Gringo's Still Painting

Joy Ride

2012-02-02T13:29:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches - Click Here to Bid

This week's Daily Paintworks Challenge is the The Wheel Challenge. I tried to capture the blurred motion in this photo I took, without resorting to dry brush techniques, and just stick with laying on paint.

Porch Sit

2012-02-01T16:18:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Panel - 5 x 7 inches - NFS

I'm fallen behind again, but I did pick a photo for last week's Daily Paintworks Challenge: The Seated Figure Challenge. Dana Cooper had some good pointers which were helpful in mapping out the bigger shapes. It worked pretty well, but I still didn't get the proportions quite right.

City Hall

2012-01-19T13:47:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Panel - 5 x 7 inches - Click Here to Bid

I've had a photo of City Hall that's been in my "on deck" pile for ages. I spent a while trying to figure out how to crop it, because I was struggling with a horizontal view. Then I thought why no focus in on the most interesting part, and change the crop to portrait? Turned out to be the right question.

My dad noticed I tend toward vertical compositions, and I'd never noticed it before. His thought was that I had heard that verticals sell better. I assured him this was not the case. I think it's because I've spent so much time designing magazines. We may never know.

I picking up my rhythm again. I stayed nice and loose for this, but was still a bit stingy with the paint. These heavily textured cotton canvas panels really show through. I think that's why I like the smoother panels. Even with a thin application, there's no ground texture to poke through and distract. I'm really just using up a whole bunch of little panels I bought a year ago, while I get back into the swing of things. I'm supposed to be working bigger now anyway!

Tangerine Tango – Bonus Post

2012-01-17T12:28:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Panel - Dimensions to be determined

This is a sketch for a larger installation I'm planning for some large and important museum. I tried not to over think the piece. In fact I tried to not use any part of my brain other than the parts that regulate breathing and basic motor skills.

For the benefit of the museum director, and the public at large, I will write up some heavy treatise on what this piece means and it's significance in the history of modern art. Then again, I may just "borrow" a treatise from some other catalog, or clip something out of Art News.

This is how I'm imaging the final piece, though I may make it a bit larger if I get more funding than I'm counting on. I'm hoping this show is a hit, because I think I could bash out a hundred or so of these a week, in different colors too. Then I can finally retire and quit all this struggling.

Oh, and be sure to tell me if someone's already done something like this. I can just "borrow" their statement.

(by now you've hopefully guessed that my only new year's resolution was to celebrate April Fools day on January 17th this year. If you still don't think this is a joke, you can contribute any amount to my paypal account).

Kyoto Gateway

2012-01-17T10:25:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Panel - 5 x 7 inches - Click Here to Bid

The latest Daily Paintworks Challenge was issued Sunday, and I had completed mine by Monday night. I've got the whole week to slack off now. I mean paint other things. Ahem.

This week's challenge is "the Color of the Year" based on Pantone's choice of Tangerine Tango. I was a little off, because the swatch below is a little off, and my other monitor is way off for reds and oranges. In any case, I knew I had this photo from my last trip to Japan, and I was about to prime some panels with a wash or orange anyway. I tried to let the orange show through in spots, but except for the arch itself, I compulsively filled in every other spot.

You can read more about Pantone here.

Breakfast

2012-01-15T13:10:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Panel - 7 x 5 inches - Click Here to Bid

More playing catchup with the Daily Paintworks Challenges. This past week's assignment was to paint your breakfast. I had just finished preparing my breakfast when I read about the challenge, so before I could think of some clever spin on breakfast (pizza) I just snapped a shot of what was before me and painted it later in the week.

The ugly triangle is actually a slice of frittata, and the other things are strawberry slices and a fork. I can't decide which is the worst side effect of taking too much time off from painting, remembering how to paint, or remembering how to see. I felt totally lost doing this, and you can tell how unsure I was, because the paint is really thin (you can see the texture of the canvas poking through everywhere).

I didn't make any New Year's resolutions, but that's still no excuse for slacking off. I will try to post more regularly, just as soon as I ...

Baby Blues

2012-01-06T14:40:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Canvas - 18 x 18 inches - Click Here to Bid

Still playing catchup with the Daily Paintworks Challenges. This week's assignment is to Change the Colors in a painting. I'm not sure I kept completely with the theme, now that I've gone back and re-read the instructions, but I think I met the spirit of the challenge. I painted directly over my last entry of the red shoes, which I didn't really like anyway.

I decided to change to a pair of blue suede shoes in honor of the King's birthday on Sunday. I actually have a pair like this, but I tried to just use my imagination for coming up with the color change and style change (no laces). I was hoping to let a little of the red show through for a bit of sparkle, but I have some sort of compunction to fill everything in!

I also picked some random colors for my palette that Santa had brought me; green gold, hansa yellow, medium violet, transparent yellow iron oxide, and good old ultramarine blue.

Pagoda Reflections

2011-12-16T14:43:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Panel - 8 x 10 inches - Click Here to Bid

Finally caught up, with the challenge assignments. This week's challenge is "Reflections on Water."
I'd painted this scene before, though much smaller and more quickly. I also put the pedal boat in this time, though I moved it to the right a bit for a better composition.

