Davenport Beach at Sunset

Davenport Beach at Sunset

original oil painting, 11x14 $550

Elliott Fouts Gallery

I'm in a group show called Hello, Summer! at Elliott Fouts Gallery, June 4 - July 1.  It includes many new paintings of Santa Cruz, surfboards, VW vans, beach volleyball and all things summer. The oil painting "Davenport Beach at Sunset" is in the show.  The cliffs at Davenport are some of the most spectacular rock formations north of Santa Cruz and nothing warms up a scene like the light at sunset.  Stop by the gallery to see the group show.  

Beach Volleyball 4

Beach Volleyball 4

orginal oil painting, 6x6 SOLD

Viewpoints Gallery

Summer is here, everyone was in Santa Cruz last weekend.  Beach Volleyball 4 is part of the Hello Summer show at Viewpoints Gallery in Los Altos.

Endless Summer

Endless Summer

6x6 original oil painting

SOLD

A couple of weeks ago I made a quick trip to Ventura to paint for two days with my friend Chris Beirne.  We were lucky, it was sunny in Ventura, so we spent the day from 9:00-5:00 painting at the beach at Surfer's Point.

Although the water temperature is around 62 degrees at this time of year, there were quite a few people on the beach and in the water.  "Obviously tourists" as Chris said.  Locals would only be in the water with a wetsuit this early in the summer.

This painting is for the 50-50 show in August at the Pacifica Art Center, my theme is "Endless Summer."

Cattle Grazing in the Stanford Hills

Cattle Grazing in the Stanford Hills

8x10 original oil painting, SOLD

For many years I've admired the paintings of the "Society of Six." They were a group of plein air painters who worked in the Oakland area when it was still rural.  In 1917 the artists formed an association called the Society of Six.  I especially like the paintings by Selden Gile of cows in pastures.  Take a look at the paintings by the Society of Six, I've added a link under "websites and blogs."

For the painting above, I took photos of the cattle grazing as I was walking along the Alpine trail. The cattle seem to roam pretty freely in the Stanford Hills.  They are out in the winter when the grass is green, but then in the summer when the grass is golden, they seem to disappear, off to other pastures.

Morning Light on the Alpine Trail

Morning Light on the Alpine Trail

8x10 original oil painting

SOLD

Hiking the Dish (an old radio telescope) in the Stanford Hills is a popular way to exercise. There are amazing views of the Stanford Hills and the Bay.  From the highest points you can see all the way across the San Mateo bridge or into the City.

My painting shows a view along the Alpine trail, as you walk up through a grove of trees, with the Santa Cruz mountains in the background.  You can see part of an old fence that might have been used for the cattle grazing on the land. As you turn the corner and come out of the trees you start the steep climb to the Dish.

Rocks, Pebble Beach

Rocks, Pebble Beach

8x10 original oil painting

On Saturday I drove to Pebble Beach with a friend, Alice Weil, for a workshop at Brian Blood's studio.  After a night of freezing temperatures, the day was cold and sunny with some beautiful cloud formations.

The painting above is a study of the rocks and the ocean near Lover's Point. I completed the painting during a plein air workshop with Brian last summer.  The coastline in Pebble Beach is lined with dramatic cliffs.  The color of the ocean is almost unnatural looking with viridian greens and ultramarine blue. When painting the rocks I wanted to capture the reflection of the rocks in the ocean and the swirling motion of the water around the rocks.  

55 Ford T-bird

55 Ford T-bird

8x10 original oil painting

How quintessential California, a '55 Thunderbird cruising the 85 freeway with the top down on a sunny day in February.  The car was a beautiful sporty two-seat red convertible, so I had to take a few photos as it passed us on the freeway. Not only is the T-bird part of California lore, but also Madison Avenue, as the Thunderbird was the first car marketed as a personal luxury vehicle.

I used to avoid painting cars, even if they were in the scene I was painting, I would leave them out of my composition.  However, there's something romantic about old cars.  I've been looking at classic cars, like the VW van and Beetle and incorporating them into my work.  Painting cars is a challenge, but it's fun to paint the shiny chrome, the reflections and the bright colors.

Low Tide, Capitola

Low Tide, Capitola

8x10 original oil painting

SOLD

On Saturday, while Craig was surfing, I walked down the stairs to the beach. As I walked around the cliffs, I could see Capitola and the pier in the distance.  It was a clear bright day, at low tide with the kelp beds exposed in the foreground.  I took a photo and worked from the photo in my studio to create this painting.

Eucalyptus 4, Woodside

Eucalyptus 4, Woodside

8x10 original oil painting

There are more than 700 species of Eucalyptus, but only 15 species occur outside of Australia. In the 1850s, Eucalyptus trees were introduced to California by Australians during the California Gold Rush. It was hoped that they would provide a renewable source of timber for construction and railroad ties. The wood was found to be unsuitable, so instead Eucalyptus trees were used as wind breaks in many rural areas.

My painting shows a Eucalyptus grove off of Canada Road.  I was attracted to the white bark on the tree contrasting with the dark trees in the background.

Eucalyptus 3, Woodside

Eucalyptus 3, Woodside

8x10 original oil painting

The leaves on the trees are changing to fall colors.  Yesterday we were watching the first storm of the season strip away the bark from the Eucalyptus trees in our front yard to reveal intense yellows, browns and green colored trunks.

