Golden Gate Bridge at Sunset

Golden Gate Bridge at Sunset

original oil painting 12x12 SOLD

Viewpoints Gallery

My show is hung at Viewpoints Gallery. "Golden Gate Bridge at Sunset" sold on the first day. My reception is Saturday, December 5, from 2-5 and open to the public.

I liked the view of the bridge from this angle and the warm light at sunset. I used alizarin crimson mixed with ultramarine blue to paint the sky in the distance.  I don't use alizarin very often because it's a cool red, but it worked in this painting. 

Beach Cruiser and Surfboard

Beach Cruiser and Surfboard

original oil painting, 12x12 SOLD

Viewpoints Gallery

You won't see this anywhere, except at the beach - a surfboard strapped to a bicycle. An orange beach cruiser bicycle, a board with a little wax on it, and ready to surf. 

I'm finishing up paintings for my show at Viewpoints Gallery, titled "Santa Cruz to San Francisco." This painting and many more will be in the show December 1 - January 2, with a reception on Saturday, December 5, from 2-5 pm.  Come by and say hi!  

Evening Commute

Evening Commute

original oil painting 6x6 SOLD

Studio Gallery

Driving North on the 101 Freeway, I liked the warm light of sunset and the rhythmic patterns of the cars on the freeway. Although everyone hates to commute, there is beauty in the repetitive patterns, shapes and colors. I like the way my eye bounces around from warm to cool colors and shape to shape.

Hyde Street View

Hyde Street View

original oil painting 11x14, SOLD

Studio Gallery

Another painting of the view on Hyde Street in San Francisco. This view is always inspiring to me.  I continue to try different compositions and to play with color combinations.

The painting above is at Studio Gallery in San Francisco and will be part of an annual show called "Tiny."  Details for the show are listed to the right.

I am working on paintings for two other shows. In December I will have new paintings at Elliott Fouts Gallery in their small images show. Also in December, I'm the featured artist at Viewpoints Gallery in a show titled "Santa Cruz to San Francisco."

Summer Reflections

Summer Reflections

original oil painting, 11x14 $475

Viewpoints Gallery

Summer is almost over - the last day of summer is only two weeks away - September 22. Recently, I painted with the Woodside Plein Air group at Ann Hogle's house in Woodside.  Ann's home is on an acreage with native oaks and redwood trees.  Ann and her husband have a big vegetable garden, flower garden, lemon and lime trees. They are kind of self sufficient, which is good because they are up in the Santa Cruz mountains.  I chose a view of her swimming pool because I liked the organic shape, the orange retaining wall and the reflections in the water. 

Real Food

Real Food

original oil painting 12x12, SOLD

Studio Gallery

While I was painting for an April show at Studio Gallery, I walked along Polk Street in San Francisco looking for interesting compositions.  The Real Food Company in Russian Hill had great colors - oranges and yellows.  I also liked the depth created by the darkness inside the market, contrasted with the bank of lights.  An old gray El Camino was outside on the street along with a motorcycle.

This painting is part of the "Delicious" show at Studio Gallery in San Francisco. The show runs August 27- September 14. The reception is Sunday August 30, 1-6 pm a 1641 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco. Stop by to see the work, it's a fun show!

Giant Dipper, Santa Cruz

Giant Dipper, Santa Cruz

original oil painting, 12x12 SOLD

Elliott Fouts Gallery

This is my fourth painting of the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is advertised everywhere during the summer in the Bay Area and it's a fun subject to paint.

The Giant Dipper above is a red and white, 1920s wooden roller coaster. It's a fan favorite, located on the beach with an unobstructed view of the ocean. 

I always look for some bold colors to make a strong composition. However, an amusement park has too much bright color and too much stuff. So I have to make decisions about toning down the color, harmonizing the color and simplifying the shapes. To suggest the atmospheric conditions of fog at the beach, in the background I added a little pink, yellow and pale blue color to the sky. Overall, I try to paint the shapes of color as I see them with tonal variations to suggest depth.  

Rocky Point, Carmel

Rocky Point, Carmel

original oil painting, 11x14 $475 framed

Viewpoints Gallery

In April, I took a painting workshop from Ray Roberts in Carmel.  We had perfect sunny weather for plein air painting.  On the last day of the workshop we painted at Rocky Point, located between Carmel and Big Sur. We ate lunch at the restaurant on the cliffs with a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean. I painted some small studies on site and then created the painting above back at my studio.

