Spring Pickings -a still life painting in oil -SOLD

oil 12x16 magnify This half-head of cabbage was talking to me from inside my fridge. I might hold on to this painting for a while. It might be for sale at a later date. UPDATE: This piece is now available. magnify/bid to purchase

Spring Farm Work -a plein air oil painting at Amy's Farm

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase info I took advantage of a cloudy day and headed over to Amy's Farm. It was a nice cool day to paint. The volunteers working in the field kept moving of course, but I managed to paint them very quickly and then paint the scene around them after they moved on.

Mediterranean Diet -a still life demonstration in oil -SOLD

oil 8x8 inches magnify/purchase Thursday night's demo for the Yucaipa Valley Art Association was a blast! What a welcoming and responsive group of artists. Among them were my friends Carol and Joan, pictured below. Thank you, Alan for inviting me. I'm very happy with the way this painting turned out. It's always a bit tricky finishing the next day at home where the lighting is not exactly the same. The Graber olive oil was like liquid gold in a bottle! Such beautiful color. Very exciting! I had my greens pre-mixed as I do for plein air, and they worked here as well. Cad Yellow Lemon and Payne's Gray. One pile with more yellow, and the other with more gray. For the very bright greens, thalo blue and cad yellow light. As usual, the painting looks better in person. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Top Shelf -a still life painting in oil -SOLD

oil 12x9 inches magnify/purchase Here's the top shelf of my still life paraphenalia rack. I didn't move a thing. A large window to the immediate right of the shelf provides some light and sparkle. Those are wide ribbons hanging on the corner in case you wonder. I had fun with this. I do love sparkle.

Berries & Roses -a still life painting in oil

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase I have a demonstration coming up this Thursday evening the 19th in Yucaipa. For more information, please see my blog's "Upcoming Events." I hope everyone had a good weekend!

Cara Cara -SOLD

oil 8x8 inches magnify/purchase What a surprise I had when I cut into this orange! I didn't know I'd picked up a Cara Cara. Beautiful color and so extremely juicy. And our local berries really are that red.

Fruit & Flower -a still life demonstration in oil -SOLD

oil 8x8 inches magnify/purchase Monday night's demo for the Orange Art Association. I painted much faster than I usually do because time was short, then finished it yesterday in my studio. I had used gray drapery which allows me to swing it warm or cool, and in this case violet. I painted the shadows first, then at home had to adjust them so they read right with the cloth in light. Someone asked me about how to determine the color of your shadows. Here's my usual reasoning, although not a hard and fast rule. Consider the local color of the object the shadow is falling on (the cloth, grayish lavender). If the light source is warm (spotlight bulb), the shadow will be cooler (temp.), darker (value), and a bit duller (intensity). So for the shadows I used hardly any white (darker), added more blue (cooler), and a bit more of the complement yellow (duller). I use the same principle with watercolor. With practice you can SEE what color your shadows are. Ask yourself how the shadow color compares to the part of the same object in light. Darker, cooler, duller?

Call It A Day -an oil painting of ranch life

oil 11x14 inches magnify/purchase Painted from a photo I took while camping in Cannon Beach, Oregon. The RV park offers horseback riding. I got some great sunset shots of horses nibbling grass by the creek and shots of this cowboy too. THANK YOU Orange Art Association for a fun experience demonstrating last night. What a lively group you are! I was too busy painting to snap photos, but I'll post the finished painting next chance I get.

Desert Dragon

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase You'll find lots of these beautifully rusted sculptures in Galleta Meadows, not too far from Borrego Springs. You can drive or walk right up to them and all around them. The dragon's head was on one side of the road and his tail sections on the other. The tail looked just like a gigantic rattlesnake's rattle. I turned the RV to give me shade as I painted. The breeze was cool and my dog sat next to me in the passenger seat. It was a great last painting session. Then I headed into town for some really good tacos.

DEMONSTRATION IN ORANGE Next Monday night, March 9. See blog EVENTS for more info.

Palm Trio -a plein air painting of the desert

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase Number two of three paintings I did out at Anza Borrego. This one might be my favorite.