Red Shoes

2011-12-06T15:29:00.001-08:00

Acrylic on Canvas - 18 x 18 inches - Click Here to Bid

Another Daily Paintworks Challenge – "Paint Your Shoes" – and even later than the last one. I'm really falling behind.

Toast Time

2011-11-28T10:34:00.001-08:00

Still Life - Acrylic on Panel - 8 x 10 inches - Click Here to Bid

I'm running far behind in the weekly challenges, but I did a rough sketch of this so I went ahead and painted it anyway. Its for the "Paint Your Toaster" challenge, and this is my toaster. Toaster oven.

As Alton Brown says, there should only be one single function item in your kitchen and that's the fire extinguisher - everything else needs to multi-task.

I didn't think painting a shiny metal box would be any fun, but it was.

Yellow Cafe

2011-11-17T09:42:00.001-08:00

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches - Click Here to Bid

A little late on last week's challenge, but since I'd sketched it out loosely already, I just went ahead and painted it. Tried to stay loose, and realized while doing this that it's easier to stay loose if there aren't so many dang people in the scene. I completely ignored a lot of the ones in the shadow, but there's still too many people for my taste (or laziness).
Too keep it from getting to frantic, I decided to use a fairly limited palette, and yes, I included black. I try not to use black, but I find it almost essential when painting from someone else's photos.

Falta School

2011-10-31T20:32:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 10 x 12 inches - SOLD

The last of my on-site sketches from Sonoma, this is an old schoolhouse that apparently isn't used for much of anything anymore. I kinda ran out of time on this one, but then lunch waits for no man.

O.J.

2011-10-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches SOLD

I took a photo of this truck from the neighborhood a while ago and have been itching to paint it. It's amusing to me how many old faded trucks are in the neighborhood, because it's a subject I usually find in paintings from Sonoma. Go figure.

I'm not updating auctions this week, because I have a joint show with my father this weekend.
Posting and shopping will resume next week.

Copper Wave

2011-10-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Cardstock - 6 x 4 inches

Just a quick sketch while cleaning up.

Beach Set

2011-10-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Panel - 8 x 10 inches - Click Here to Bid

Did I mention how much I prefer painting clothing than nude figures. I thought I'd take some of my new knowledge about road surfaces to try and paint a beach scene. Since I was actually at the beach the other evening, I thought a backlit figure might be nice and took a few snaps. What I liked about this one was the dark figure on a barely there simmering beach with just a hint of the sun on the very top edges of the body.

I could see it so clearly in my head. A simple plain, a dark shape and a sliver of bright white between then. Oh, how deceptively simple. I had the figure near dark walnut and that seemed wrong because then there was not enough differentiation between the back and the hair. Then I made her lighter, but then there wasn't enough contrast between the figure and the highlight or the beach. I'm not kidding, but I think I went back and forth a dozen times. And it's still not right, but I got tired of struggling.

A few things I started to notice, as with the road surfaces the other day, was the subtle colors within what I thought was one color. The blues in the flesh turned furthest away from the sun, the red reflected up from the towel. Yet every time I put a hint of that in, it looked like way too much. It really helped in rounding the figure but I just couldn't abide such shocking color. Why is that?

Sixteenth Street

2011-10-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Panel - 11 x 14 inches - SOLD

Back to new paintings...

This is from a reference photo I took while going down one of the many hills on 16th Street, heading back from Portrero hill.

I've been having a color problem with street surfaces lately, and this is a good example. Streets are paved with a material that is mostly gray, so streets are grey. However they are lit by the sun for they should be warm. So, they're tan. Except in the shadows, where they're blue. Argh.

I stood on the hill for a while and started seeing all sorts of colors up and down the hills in SF (which as you may know are often not parallel to the horizon). As clouds came and went and the sun darted in and out, I saw all sorts of colors. It almost looked funny. I mean, to have a long held belief that asphalt and concrete are grey, and then to be presented with such a range was kinda mind melting.

I think I managed to incorporate some of that here. The photo's not the best capture of the painting, and it looks completely different on three different monitors here. (Fully saturated colors are pretty easy to calibrate on screen, but these subtle shades are much harder and look very different when the shift by a few degrees).

Out Barn version

2011-09-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

updated version

Acrylic on Panel - 7 x 11 inches - Click Here to Bid

Another before/after. Not so wildly different this time, but I did want to try and warm things up. I thought I'd exaggerated it quite well, but now looking at the photo, it still looks kinda wintery. Hmmmm.

Kyoto Tea Garden

2011-09-28T18:51:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches - SOLD

In Northern California the things that change color from season to season do so in a different way, and it's different every year. I couldn't find any inspiration in my neighborhood, but I did dig up this pic from my last trip to Japan. They really enjoy orchestrating their tea gardens to showcase the seasons wonderfully.

Moore's Barn Revisited

2011-09-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches - Click Here to Bid

I did this in the field while I was at a workshop with Tim Horn last year. I had forgotten to bring any real warm colors and though all the oil painters generously offered tubes, I just had to muddle on as best I could.

