Capistrano Fountain
11 x 14 oil

The mission San Juan Capistrano was the cheerful inspiration for this classic California impressionist painting. I have included the sago palms, several fan palms and blooming jacarandas to complete the setting of summery splendor. Water lilies bloom in the landmark fountain, topped with a sculptural urn. Water irises wait their turn to bloom at the foot of the pedestal.

Sea Dreams
16 x 20 oil on canvas

I’ve been working on this seascape as a demo piece while I’ve been gallery sitting up at Descanso Gardens during our show, and now it’s finished. A few days of drying and I may take it up to the gallery. Several of my works have sold so far, so this will be a replacement piece to hang for the next one.

Or … I may hold it back for the Glendale Open Studio Tour which is coming up on Sunday September 14. I’ll be displaying a half a dozen paintings to that annual event. Here’s a flyer about it … more details to come. The reception for the show will be held at the Brand Library on September 13 from 3-5 pm. You can see one representative piece from all artists on the tour …

Today, late in the day, I had the pleasure of talking to a great group of kids and young adults. They asked excellent questions - better than a lot of adults ask, and I was happy to share my love of painting and art with them. I told them that I’d post this painting tonight, so here you are, I hope you enjoy seeing the result. And if you check back in a few days you’ll see the finished version of the landscape I was working on today up at the gallery.

Arroyo Trail
11 x 14 oil

The Arroyo Seco continues to be one of my favorite subjects for landscapes. In the distance are the San Rafael Hills, part of the communities of La Canada Flintridge and Pasadena.

Today I participated in an interesting discussion about some of the other things an artist must learn other than knowing how to use the tools of the trade. It was prompted in part by an article I read in a recent issue of American Artist magazine. The artist Durand was observed as saying that it is essential to know the elements of the landscape intimately by constant observation and drawing. One must know aspects of botany, geology, meteorology and more in order to portray the plant and landforms convincingly. It was suggested that we draw constantly, keep a sketchbook and use it as a way to enrich our knowledge. As those of you who have been reading this blog for awhile know, before I started showing paintings here I mostly posted drawings and sketches. And, confess, as I have devoted more and more time to painting, I have spent less time simply drawing. If I can find a way to get a few more hours in a day, that would help!

Even so, that article reminded me that I really should make time for that sort of practice, so I’m looking forward to doing more of it, and perhaps even posting a few of them here from time to time, if there’s any interest in seeing them.

You don’t have offer your opinion publicly if you don’t want to, but if you’re reading this by way of your mailbox, drop me a line and give me your thoughts. Occasional work in progress nature sketchbook sketches, or keep it to the watercolor and oil daily paintings?

San Gabriel Summer
5 x 7 oil on panel

This quick impression of Hahmongna park captures the feeling of the San Gabriel mountains when summer thunderheads bring rain to the high desert. The weather has been hot and humid, and the thunderheads are the evidence. The heat is keeping people away from Descanso Gardens, much to our disappointment. But the weather is supposed to improve, and the weekend will be in the mid 80s … a big drop from the close to 100 degrees we’ve been experiencing.

Big Eucalyptus
18 x 24 in. oil on canvas
If you are interested in this painting
Write Me

Well, tomorrow is the big day … the hanging and opening of our Descanso Gardens group show … and this is one of the big paintings I’m taking. It’s a portrait of one of my favorite California trees, the eucalyptus. The moment I saw this beauty I was compelled to paint it in all its backlit glory.

The show runs from August 22 to September 18 and the gallery is open from 10 to 3:30 but might close some days at 3. On the days I’m gallery-sitting I will probably bring something with me to paint as I did last year.

Our reception will be August 31, Sunday of Labor Day Weekend, from 1-4.

If you live in Southern California, I hope you’ll have a chance to drop by. I won’t be there every day, so send me a note if you’re planning a visit so I don’t miss you.

Malibu Surf
12 x 16 oil on canvas
Available.
If you are interested in this painting
Write Me

I confess. I love to paint seascapes. No, I won’t forsake the rolling golden hillsides of California’s precious central coast … nor the eucalyptus groves of Southern California, or the many treasures of the sierra nevada range. But there’s just something about the power and beauty of the surf that never ceases to inspire me. I have enjoyed going to Malibu from when I was a child - and at night some of my fondest dreams are still of being at the ocean. My father sunburned so easily that we could rarely go to the beach (this was long before SPF 50 sun block). So waves like these always fill me with nostalgia. Maybe I had a prior life as a beach bum. Or, more likely, a sand crab.