Stanford Hills 2

Stanford Hills 2

8x10 original oil painting

The landscape surrounding Stanford is rolling hills and open space with ever changing colors.  As we're approaching winter, the golden hills are beginning to turn green. 

On my palette, I have seven basic colors of paint, plus white.  As I was creating this painting I was amazed at the subtle variations created from these eight colors of paint.

Market Street, San Francisco

Market Street, San Francisco

8x10 original oil painting

SOLD

 I've always liked to paint architecture.  Josef Woodard of the LA Times described my paintings of Ventura as "townscapes."  Following in that tradition, I've painted a cityscape of San Francisco, looking down Market Street at the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero.

I'm attracted to the shapes and colors in architecture and the abstract juxtapositions.  I like the long shadows that tall buildings cast in the city.  With buildings of different heights, the sun can peek through in different areas. 

Cable Car on Hyde Street

Cable Car, San Francisco

8x10 original oil painting

SOLD

I feel lucky to live so close to San Francisco.  Over the weekend we went with friends to the ACT Theater to see the play "Scapin".  The evening was warm and when we left the theater at about 10:15 pm, the streets were filled with people.  I was inspired to paint a street scene of San Francisco.

In this view you can see the Hyde Street cable car with Alcatraz and Angel Island in the distance.  It was a clear warm day with views across the bay.

Capitola Beach

Capitola Beach 2

8x10, original oil painting

The end of summer brings warm, sunny weather to the California Coast.  Sometimes September and October are the hottest months of the year, but the days are shorter and the sun shifts lower in the sky, bringing more dramatic shadows along with it.

Capitola Beach is located along the Monterey Bay, just South of Santa Cruz.  The town hugs the coastline with shops and Spanish-style homes that date back to the 1920s.

My painting shows Capitola Beach on a warm, sunny weekend, when everyone was at the beach.

VW Van, Santa Cruz

VW Van, Santa Cruz

8x10 original oil painting

SOLD

As unusual as it may seem, a VW van in front of a Victorian house is a common image in beach communities of California.  The Pacific Ocean seems to attract these classic vehicles.  For five decades they've been hauling surfers and their gear to the beach.  Just as the shoreline attracts people today, much of the Victorian building boom occurred in coastal communities in the early 1900s.

I was attracted to this yellow house on Broadway Street by the queen palm tree. The queen palm is ubiquitous in California beach communities from Southern California to Santa Cruz, but rare on the Peninsula. It's a soft flowing graceful palm tree, whose undulations in the wind, seem to mimic the surf nearby.

Summer Vines, Fogarty Vineyards & Winery

Summer Vines, Fogarty Vineyards and Winery

8x10, original oil painting

Fogarty Vineyards and Winery is located high in the Santa Cruz Mountains overlooking Silicon Valley.  As you enter the winery, off to the right you will see the Portola Springs Vineyard, which is the view captured in my painting.

The Portola Springs Vineyard is the steepest and most extreme site on the property.  The vineyard produces the grapes for the Fogarty Chardonnay wines.  When I created the painting, the vines were leafing out, but the grapes were immature.  The grass between the rows was beginning to turn a golden color.  The shale and sandstone soil conditions and extreme exposure, lead to some of the most unique and intriguing wines made at Fogarty Vineyards and Winery.

The winery was established as a commercial venture in 1981 by Dr. Thomas Fogarty, Professor of Surgery at Stanford University Medical Center.  While working as a surgeon Dr. Fogarty helped a colleague with winemaking. His interest blossomed and he later purchased acreage in the Santa Cruz Mountains and planted his first vines in 1978. The estate now consists of 325 acres, 25 of which are under vine.

Eucalyptus, Woodside

Eucalyptus, Woodside

8x10, original oil painting

SOLD

The variety of colors in Eucalpytus trees make them interesting to paint.  The Eucalpytus tree in my painting, has a light gray-brown colored trunk with red, yellow and blue tones in the peeling bark.  The immature leaves are rounded in shape and a cool blue color, while the mature leaves are elongated and a warm green tone.  As the leaves age they change to a translucent red-orange color.  Nature creates all the beautiful color, I just have to be observant.

Fog at Pebble Beach

Fog at Pebble Beach

8x10, original oil painting
SOLD 

I do not like to paint in the fog, but the colors of the sky and ocean are beautiful variations of gray. I painted "Fog at Pebble Beach" while I was attending a plein air workshop.  The fog didn't lift all day.  The ocean was a calm, steel-blue gray, which contrasted with the hot pink ice plant on the cliffs.  In the background are the distinctive Cypress Trees that line 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach.

Summer at the Beach, Santa Cruz

Summer at the Beach, Santa Cruz

6"x8" original oil painting

SOLD

On the weekends my husband and I go to the beach in Santa Cruz.  While Craig surfs, I paint, draw, photograph and watch the surfers.  We go to the Hook, off 41st Avenue, near Capitola.

In the winter, the surf gets big and powerful, but in the summer the surf is usually small and glassy.  The steep cliffs lead down to the beach, where the summer sunbathers hang out.  This painting is the view from the cliff, overlooking the beach.

Eucalyptus Trees

Eucalyptus 2, Woodside

8x10, original oil painting

SOLD

My husband and I moved to Woodside last November.  We're living in a semi-rural area between San Francisco and San Jose.  We love the neighborhood and I've been inspired to paint Eucalyptus trees, because they are everywhere.  I'm posting one of my recent paintings.