Today, I came across this in the back hallway and thought I'd try adding the warmth of a hot day in Sonoma, from memory! Well part memory, part theory and part fantasy. I don't think it's as strong a rendering in some ways, but it definitely reflects the feeling of warmth and atmosphere.

While I'm on a roll I may try a few more of these "updates".

Page House Blues

2011-09-24T12:01:00.001-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas - 18 x 24 inches - SOLD

Found the original postcard I did for this piece and found I liked it better. Maybe it's the tone. That darkness that gives it a real mood. (enter "page house" in the search to find previous versions).

In any case I decided to try again, painting right on top of the old one. I also took out the second car. It just seemed unnecessary and constricting.

Winery Truck

2011-09-20T15:39:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches - SOLD

Last night I had a dream where a voice was telling me to use just the big brushes. Was it my subconscious? A muse? Who can say, but the message stuck with me today, on the last day of my trip.

I picked this scene at Lambert Bridge because it had a little bit of everything, and because I could set up in the shade. I sketched in the composition quickly, and then mixed up some puddles and just started slapping it on with the No. 10 brush (almost an inch wide). This way it really came together quickly and when I want to change something, I could do such just a quickly.

I'd already learned this before, usually toward the end of a good solid patch of painting, and yet I keep forgetting it. After a long break from painting, I come back with some odd obsession with little brushes and detail. Not sure why that happens, but I'll have to keep my eye on that.

Tool Tip: I was looking at iPhone apps the other day and found one called Digital ViewCatcher. I haven't explored all the features yet, but I did use it for the sketch on this piece. It let me set the canvas at 9 x 12 and then drag around to crop it just they way I liked. Then I allowed me to impose a grid overlay, which really made transferring this as my initial sketch really easy. Perhaps too easy. Hmm...

Pool View

2011-09-18T15:35:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches - SOLD

I always manage to fit in another view out by the pool. What can I say. It's a great place to hang out, even if you are painting. I am at least learning from past mistakes here.

For instance, I left out the fence until the very end. Usually I put it in right away and struggle around it and fuss over it the whole time. My plan was really to leave it out completely, like I wound up doing in the garden painting I posted earlier. However when I started to pack up, I thought I'd just indicate a few posts and rungs, and wipe 'em out if I didn't like 'em. Guess I liked 'em.

Winery Hills

2011-09-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches - Click Here to Bid

Another typical criss-crossing series of hills. I seem to paint this every time I go North, but I think I'm getting a little better each time. It's just very frustrating to find yourself making the same mistakes again and again.

Annadel House

2011-09-14T15:26:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches - Click Here to Bid

Well, I managed to include more of the landscape. Ha. I guess I just really wanted to paint architecture, or more accurately, the play of light and shadow on a sunny day in Sonoma.

This is such a great property, I could paint here every day for a month.

Annadel Cottage

2011-09-12T15:21:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches - Click Here to Bid

Dean and Abigail at Annadel EstateWinery generously let my father and I tour their property and set up anywhere we liked. For some reason I chose to focus in quite narrowly on one outbuilding. We're coming back tomorrow, so maybe I'll include a little more of the landscape then.

Garden Path

2011-09-10T14:21:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches - SOLD

I recently got a chance to go up to wine country for a break, so sunnier images for the time being. You can feel the Summer coming to an end, but there's still plenty of blooms about.

Carol Marine II

2011-09-04T22:14:00.001-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 8x8 inches - (Bid here)

On review, I immediately knew how to fix this portrait. I mapped out my plan, set aside some time an charged right in. And then I made it worse. Horribly worse. Ugh.

Then I waited a few days and tried again. Even worse. Why couldn't I remember everything I'd learned about painting the figure from Craig Nelson and the many books I've read. Who knows.

Since I had nothing to lose, I thought I'd give it one more go. I did the upside down technique, which really helped me see the shapes, and tried to keep more color in the flesh that the white I thought I was seeing.

I think this did in fact turn out better, but what a struggle. Can't wait to paint some trees and barns again soon.

Bike Train Girl Vexes Me

2011-09-01T19:56:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 18 x 24 inches

I posted a version of this ages ago, and wasn't too keen on the results. I mean, I know so much more now and thought I could show off. Boy was I wrong. I did learn a lot the hard way, by redoing this, but I just couldn't make any real progress. I actually think I like the original better at this point. Argh! The streamers are a nice touch though (and were in the original source photo).

Carol Marine

2011-08-17T15:25:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 8 x 8 inches - (destroyed)

For this week's Daily Paintworks Challenge, David Maine declared an open challenge in honor of his wife Carol's birthday. I know Carol likes square canvases, so I went with that, and I hunted down a mugshot I hand't seen before.

I'm not really strong on portraits, but this one seemed to just "happen" and I'm not sure why. Must be birthday magic. I hope you-know-who likes it. Ahem.

Eel Mare

2011-08-16T21:02:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Cardstock - 6 x 4 inches

Another stream of consciousness image for my friends at Post Card Arts Gang. I was trying to see if I could create a lyrical expression with just two colors. First the paint went on in dabs, but then some brushstrokes displayed direction and motion, so I just followed that and expanded from there.