Anyway, I digress. If you’d like to see the result of a year of painting this beautiful state, including a bounty of seascapes and sunsets, I hope you’ll come to our show at Descanso Gardens from this weekend through September 18. We hang the show on Friday morning, so that’s the official first day, but my guess is that things will be a little more relaxed over the weekend. Keep your fingers crossed that this marvelous weather continues.

Peach Still Life
5 x 7 oil

Our peaches are finally ripe - time for cobbler, scones and painting still lives. The peaches in the market don’t usually have leaves attached, and I think that makes all the difference in setting up a small study. This one’s soaking wet, a little hard to photograph. If I paint it again I’ll have to pick some fresh leaves, they wilt in just a few hours.

I’ve painted blackberries, avocados, lemons, oranges, persimmons, pomegranates and various vegetables but I think this may be the first time I’ve attempted a peach. The difficulty is that the skin is very soft with a “matte” velvety finish. It needs to look rounded but without the specular highlights that suggest shininess. And there is certainly reflected color but not so much that it seems shiny, like a glossy skinned item. Tricky … but instructive. And I love a good challenge.

Desert Dawn - Palm Springs - California Impressionist Oil Painting
11 x 14 oil on canvas
Click image to see larger, better res version

Painting the desert as seen in morning light is definitely a challenge. The air is remarkably crisp and clear, probably clearer and with less particulate material than just about anywhere I’ve seen. So that’s a distinctive look that says “desert.” But this is in contrast to one of the principles of landscape painting that tells us that distant objects should be softer, grayer, bluer and with less distinct detail. I could have painted this painting that way .. “pushing back” the mountains with desaturation and adding more blue. But this time I chose to keep them darker, almost close enough to touch. This alluvial area comes out of the San Jacinto Mountains. I believe it’s an area along the Randall Henderson Trail, but I’m not certain. I really need to take better notes about my locations.

This painting was done using only three colors, black and white: ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow light and alizarin crimson. I feel that the limited palette can help to create greater color harmony. It was an experiment and I like the results. Some very wise teachers advocate using a full palette with perhaps two dozen colors, many premixed, so that you can quickly select the right color when time is short. There is definitely an advantage to working that way, speed being a major concern. But other good painters say that you can get more color harmony if you limit your colors and just mix like crazy. I know one demo painter that only uses about seven colors on his palette on location. Another teacher, John Cosby, challenges his students to paint with just five. So there are a lot of different things to explore and learn from.

I may be taking this painting with me to the show at Descanso. Now I’m down to the wire deciding on the right mix of subject matter, size, color, medium and so forth. Although I’m restricted to bringing 20 paintings, if you’re coming to the show and would like to see something else that I’ve featured here or on my website, drop me a note and make sure I have it available for viewing in person.

Carpinteria Salt Marsh
14 x 18 oil on canvas
Click image for larger size
Available

Carpinteria (sometimes erroneously spelled Carpenteria) has long been one of our favorite places to travel, take photos, and now, to paint. This nature reserve protects sensitive species from destruction, and is the habitat of green herons and other indigenous wildlife. Just south of Santa Barbara, north of Ventura, it enjoys mild coastal weather year round and is a popular tourist destination. In the background are the Santa Ynez Mountains.

This month those of us who are daily painters are making a special effort to paint works that serve as a tribute to our beautiful earth, which deserves our protection and careful stewardship. I may be taking this with me to the Descanso show, opening August 23.

Americana Tree
9 x 12 oil on panel
Click the picture for a higher res, bigger picture

Today’s paintout at developer Steve Caruso’s new Americana shopping mall center on Brand Blvd. in Glendale California was a big success. There was a large turnout of local artists, and plenty of room on the spacious green lawn for us to set up our easels and paint to our heart’s content. I originally started a painting featuring the dramatic golden sculpture of a youth arising from the centerpiece fountain, but discovered that the rapidly changing morning light made it too difficult to address properly in so short a time. So I started a second painting, this one, which featured one of the many magnificent full grown trees which were planted to give the new mall that mature, lived-in feeling right from the day of its grand opening. This specimen was a plein air painter’s delight with its beautifully sculptured trunks and branches. The bedded plants at its roots created washes of color on the light colored bark.

Although the architecture was quite beautiful, I followed conventional plein air wisdom and allowed it to be the setting for the specimen tree, rather than to compete for attention. So I softened the colors and sharp edges, allowing it to recede into the background.

We have been to the mall numerous times and enjoy the lively ambiance so reminiscent of a village in the city. I think they’ve done a good job with it, from the cobblestone streets to the carts and kiosks that provide additional opportunities to shop and enjoy on a beautiful summer day.

I hope that there will be future paintouts on the grounds of the Americana - perhaps an afternoon to sunset event where I’m sure the stone facades will glow the kind of light that makes you want to run for your brushes and easel.