Whiskey Hill Rd, Woodside

Whiskey Hill Rd, Woodside

original oil, 6x6

Studio Gallery

 SOLD

Another painting in "Tiny" at Studio Gallery in San Francisco through December 24th.

I ride my bike on Whiskey Hill Road in the mornings.  I was trying to capture the sense of distance and atmosphere in the Santa Cruz mountains with this painting. 

The Penny Ice Creamery, Santa Cruz

The Penny Ice Creamery, Santa Cruz

original oil painting, 12x12

Viewpoints Gallery
SOLD

The Penny Ice Creamery on 41st Avenue in Santa Cruz, makes small batches of delicious ice cream completely from scratch. There's an open kitchen where you can watch the process of making ice cream.  They use flavors that change with the seasons and feature local organic ingredients. 

Next door is Pink Godzilla, a sushi restaurant.  I like the name and weird logo of a graphic pink godzilla on a surfboard.  Together I think the buildings make an interesting painting with the warm and cool color combination. The people add life and movement to the composition.

Monterey Ave, Capitola

Monterey Ave, Capitola

6x6 original oil painting, $150

Studio Gallery

 

 

This small painting shows a street in Capitola called Monterey Ave.  The yellow building on the left is El Toro Mexican Restaurant and in the middle of the painting is a grassy area called "Lawn Way".  I liked the contrast of the buildings against the lawn and landscape in the distance.  I also liked the weird angles of the cross walk that draw you into the composition.

 

This painting is in a show is called "Tiny" and runs through December 24 at Studio Gallery, 1815 Polk Street, San Francisco.  Studio Gallery is celebrating their 10th Anniversary this month.  

Bay View on Hyde St, San Francisco

Bay View on Hyde Street

original oil painting 14x11

Viewpoints Gallery
SOLD

Hyde Street has stunning views of the San Francisco bay, Alcatraz and Angel Island. I took a reference photo while I was plein air painting on Hyde Street in San Francisco, which I turned into a painting in my studio.   

I chose this composition because I liked the two cable cars crossing paths on Hyde Street. Also, the dark cast shadow on the tree on the right contrasts nicely with the rest of the bright, colorful painting.  A cast shadow is a darker shadow, created by another object blocking the light- in this case, a building out of the picture frame on the right.

Sonoma Vineyard

Sonoma Vineyard

original oil painting, 8x10

Viewpoints Gallery
SOLD

The rows of pinot grapevines at Williams Seleym Vineyards in the Russian River Valley were the subject for this painting.  See this painting in the "Art on the Green" show at Viewpoints Gallery in August.

Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz

Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz

original oil painting, 8x10
SOLD

I was painting in Santa Cruz the other day, on West Cliff Drive near the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum and lighthouse.  I chose another view but took a photo of Steamer Lane, a famous surfing spot in Santa Cruz.  Steamer Lane has consistent surf and two distinct beautiful waves, add to that a warm, sunny day and there were plenty of surfers in the water.

I chose this composition because of the cast shadows on the cliffs created by the angle of the sun. It is a long drop down from the cliffs to the ocean where the rocky bottom contrasts with the shallow greenish water.   

Artwalk, July 20 at Red Brick Gallery

Chrisman Ave, Ventura

original oil painting, 14x11, $375

Red Brick Gallery, Artwalk July 20, 1-4

  

About ten of my Southern California paintings are in a show called "Staycation" through August 13 at the Red Brick Gallery, 315 E Main St, Ventura. 

I've painted many townscapes and bungalows in Ventura and Chrisman Avenue is one of my favorite streets.  The small Spanish style bungalows in Southern California and the unique landscape plantings of palms, cycads, and cactus, always capture my attention. In this particular painting I like the shadow of the palm tree on the house and the dark underside of the queen palm tree canopy. 

 

Hope to see you on Saturday!

Viewpoints Gallery

Viewpoints Gallery

July Exhibit

Stop by Viewpoints Gallery in Los Altos to see my latest work.  The photo above shows the exhibit of my artwork for the month of July.

You can see cityscapes of San Francisco, surfers, sailboats and even a landscape of Ojai.  Viewpoints Gallery is located at 315 State St, Los Altos and is open seven days a week, Mon-Sat 11-5 and Sun 11-3.