Bunny Ears

2011-08-14T20:58:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches

My mother has such a great garden, but one of the big hits this year is this little pot of "Bunny Ears". What I like most about them is the way they look when lit from behind. I tried to capture that, but I feel I fell a little short. Still, I like the looseness of the background.

Blue Chairs Again

2011-08-12T20:55:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches - sold

For some reason, the last blue chairs piece was quite popular. Someone asked me if I'd do another one, and luckily I was up North again this past weekend and did another one. As it goes with these things, I don't think it's as good, but we'll see what the market says.

As with the last one, my favorite part is not the chairs, but rather the shadows on the roof.

Blue Glass

2011-08-11T20:52:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Cardstock - 4 x 6 inches

When I'm not downing the pomegranate juice, I enjoy the occasional glass of Blue Sky soda. It's hard to find, but it's just like drinking a blue popsicle. Yum.

Lava Java

2011-08-09T20:31:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Cardstock - 4 x 6 inches - Click Here to Bid

This weeks challenge from the Daily Paintworks is to paint your favorite mug for your morning coffee. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not a morning person until I've had my coffee, and I don't drink coffee. So here's my favorite drinking glass brimming with pomegranate and what appears to be lava. Full of antioxidants and brimstone.

Flower Box

2011-08-05T20:47:00.001-07:00

Acrylic on Cardstock - 4x6 inches - Check back soon for auction info. SOLD

My latest submission to the Daily Paintworks Challenge. This week's theme is taking a black and white image and interpreting a black and white photo and rendering it in color, focusing on values.

Plants are green, pots are terra cotta and scenes outside the window are blue and green. Or are they?

I went a little wild with my interpretation, but then, that's what I like to do. I feel like I got the values right and in fact not too far off from scenes I've seen and experienced. I think.

Blue Chairs

2011-07-26T15:34:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-21T20:02:00.001-07:00

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.

2011-07-19T17:30:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-19T16:04:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-15T11:28:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-10T23:02:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 8x10 inches - Click Here to Bid

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

2011-07-09T14:55:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 9 x 12 inches

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

2011-07-04T18:07:00.000-07:00

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)

2011-07-03T16:15:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-02T16:10:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas - 9 x 12 inches

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

2011-07-01T16:04:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas - 9 x 12 inches

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.

Pool Garden

2011-06-29T17:47:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas - 9 x 12 inches

Just a quick sketch outside in someone's garden over the weekend. Oh, how nice to be outside again. Definitely rusty. I took photos, so I'm gonna see if I can improve on this at home tomorrow.

Balance

2011-06-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas - 18 x 18 inches

For the last week's Daily Paintworks Challenge, (yes, I'm running a little behind in my work) Cathleen Rehfeld had us consider balance, both literally and figuratively. I thought I'd create a precariously balanced stack while keeping the colors in a related family.

18 inches squared is pretty big for me, but managed to lay out twice as much paint, use bigger brushes and work very quickly so that things stayed wet and manageable. I think I got it all in in under and hour, but I did go back this morning and add a bit more warmth to the top of the bottommost box's top surface. It just looked washed out and dull.

Hmmmm

2011-05-03T15:07:00.001-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 7 x 12 inches

This is a portrait of some dude who's lived in my neighborhood for ages. I couldn't get him to sit for it, so I used a photo from one of those coin-operated photo booths. That's why the cropping is a bit unusual and why the lighting is pretty harsh and flat. It was kind of a sepia tone type photo, so I chose to paint it in that range. I might try a full color version, but I just don't have enough color memory to be able to guess at cool vs. warm areas.

Lupis Lapis - Study

2011-04-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 5 x 7 inches

A secluded corner of a property I toured last fall. I've been meaning to paint it, but wasn't sure I could make a successful composition of the thing. Every time I tried to map it out, that turret wound up dead center. I rearrange a few items and finally it fell into place.

This is a quick study to see if it works out. I may do a larger version soon. Maybe.

Cel Break

2011-04-26T12:02:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 5 x 7 inches

This weeks challenge for the Daily Paintworks was submitted by Linda Popple, and is a photo from her last trip to NYC. I cropped in pretty tight since I was painting this relatively small.

Still really struggling with skin tones, and a little stingy with the paint, but it's not too awful. Ahem.

The N

2011-04-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Panel - 11 x 14 inches

Had this photo kicking around for ages and finally got around to painting it. (Pretty deep, I know).

Germany22

2011-04-05T15:01:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Panel - 5 x 7 inches SOLD

For the latest Daily Paintworks Challenge, Carol Maine supplied a few photos from one of her trips to Germany, and posted some very nice renderings of her own as examples. Nothing like batting right after Barry Bonds.
I'm noticing I've developed a bit more of an economy of brush strokes when I try and follow Carol's approach of mixing colors carefully (well, more carefully than I usually do) and applying them with purpose.
I'm beginning to suspect that painting more vibrant and complimentary colors, while keeping the values accurate, tends toward a more interesting and gripping image.
I'm also noticing more and more that it can be helpful to push your colors more towards what inspired you to capture the scene rather than trying to mimic the limited tones in a reference photo. Take a look at some of the other artists results and you'll see what I mean. (mine's still somewhere between drab and colorful).

