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.

Poli Street, Ventura

Poli St, Ventura
Original oil painting, 8x10

SOLD

I'm posting a preview of my paintings for my upcoming show at the Buenaventura Gallery in Ventura.  This painting is a scene of Poli Street, between Lincoln Drive and North Pacific Ave.  It's a picturesque part of Poli Street that was developed in the 1920s with Spanish style architecture.  Craig and I use to live about a block away on Encinal Way.

The repetitive style of architecture gives the painting a sense of rhythm. I also wanted to create a sense of depth with the dark tree shadows in the foreground and  the lighter foliage in the background.

Ojai Preserve at Sunset

Ojai Preserve at Sunset

Original oil painting, 8x10

SOLD

I've been painting with my friend Chris Beirne to prepare for our art exhibit in September. Recently we were scouting a painting location in Santa Barbara and we ended up back in Ojai. We decided to head over to Chris's favorite painting spot on Besant Road, to paint as the sun was setting.

The meadow where we painted is called the Ojai Preserve, an open space with walking trails and Eucalyptus trees in the background. As the sun dropped lower in the sky, we set up to paint. The trees behind me were casting a shadow on the road and there was a red/orange tint in the background in my scene. The light was shifting which gave me a more dramatic value range to work with. We painted for about an hour before the entire scene was engulfed in shadows. The beauty of painting at sunset is the warm glow the sunlight casts on everything, however, you have to paint VERY quickly.

After I returned home I did the painting above in my studio, using my plein air painting as a reference.

I have to add some information about this palm tree, since I love to paint palm trees. It's a California Fan Palm (Washingtonia Filifera), the only palm native to the Western United States and an iconic palm tree in California.

On the Beach

On the Beach

6x6 original oil painting

50-50 Show, Sanchez Art Center
SOLD

As the sun angle gets lower in the sky, it signals the end of summer.  The light is brighter, the shadows longer and the days are starting to shorten.  But sometimes, this is the warmest time of the year to be at the beach in California.  I like the composition of this painting because it makes me feel like I'm sitting on the beach people watching and soaking up the sun.

Sailboats on the San Francisco Bay

Sailboats on the San Francisco Bay

6x6 original oil painting

SOLD

Sailboats are a common sight near the Golden Gate bridge.  In the summer, SF Bay sailing is interesting because we get winds up to 30 knots. The water around "The Gate" can get very choppy and very dangerous...not a place to hang out at if your sailing skills are not up to par. You also have to worry about huge shipping tankers coming in through the Gate since this is the main shipping channel. Along with the strong winds are the tidal currents of up to several knots.

I had an opportunity to sail in the bay when my brother-in-law, Jeff had a sailboat in the Bay area.  My husband went out with his brother, but I was afraid to sail with two farm boys from Iowa.  Now that I've been painting sailboats I see the beauty in the graceful lines of the sails and the boats skimming across the water.  I'm looking forward to the America's Cup in 2013 in San Francisco.

California Poppies

California Poppies

8x10 original oil painting

SOLD

Each California poppy is a solitary flower on a long stem, with four petals and colors ranging from yellow to orange.  The foliage is blue-green in color, described botanically as glaucus, meaning "bluish-grey or green".  The petals close at night or in cold, windy weather and open again the following morning.  The poppies begin flowering in February.  The California poppy is the official state flower of California and native to the United States. 

There's nothing like painting a subject to make you observe it much more closely.  I hadn't studied California poppies close enough to notice that there are four petals on each flower and the color of the leaves are blue-green.  While I was working on this painting, I wanted a warm gray/black background color. I was having a hard time mixing the color, so I pulled out my color charts and found that Viridian and Cadmium Red Light make a beautiful warm gray. ( I've added my color charts to my blog below for any artists who are interested.)