6th Street, San Francisco

6th Street, San Francisco

original oil painting, 14x11

SOLD

6th Street is a busy thoroughfare in San Francisco. In the distance is the Golden Gate Theater on Market Street. The Golden Gate Theater opened its doors in 1922 as a vaudeville venue and was restored and reopened in the late 1970s.

The composition was interesting for me, because the buildings on Market Street come in at an angle to 6th Street. The perspective of the buildings was a challenge.

San Francisco Street 5

San Francisco Street 5

original oil painting, 16x20

$850

Painting cityscapes can be a color challenge.  In this composition, the red cable car contrasting with the dark shadows in the tree on the left, make for a strong focal point.  The different greens in the trees add a splash of color to a city scene of a San Francisco Street.

I did a smaller version of this painting, an 8x10 and I liked it so much, I decided to paint it larger.

California Street, Ventura

California Street, Ventura

original oil painting, 11x14

$375

 

I guess every town in California has a California Street.  In Ventura, California Street runs between City Hall and the ocean.  At the end of the street is the pier and a popular surf spot called "C" Street.

Looking up California Street at City Hall you can see Cafe Fiore restaurant on the right in the foreground and three people standing on the left, getting ready to cross the street.  I've been slowly adding figures to my paintings.

In the background is City Hall, a 1912 beaux-arts style building, built by Los Angeles architect Albert C. Martin.  The terra cotta facade is decorated with 24 faces of Franciscan padres.  On the triangular shaped median in front of city hall is a large bronze statue of Father Junipero Serra.  If you know California history, you will recognize Father Serra as the founder of the California missions.

Poli Street at Sunset, Ventura

Poli Street at Sunset

original oil painting, 10x8

$225

I have several shows coming up soon. In April, I will be part of a group show called "City Streets" at Studio Gallery in San Francisco.  This summer I'm in a show in Ventura called "Staycation" and Friday my Santa Cruz paintings will be hanging at the Plantation Cafe in Menlo Park.  Check my website for details.

The painting above shows a street scene in Ventura, looking north on Live Oak Drive at the corner of Poli Street.  The focal point of the composition is a 1920s spanish style house that has two bronze monkeys on either side of the front entry.  Although you can't see the bronze monkeys in the painting, I believe they were original to the house and they're pretty cool.  The palm trees on the right side add a nice vertical element to the composition.  Like a lot of people who did not grow up in California, I am always fascinated by palm trees. 

I'm trying to push my colors and values a little bit.  Sunset is the perfect time to see the biggest difference in values, so I'm trying to convey the warmth of the light with some pinks and oranges in the street and the darkness of the shadows with a mixture of ultramarine blue and cadmium red light.

Faria Beach, Ventura

Faria Beach, Ventura

original oil painting 11x14

SOLD

We had some beautiful warm days last week, which made me think of the beach in California.  The painting above is Faria Beach in Ventura.  It shows the beach in the fall, at low tide with small waves.  The surf spot is called Mondos and it's a VERY popular surf spot for beginners.  Craig and I use to tandem surf at Mondos about fifteen years ago.  It was so much fun.

Although painting the ocean can be a study in blue, there are beautiful color variations in the sand and the water.  From a purplish color in the wet areas of the sand to warmer orange-brown tones in the totally dry sand.  Where the waves have formed, you can see a combination of ultramarine blue, viridian green and transparent red oxide.  The blue color in the wave is the reflection from the sky, the viridian is the color of the cast shadow under the lip of the wave and the transparent red oxide is the sand that is churned up in the water.  There are a lot of subtle colors and reflections from the sky and buildings on the water that create an interesting challenge for a painting.

Figure Painting Workshop

I just finished a three-day figure painting workshop with Peggi Kroll Roberts.  Peggi is an excellent teacher with a vast knowledge of figure painting.  It's kind of like boot camp for figure painting.  She has many different exercises to get you started. 

My favorite exercise was painting the figure in 25 strokes.  This may seem very difficult, and it was, but you can paint the whole background in one stroke if you load up your paintbrush with lots of paint and don't lift the paintbrush until the entire background is covered.  That was just one of the many exercises.

I can still hear her saying "there are two kinds of shadows that occur when light shines on an object, form shadows and cast shadows.  Where the light side of the object meets the form shadow is the core shadow. The core shadow is where the object turns away from the light."

Take a look at Peggi's website to see her work.  I highly recommend her figure painting workshop.