Pool House

2011-03-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 8 x 10 inches

A return to one of my favorite subjects and once again, I've managed to crop it poorly and failed to capture the warmth of the afternoon in Sonoma. It's also fussier than I'd intended. Oh, well.

Madrone Jazz

2011-03-19T22:20:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Cardstock - 4 x 6 inches

I found myself at the Madrone one night, and this jazz band just showed up and started kicking it out. I did a bunch of quick sketches and took a few snap shots. I knew I'd have to try and "remember" a lot more than my sketches and snaps would reveal.

This was a quick stab at rendering a scene, but I can easily tell I'm missing a lot of the warmth that was there. Though an OK study, it just feels too cool and monochromatic. (which is nice if that's what one is going for). Guess I'll have to give this one another go. Bigger next time.

Pomello Set

2011-03-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Cardstock - 4 x 6 inches

This one really didn't take much longer than the first two. I'd already worked out some of the issues (and had mixed up a bunch of paint puddles) so things went fairly smoothly.

I also didn't really go over strokes that much, since I was getting better results, and I noticed that with the paint so wet, going over strokes really just wound up removing paint. (I know, "fat over lean" but I didn't really want to get into that with this one).

Pomello Trio

2011-03-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Cardstock - 4 x 6 inches

Picking up where I left of with the still life. That first one was a 15 minute study. This one was closer to 30. Still trying to stick to one-stroke per color but I did have to go over a few spots that were way off.

Lincoln Impersonator

2011-03-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

Marker on Cardstock - 3 x 4 inches SOLD
For the latest Daily Paintworks Challenge, Raymond Logan is having us honor Lincoln's birthday (a little late) and has made the guidelines quite generous.
He hinted that he was partial to woodcuts. I don't actually have the tools for woodcutting, nor any experience, but I do like doing scratch board type stuff, so that's the approach I took.
With portraiture, if you get the eyes right you're halfway there.
I didn't get the eyes right.

Pomello

2011-03-07T20:44:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Cardstock - 4 x 6 inches

I've been trying to follow up on Carol Marine's "one stroke per color" technique. It's so contrary to how I usually work, but I do like a challenge. For more of a Marine approach, I'm not painting from photos, but from actual live fruit from my kitchen. I know, what a concept!

FlaskBerry Big

2011-03-04T14:25:00.001-08:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 8 x 10 inches - Bid on this item

I thought I'd give the Daily Paintworks Challenge another go. I knew I could do better on the color of the fruit, and hopefully concentrate on the one-stroke approach. Oddly enough, once I got into it I wound up adding a lot more than simple brush strokes. Guess I was just enjoying painting too much.

FlaskBerry

2011-03-03T16:22:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Cardstock - 4 x 6 inches - SOLD

For the latest Daily Paintworks Challenge, Carol Marine has suggested trying a piece where you mix the color you want, place it in one brush stroke and then move on. Deceptively difficult, especially for us beginners.
The flask was easy enough for me, but that blasted strawberry! So many little surface details getting in the way of seeing the overall planes and shapes. Squinting helped, but I feel I dulled down the glowing bright colors of the fruit. I'll be trying this again tomorrow.

Lake Pherics

2011-02-28T17:55:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Cardstock - 4 x 6 inches

While looking about the apartment for something to paint, I saw the latest postcard I received from artist Dan Caven, which you can see over at Art League Now. The original is a collage of found objects, but it made for such a great composition, and one that wouldn't have popped in my head, so I chose this as my subject.

Cede

2011-02-28T16:25:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Cardstock - 4 x 6 inches

Certainly abstract, but actually painted from a tiny section of a photo.

Plymouth

2011-02-26T16:22:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Cardstock - 4 x 6 inches

Just another abstract study for a larger work that I probably won't ever get around to doing.

Thompson Study

2011-02-23T22:41:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Cardstock - 4 x 6 inches

I came across a great painting by Darren Thompson in some art magazine, and clipped it out. It wound up near my easel and surprise surprise I wound up copying a detail of it. Oh, it's a poor copy to be sure, but it was fun to do.

Rosa

2011-02-18T19:58:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Cardstock - 4 x 6 inches

Where does the time go? Don't tell me. It would spoil the mystery. It's been over a month since the workshop, I've been swamped and...

In truth I fell into that old trap of just not getting started again, and felt I should really be somehow such a much better painter than before that I just didn't feel up to a masterpiece etc. Finally a voice said, just get back at it. To add to that voice, Carol Marine, and others, have taken up the torch that Karin Jurick dropped last year that we all missed so much.

The Daily Paintworks gang have instituted a new challenge blog, and just in time (though I missed the first two).

Take a look at all the other great entries and try not to laugh at mine too much. I'm just getting my bearings again after a long break.

Fog Hill

2011-01-27T16:34:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 11 x 14 inches

On the last day of the workshop, we went out to do a little plein air work. Finally, no more skin tones, or eye socket shadows, or figure drawing!

Well it was a bit easier, but I wound up rushed for time, so this is really what I'd just consider half done. Still, I got some excellent pointers from Craig. Bonus.

