California Street, San Francisco

 

California Street, San Francisco

original oil painting, 8x10

SOLD

 

California Street is over 5 miles long and one of the longest streets in San Francisco. It has a number of important landmarks including the Fairmont Hotel, Mark Hopkins Hotel and Ritz Carlton. The view in my painting is the eastern portion of California Street which runs from Market to Van Ness Avenue.  You can see Polk Street in the foreground and the cable car lines in the street.

 

You may have noticed that I like to paint streetscapes.  It makes for challenging compositions.  Part of the challenge is deciding what architectural elements to paint and what to leave out.  Simplifying the color palette brings harmony to a city scene that can be full of bright garish colors on signs, buildings and cars. 

View of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz

View of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz

original oil painting, 8x10
SOLD

The ocean in Santa Cruz is part of the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary, some of northern California’s most beautiful shoreline. Along West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz are stunning views of the cliffs and the ocean.
  

I was attracted to this particular scene because of the colorful iceplant in the foreground, contrasting with the jagged cliffs against the ocean.  I've used cerulean blue in the painting, although I've found it tricky to integrate into my oil paintings.  Cerulean is a bold, pure pigment that leans toward azure and is often used in skies and reflections on water. I think it works well in this composition of the coastline on a bright fall day.

Main Street, Ventura

 

Main Street, Ventura

original oil painting, 8x10

Buenaventura Gallery, SOLD
Reception: Friday, October 6 from 5-8 pm

 

My show is coming to a close on Saturday, Oct 6, stop by the Buenaventura Gallery this week to see the paintings. Chris Beirne and I have a reception on Friday night from 5-8, as part of the citywide First Friday art event.

 

This is the last painting I will post from my art exhibit. I picked the location because of the colorful brick building on the corner of Main Street and Chestnut. The building is a cultural landmark with Art Deco influences that has been beautifully restored and is currently a restaurant called Watermark on Main.

 

Look for a coastal painting next week!

 

  

View of the Bay, San Francisco

View of the Bay, San Francisco

orginal oil painting 10x8

SOLD

I was painting in San Francisco and I wanted a photo of a street scene with Alcatraz and Angel Island in the background. I drove around until I found this spot on Hyde Street and then I waited for the Cable Car to crest the hill, into the sunlight. It actually took quite a while. The cable cars don't run that often. It turns out that people driving in cars don't like it when you're standing in the middle of the street to take photos, but I was happy with the composition.

Kalorama Street, Ventura

Kalorama Street, Ventura

original oil painting, 24x30

SOLD

The opening reception for my show at the Buenaventura Gallery was a lot of fun. We had about 200 people come through the gallery that night.  I want to thank everyone who came by to say hello and show their support. I'm also grateful for all the help from the staff and volunteers. I'm very proud of my new paintings and I think the show looks really nice in the solo room at the Buenaventura Gallery.  

The painting of Kalorama Street is in the show. We use to live in the Sea View condos off of Kalorama Street in Ventura.  I always thought the street was unique and interesting, it has Mexican Fan Palms growing out of the street. At some point the city must have widened the street and paved around the palm trees. There's an ocean view at the end of the street, a mixture of houses, churches and apartments. It has a Southern California feel to it - wide street, lots of palms trees, a fog bank and warm sunlight, colorful plants and a 1960s style apartment building.

Mission and 2nd Street, San Francisco

Mission and 2nd Street, San Francisco

original oil painting, 24x30

SOLD

I took the photo for this painting, after I had been to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art with my friend Alicia.  We were on Mission and New Montgomery Street waiting for a bus, when I pulled out my camera to capture this composition.  I liked the F-line rail car with the Ferry Building in the background.

This painting is 30x24, the largest size oil painting that I've done to date.  I used my t-square to get the vertical building lines parallel in the background.

Underpaintings by Ann

 

A couple of weeks ago my niece Ann was visiting from Wichita.  She likes art and likes to help me in the studio.   I had some drawings from photographs on canvas panels and I asked her to do the underpaintings.  She used a thin wash of Transparent Red Oxide paint and divided the painting into three values, a dark, middle and light tone.  After the underpaintings dried, Ann also helped me lay in the sky on a few paintings.  The above photo shows Ann finishing the sky in a painting of the flower fields in Santa Paula.  Thanks Ann!