP. I wonder how long it's been there.

Any way, it's just one of those things that every time I pass by, I take a snap shot, so it obviously needed to be painted. I think I try a few variations on this.

Gringo Cakes

Acrylic on Canvas Panel

My latest submission for the DSFDF challenge. I had such high hopes for this, but basically wound up with about 30 minutes to get it together. Just glad I even remembered to do that much. Check out the other artist's takes on this. This was one of the tightest assignments and even given the vast array of submissions, they tend to fall into certain patterns, which made me more than a little cautious. They're all great, but what can you do? Karin says it is also the largest outpouring of new contributors, so it's well worth a look.

I've been bad. I've been absent.

I have a volume of excuses, none of which are are interesting or pertinent.

Let's just chalk it up to... well... a lapse. It happens.

I'm back online and with a vengeance.

Gracias, all.