Maestro

2011-01-25T16:27:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 11 x 14 inches (destroyed)
Last studio painting of the workshop week. Not as successful as earlier in the day, but I did manage to follow the guidelines of the method.
Lighting had now become an issue for me. I couldn't get the right kind of light on my work and palette. The clip-on light I'd brought gave too much glare and as a result I could really see what I was doing without moving from side to side. Although it looks really dark here, I felt like it was thin and washed out while I was working on it. Really bizarre. I guess I've just become very used to my cosy home studio set-up.

Boston

2011-01-23T16:28:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Canvas Paper - 12 x12 inches

January's Virtual Paintout is in Boston. Some place I've actually been to, though the last time I was there it was covered in snow.

I'm not sure that clock tower is, but hopefully someone will write in and let me know. The view is from along Atlantic Avenue, heading SW.

More workshop pics to follow.

Chef

2011-01-19T16:17:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 11 x 14 inches

On the last studio day, things are starting to fall into place. I'd been painting in my sleep all night and kept coming back to the determination that I would stick to Craig's method no matter what the results.

I picked a good spot with good lighting, and yet still some strong shadow areas. I get pretty far along on this, but was having real trouble with the skin. Everything was getting chalky. When I asked Craig he said that because I had painted in the medium tones too light, forcing me to make my "light" lights too light and washed out. Basically you have to leave room in your tonal range to go lighter (or darker) and still be far from reaching the lightest highlights or deepest shadows. Really opened my mind.

So, I went back and painted back over the mid-tones and then the shadows and lighter tones. Theoretically, the top of the hat should be the brightest white – lighter than even the lightest parts of the jacket or face. Makes sense.

Go Giants

2011-01-19T16:09:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 9 x 12 inches

Late evening series of poses with the same model as the afternoon. For some reason I wound up ignoring just about everything about Craig's technique and wound up reverting to my usual impressionist type method. I think I was just tired and rushing through.

Actually I started off using his method, but I think I grew impatient. Part of Craig's method is working up the large shadow areas and near-light areas and comparing them to each other and focusing on getting those relationships just right, saving details (you know, the fun stuff like eyes, buttons, highlights etc.) until the very end. It makes perfect sense, but it's really hard to resist.

You are meant to work quickly, but it's very methodical as each step leads to the next step. If you don't get step 2 right, you will fail at all subsequent steps. I rushed some early steps and the piece suffered from there on out.

Chess Move

2011-01-19T09:46:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 9 x 12 inches (destroyed)
On day 4 I feel like I'm starting to put things together. A better drawing from the start, better color matching etc. Still can't believe how quickly three 20-minute sessions goes by.
I'm also finding that picking your spot is a big deal. I mean when someone else is setting up the pose and the lighting, what you thought was a good spot may suddenly become a boring view. I thought I had a good angle here, but with the light source directly between me and the model, almost all the shadow areas disappeared. I'm not saying that's the only reason this turned out a little dull and flat looking but...

Jane Blue

2011-01-16T11:33:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 11 x 14 inches

I decided that it was too hard to paint the face with such a tiny brush on a small canvas, not to mention the whole figure, so I opted for just a headshot. Unfortunately I was so far from the model that I was essentially painting her head 4 or 5 times larger than what I was seeing – not ideal for the "sight method" I'm sure you've heard about.

In any case, after two or three sittings, I managed to render a very mask-like image (looking a little like a primitive Gaughin) though not intentionally. I just couldn't see how I'd got stuck there. Craig pointed out that I was still applying the paint with too firm a hand and that this left me with very hard edges, making it harder to create softer transitions as the planes connected to make a "round" face. Basically I was stilly drawing with the brush and not painting.

Not seeing the model as a reference here, it looks almost passable, and definitely improved after Craig's help, but it is a far cry from what I was trying to do. Frustrating to say the least, but I did feel that more and more I was not only grasping what he was talking about, but was beginning to actually incorporate that knowledge.

Jane Red Chair

2011-01-14T16:40:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 9 x 12

Just got back from a week of painting at Craig Nelson's workshop in Pescadero, CA. If you ever get the chance to study with him, jump at the chance. I had a great time and learned enough that it'll take me years to digest and incorporate a tenth of it.

It was quite a humbling experience to say the least. Most of the workshop's I've been to feature a wide sampling of artists at different levels of experience and abilities. Almost everyone at this workshop was quite serious (about painting at least) and very skilled. I felt like a I still had training wheels on the whole time!

I'll spare you the truly horrific attempts I did, plus any that I didn't actually finish. I'm not used to running out of time, since I tend to work quickly. Most of the model sessions were either four or eight 20 minute poses. However, as I was trying to follow Craig's method, which is quite different from my normal process, I never really quite got into the flow of things, though I did fully grasp the concept (especially while watching the maestro painting a demo or two).

My biggest stumbling blocks were:

1. Drawing. I really haven't kept up with life drawing and it showed. I've just gotten in the habit of using drawing from flat screens and photos, ones that already have been cropped to the right dimensions, that I wasted a lot of time figuring out how the figure should be rendered.

2. Color and value. Apparently there's a lot more shades and subtlety of tones in the human form that we feel we'd like to see to affirm that it is a face, rather than, say a tree, which still looks very tree-like with only two or three colors.