Ray was talking to me about the warm reflected light on the rocks in the shadows.  I always think of shadows as being cool, but you could see the warmth in the shadows.  The number 1 lesson from Ray was to get your shadow shapes in first, when painting plein air.  

While I was painting the cliffs and ocean, Peggi Kroll Roberts was painting me.  She was working in goauche - I believe starting with a pencil sketch and laying in big areas of color to represent the different values.  How cool is that to be painted by Peggi Kroll Roberts!

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Kathy McGuire

original gouache by Peggi Kroll Roberts

Longboard Line Up

Longboard Line Up

original oil painting, 12x12, SOLD

Elliott Fouts Gallery

A group of vintage longboards, lined up on the sand, before a surf competition in Santa Cruz. A classic longboard is the most traditional surfboard shape. Surfers originally rode longboards in the 1950s and 1960s in Malibu and Waikiki. They typically range from 8 feet to 12 feet in length. 

Painting surf boards is a challenge, similar to painting a portrait of a face. Everything is symmetrical and every surfboard is different.  There's a stringer, a thin strip of wood that runs down the middle of the surfboard and increases the strength and rigidity of the board. The front of the board is called the nose and the back section is the tail.. The fins are positioned inside a fin box in the tail and come in many different shapes and sizes.  The sides of the surfboard are called rails and vary in thickness according to the design.

The most complicated variable of the surfboard is the rocker. The rocker is the curvature of the surfboard in profile. It has been labeled as the single most important design element in a surfboard. It is a complex combination of compound curves. The rocker certainly complicates a painting of a surfboard!

Polk and Broadway, San Francisco

Polk and Broadway

original oil painting 12x12, $550

Studio Gallery

This is a cityscape of Polk Street on Russian Hill in San Francisco.  The Russian Hill neighborhood got it's name in the 1850s when settlers discovered a Russian cemetery at the top of the hill.  Russian naval ships had visited San Francisco beginning in 1806 and buried crew members in the cemetery. The cemetery has been removed, but the neighborhood name has remained.

The painting above is for the "94109" show at Studio Gallery in San Francisco  I was trying to get the feel of the bright sunlight on the street and buildings.   

Studio Gallery, San Francisco

Me and Karen White at Studio Gallery dropping off paintings for "94109" show.

My paintings at Studio Gallery.  Stop by to see the show - it runs through May 11th.

Local Organic

Local Organic

original oil painting, 12x12 SOLD

Studio Gallery

Real Food Company is a market on Polk Street in Russian Hill.  Local Organic is a painting of the oranges and lemons on display on the sidewalk.  This month, Studio Gallery has a show called "94109" that features paintings in the zip code where the gallery is located.  I was originally drawn to the color of the fruit, but after I started painting, I found the reflections and shadows in the window to be interesting.  There are some long flourescent lights and small spotlights that you can see through the windows.

Transamerica Pyramid at Sunset

Transamerica Pyramid at Sunset

original oil painting, 14x11 $550

Elliott Fouts Gallery

The Transamerica Pyramid, built in 1972, is the tallest skyscraper in the San Francisco skyline. The building is a four sided pyramid with two wings that house the elevator and stair case.

The warm light on the pyramid's crushed quartz facade, gives the building a warm glow at sunset.

Cliffs at the Hook, Santa Cruz

Cliffs at the Hook, Santa Cruz

original oil painting, 11x14  $475

Viewpoints Gallery

The cliffs in Santa Cruz at the Hook - at the end of 41st Avenue on a sunny day. An angle from the beach, usually I paint from above.

Fort Mason, San Francisco

Fort Mason, San Francisco

original oil painting, 6x6, SOLD

Elliott Fouts Gallery

We've had warm sunny weather this winter, so I've been painting with a friend at Fort Mason. The buildings above are part of the Golden Gate National Park Headquarters.  I believe it was all part of the Presidio - at least the architecture is the same.

The low sun angle and dry weather create more intense colors in the landscape.  The Canary Island Date Palm casts a striking silhouette against the white stucco buildings.

This painting is reminiscent of my Southern California paintings.

Sea Swings at the Boardwalk, Santa Cruz

Sea Swings at the Boardwalk, Santa Cruz

original oil painting, 6x6, $175

Elliott Fouts Gallery

The Beach Boardwalk is only open on weekends until the end of March, then it's open daily.  The Sea Swings extend out high over the beach with the Monterey Bay below.