Blue Chairs

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 8 x 10 inches - sold

Another sketch from my trip up North. My niece Isabel was painting with me and dad, and she asked if I was finished and if I liked this one. I said it was really just a sketch, and that though I was done, I didn't really like it all that much. She said that she did and asked to take it home. How could I say no.

Jazz Mood II

Acrylic on Cardstock - 4 x 6 inches

After finishing the previous two "jazz" paintings, I still had a little paint on the palette and decided to go for another while the mood was on. This one I did with a cheap and plentiful art tool... one of the many business cards I have lying about.

The stabbing and slashing motion of the card seemed to fit with the rhythm of the music better than a brush might. I don't know how one would attempt this at a larger size, but for a postcard it was ideal.

E.S.P.

Acrylic on Cardstock - 6 x 4 inches

This is the companion piece to Madrone Jazz II, painted for the Daily Paintworks' challenge.

I did this in the middle of working on the other piece, as a sort of break, but also so that I'd be full into the moment of the piece of music.

When the album came around the second time, I swapped in this postcard and basically went to town with the color I was already using, keeping the theme of "hot" jazz and a hot club.

Madrone Jazz II

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 8 x 10 inches -   SOLD

This is a two-parter for the Daily Paintworks challenge. This week's theme is "The Color Of Music" where one is supposed to interpret a piece of music through use of pigment and rhythm of brush strokes.

Well, I did two. This one is the first, which is another view of the band I painted a while back. They were playing a smokin' hot version of E.S.P. from Miles Davis' album of the same name. I put that album on while painting this, natch.

I was gonna try the Andy Warhol thing of playing just one song over and over again, but I was not alone and figured no one else would find the experiment that interesting.

Bar Butterfly

Acrylic on Canvas - 18x18 inches - Click Here to Buy

Just finishing last week's Reflections Challenge from the Daily Paintworks. I found from painting the red bowls a week or so ago, that I do actually like working big. It took a while to get used to the amount of paint needed (and I'm still getting used to it) but I like being able to do big gestures with the brush strokes and stay away from the tiny brushes.

This painting is three times larger than the objects themselves. Someone walking by observed my progress only later to return and remark, "Oh, I didn't know they were so small."

Flamingo Farm

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 8x10 inches -   SOLD

We stumbled upon this series of old buildings and ancient equipment well off the beaten path. A much quieter spot than yesterday. The color of the unknown vehicle in the middle was a really unusual flamingo color and immediately drew me in.

As an added bonus, my 9yr old niece joined us for the afternoon and she painted her own version. And she prefers oils – just like grandpa.

Wine Country Victorian

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 8x10 inches - Sold

My dad and I set up by the side of the road, in the shade to paint a view of this great house. Turned out to be a really noisy road with a lot of big rigs ploughing through. We came up with very different paintings, which is always great to witness. I'll post a link to his if it ever makes it's way online.

Sigh. I'm already missing my week in Sonoma, now that I'm back in fog town.

Jill's Barn

Acrylic on Canvas Panel Ω
Had the opportunity to get out of town for a bit and head up North. This is a view near my folks' place, so the master himself has painted this often, so I thought I'd give it a go on my first day out.
It turned out OK, but confirmed that I'm having real trouble with my trees and not creating enough interesting or accurate colors there. I thought I was mixing wildly different tones here, but it just looks lazy and all too similar. Likewise with the brushstrokes.

Fairfax Revisited

Acrylic on Canvas Panel

I think is a better example of what I was trying to explain yesterday. The original was too blue throughout and now has areas of warmth and light.

Shadow Barn (update)

Acrylic on Canvas Panel

I found this old sketch in the pile while I was cleaning up today, and thought it looked too cool throughout. (originally posted in May 2209). I still had paint on the palette from yesterday, so I set about warming up the areas in direct sunlight.

The color isn't quite right, but the feel and tone seem much better.

It's really frustrating when something isn't working out towards the end of a session. You really just want the pain to end. But coming back to something that didn't work out is actually kinda fun.

Pool Garden 3

Acrylic on Canvas - SOLD
By making the colors a bit richer, especially in the paving, it lets the truly bright whites stand out a bit more. Still not sure I've sorted out the balance of foreground/middle/background. I know that using bigger looser brush work on the back should help, but not sure it's really working here, again, because of the lack of a strong focal point.
I know, I know. I could just add a figure, or a unicorn. A happy fuzzy unicorn. That's what Bob would suggest. I'm just not that guy.

Pool Garden 2

Acrylic on Canvas - 9 x 12 inches Ω
I decided to change the angle a bit, since all my reference photos turned out that way. I'm struggling to find a balance where the background is out of focus and not grabbing attention. However I realize I don't really have a focal point, so this makes it a bit difficult.
Also a challenge is the color of the cement. I know that it's a rich terra cotta, but it was such a sunny afternoon that it really looked pale and bright. Overall, I think the colors became a little too muted (especially compared to the initial sketch).
I'm going to give this another round. Stay tuned.