3. Brush work. I generally attack the surface with every stroke, but Craig's technique employs a range of strokes from firm to barely-there. These lighter strokes are key in developing softer edges and transitions – something I had not really focused on prior to the workshop.

I'll add some specific knowledge I picked up as it relates to the handful of images I'll be posting this week.

As far as this piece is concerned, it was the first one after two days of miserable failures that actually didn't involved all those stumbles. The color's dull, the brushwork boring, and there's an overall flatness, but it's fairly proportional and not too hard-edged. At last, something not too bad for me, but if you could see the skillful versions my classmates did, you'd agree this one is ready for scrubbing out!

Nasturtium sketch

2011-01-06T18:52:00.000-08:00

Charcoal on Paper

Recovering from the craziness that is the holidays, and getting ready for a weeklong workshop with Craig Nelson, which should be very illuminating. So, I'm practicing my sketches in readiness. No new paintings until my return.

County Clare

2010-12-17T11:24:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches

The Virtual Paintout location for December is County Clare, Ireland. So much to choose from, but a lot of it looks like this. The GoogleMap coords are below.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&source=embed&hq=&hnear=300+Scott+St,+San+Francisco,+California+94117&ll=53.560942,-8.239514&spn=3.23057,9.909668&z=8&layer=c&cbll=53.560942,-8.239514&panoid=36IY21HIUViSAApN2f5fpw&cbp=12,353.31,,0,7.02

Bowling Tree Yellow/Gray

2010-12-06T12:32:00.001-08:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 11 x 14 inches

I thought I'd try this again, with a tighter crop to simplify the composition, and with a limited palette. Not so much to eliminate color, but to narrowly define it. I was back at this site yesterday, in the rain, and looking at the scene I really didn't sense a lot of color. I could see it and describe it, but it wasn't really the focus of what turned me on about this tree.

Depending on how this appears on your monitor, you may not see much more than grey, but I used a combination of the following throughout: Titanium White, Burnt Umber, Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Orange, and a touch of Mars Black.

Bowling Tree

2010-12-01T15:52:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 11 x 14 inches

I really like this tree that looms over the lawn bowling greens in Golden Gate Park. I had a certain style in mind when I started this painting, but it kind of had a mind of it's own and turned out quite differently. I know it happens some times, but it left me feeling a little inept, so I'm gonna try again soon.

2010-11-28T19:26:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Canvas Paper – 12 x 4 inches

This is my entry for November's Virtual Paint Out, and just in time. This month's location is Rio de Janeiro, and though I looked around a bit, I stumbled upon this scene pretty quickly and it just clicked.

Here's the Google Maps link if you're really interested...

Rio de Janeiro link >>

Prep Work or Installation?

2010-11-27T14:40:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Canvas

Just a shot of a bunch of canvases prepped with a nice orange undercoat.

San Jose Palms

2010-11-15T19:05:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 8 x 10 inches

More palm trees, only just shadows this time.

New Show!

2010-11-08T19:57:00.001-08:00

I've swapped out all the paintings at the Apollo for a new Fall Show. If you're in the neighborhood, be sure to check 'em out. Hopefully this selection reflects all that I've learned this summer. Well, at least some of what I've learned. Well at least something....

The promo on the right says it all.

Scott Three Big

2010-11-07T18:58:00.001-08:00

Acrylic on Canvas - 20 x 24 inches

Taking what I've learned from the previous revs in this series and working a bit bigger, using the palette knife again, and adding a bit more of the surrounding scenery.

Scott 3 Knife

2010-11-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 8 x 10 inches

Another in the series. I decided to try this as a looser, knife applied painting. It was actually really freeing and fun no being able to stress over little tiny shapes and details.

Scott 4up

2010-10-29T19:00:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 11 x 14 inches

Oh, the series continues.

Scott Three and Three

2010-10-26T10:33:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 11 x 14 inches

And so the series continues.

Four and Two

2010-10-23T11:01:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Panel - 11 x 14 inches

For some reason, the two paintings I did of this house and palm trees were a big hit at the show this summer, so I thought I'd do a series of them to see what else I could do with the scene. And I haven't really done a series before, so I'd like to see what that brings up as well.

Blue Bank

2010-10-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Cardstock - 4 x 6 inches

Another fantasy landscape.

Pink Phone

2010-10-19T12:24:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 8 x 10 inches

From a photo I took a while ago in Sonoma, I finally got around to painting it. All was smooth sailing, except for the skin tones. Tan skin on a warm day, but in the shadows... is it orange, blue, brown? I had to redo the skin several times and never really arrived at a satisfactory result. I just decided to stop after a while.

Onion Pot

2010-10-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 8 x 8 inches

I'm a big fan of Carol Marine's and whenever she returns to painting onions it gets me to rethinking my process. Onions are tough, but she always does such a great job.

The last batch she did, she mentioned painting them in using one basic mix for the middle value, and then sculpting the roundness from there. So, that's what I tried to do.

This one looked really awful until the final moments when it all came together.

Quatorze

2010-10-07T10:40:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches - NFS

I'm not entirely sure I painted this one myself. I had a little free time after warming up on another piece, so I thought I'd sketch this one in rather quickly.

