Red Van on Opal Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz

Red VW Van, Santa Cruz

original oil painting, 8x10 SOLD

I can't resist painting old Volkswagen vans. I ride my bike past this little yellow house and red van on the weekends on my way to Capitola.  It's at the corner of Opal Cliff Drive and Court Drive in Santa Cruz.  They had this old red van which I really liked, but recently they got a newer red van.  Luckily I got a photo with the old van on a day with wispy cloud formations in the sky.

  

Poli Street 3, Ventura

Poli Street 3, Ventura

original oil painting, 16x20  SOLD

available at the Buenaventura Gallery, Sept 11 - Oct 6

Reception: Saturday, September 15, 4:00 - 7:00 pm

The painting in this view is from the corner of Poli Street and North Catalina Street.  The street is lined with old Mexican fan palms, queen palms and 1920s Spanish style houses.  Ventura High School, which was directly behind me, casts a big shadow in the foreground.

Chill Out Cafe, Santa Cruz

Chill Out Cafe, Santa Cruz

original oil painting, 10x8 SOLD

available at the Buenaventura Gallery, Sept 11 - Oct 6
Reception: Saturday, Sept 15, 4:00 - 7:00pm

The Chill Out Cafe is on 41st Avenue in Santa Cruz.  It's a charming Santa Cruz hangout, full of locals eating breakfast burritos.  I've wanted to paint the building for a while because of the barn red color and it's popularity among surfers.
  

Lagoon at Hendry's Beach, Santa Barbara

Lagoon at Hendry's Beach, Santa Barbara

original oil painting, 10x8

SOLD

In March, Chris Beirne and I painted together in Southern California.  I asked Chris to find a place to paint with big cliffs, along the ocean. Chris picked Hendry's Beach in Santa Barbara and suggested that we paint at sunset. It was unusally warm and sunny, which meant the beach was packed with people, not the best situation for plein air painting.   

When I returned home, I painted the scene above. It's funny that I ended up painting the lagoon instead of the cliffs.  I was attracted to the reflections on the pond, the green in the hills and the vertical compositional elements of the fan palms.  You can see the long shadows from the setting sun.

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.

View of Bay Bridge, San Francisco

View of Bay Bridge, San Francisco

original oil painting, 8x10

SOLD

The Bay Bridge is an impressive site.  You can catch a glimpse of the bridge from many streets in San Francisco.  It's actually a pair of bridges spanning the San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and Oakland.  A western span connects downtown San Francisco to Yerba Buena Island and an eastern span connects the island to Oakland.  It has one of the longest spans in the world, which it feels like when you're driving across it.

My painting shows the Bay Bridge in the distance on a street in San Francisco.  In the foreground, on the left you can see a typical San Francisco building with curved corner windows.  When painting cityscapes it's difficult to decide how much detail to include in the painting.  I simplify the information while trying to suggest a sense of depth and space.  Then I hope to find a balance that works in the painting.