It started off terribly. The board was too slick and the paint wouldn't stick, I couldn't get a real dark mix together, and I really should have done a dark base tone to knock things back from the get-go.

For some reason, I just kept plodding along, thinking to myself "This is just a rough start. I can fix all of this tomorrow." I kept dancing around the panel, slapping color into one area, and then darkening another etc. And as an hour flew by, I discovered it was almost done. I was kinda shocked. Everything just fell into place and still managed to stay nice and loose.

There is definitely something to turning off one of your lobes, or just ignoring the parts of the brain that think they know what they're doing versus the parts that actually know. Wish I could do this more often. It does remind me of why I was so attracted to painting in the first place.

San Miguel de Allende

2010-10-06T12:08:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 9 x 12 inches

October's Virtual Paintout is in sunny San Miguel de Allende, Mexico!

Using Google Maps to pick a location, is actually harder than you might think, because, basically, you're limited to actual street views – i.e. the view from the camera on top of the Google car. You're basically planting your canvas right in the middle of the street.

That said, it is still fun to go scout around a place I've never actually been to and pick a scene to render. Fun!

Up Tempo

2010-10-05T11:48:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Cardstock

Using left-over palette paint, this combines a few techniques, including dragging and knife application. A recent observer remarked that they liked the vibrant colors in the abstracts I do in this style, and I realized one of the reasons for this is that for the backgrounds, I use a lot of mixed puddles, but for the foreground, I use a lot of colors that have not been mixed. Also, since these are quick and the paint is very wet, I don't do any blending.

NYC September

2010-09-07T14:31:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Panel - 12 x 10 inches

This is for the September Virtual Paintout, on a little known island on the east coast. More precisely, it's Central Park South looking East. Be sure to check out the other submissions. There's some great ones, and they'll be posting all month. Here's the Google Map link, if you want to see the location.

I decided it was finally time to try the new Golden Open Acrylics, and I have a sample set of basic colors and white, plus some of the Open Thinner. These are supposed to behave more like oil paint (something I know nothing about) and they definitely stay wet a lot longer. Everything was still wet and malleable when I wrapped this up in two hours. In fact, the painting was still a little tacky this morning.

I can't say I love them right off the bat, but I think it's just getting used to something different than the fast drying acrylics I've been using. I feel like I'd really like something in between. Maybe I'll try mixing with both sets of paint. The only thing that really bugged me was that the colors I got are fairly transparent, so it was hard to get the kind of solid strokes I'm used to. More experimentation is definitely in order.

Blaze Bank

2010-09-03T14:52:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Cardstock - 4 x 6 inches

Having fun with loosely suggested landscapes again. Basically avoiding any real work.

Cowboys 4

2010-08-26T20:58:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas

I thought I'd give this another go. I've been reading a lot of back issues of the various art magazines I subscribe to, and my head in now full of more guidance than I can possibly put into practice in any short manner. However, it is helping me pinpoint the things that annoy me about my failures (and it's good to have failures – and insights).

This is starting to look less like a cartoon, and more like a painting. I consider that a good thing, for what that's worth. It's still far from what I was hoping for, but I am discovering why, which is actually a lot of fun. Did I mention that painting was fun before? I sure hope so.

Prince Edward Farm II

2010-08-09T13:23:00.001-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 18 x 14 inches - (destroyed)

I decided to crop in a little tighter and make the overall composition a little stronger. If you compare with the first version you can see what I moved around. Also, having worked out a lot of issues this was a lot easier to do, and it was easier to keep it fluid.

I looked at a few of my favorite sources and noticed that a lot of painters leave the background loose and unfinished looking to increase the sense of depth and focus. Though I tried decreasing it's saturation and tried pushing it towards bluer tones, it didn't really work out that way. Something in my is fighting this concept.

I think I could do a dozen more of these, but I think part of the problem I'm having is that this is from a Google photo, and not from a scene I've seen firsthand and photographed myself. I really should get outside. It's just that it's the coldest summer in San Francisco in at least 20 years. Excuses, excuses.

Prince Edward Farm

2010-08-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel - 18 x 14 inches - (destroyed)

This is for the August Virtual Paintout, on Prince Edward Island in Nova Scotia. Be sure to check out the other submissions. There's some great ones.

I seem to have fallen into all my usual traps. Almost all of the trees are the same value, even though some are far away, and all are in the same level of focus and detail. I'm going to try this one again, incorporating some of the things I should have learned by now about distance and focus. The we'll see if I've really grasped the concept. Stay tuned.

Hastings House

2010-07-31T14:37:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Canvas Panel

I was captured by the colors of the pink setting sun and blue shadows on a building I saw on my last trip to Hastings-on-Hudson. I took a few photos, but new that those colors just wouldn't show up on my camera, so I made a mental note to try and compensate for that later.

When I got back I opened the pic I liked in Photoshop and began tweaking it to better match my memory of the lighting. I probably could have just "imagined" the colors, but since I have Photoshop I thought I might as well start with an adjusted reference photo instead.

I think it turned out a little too dark and extreme as a painting, but I do like the shapes of the tree's shadows on the building. I may try and pull this back a bit when I have time.