Linda Mar Beach

This is an oil painting I worked on en plain air during a very windy morning at Linda Mar Beach.  It plays with perspective and distorts space to invite the viewer to experience a broader expanse of the beach on a typical windy Spring day drawing their attention to the churned up waves. The warm hues on the hillside indicate Spring is still with us while the blue and turquoise ocean remind us of the cool Pacific Ocean. The clouds in the distance are a forewarning to the approaching afternoon fog.

Moored Offshore

 Here is a tiny 4 x 4 oil painting of a sailboat moored offshore somewhere off the Northern California coast.

Half Moon Bay Harbor 2

 This another small oil painting in my series of Half Moon Bay harbor. Darker values than the previous HMB painting suggest the light effects in the early evening.

Half Moon Bay Harbor

 Here is a small oil painting of Half Moon Bay harbor where I first applied paint with a palette knife to cover the board. Then I used a soft brush and knife to create the effects of motion.

Sunset and Surfer

 

I’ve been meaning to paint this scene based on a photo I took a couple years ago. Well, I finally got around to it and here it is. I made liberal use of the palette knife to apply the color which gave the waves some additional texture and a more dramatic effect in the clouds.

Pacifica beach

A quick watercolor sketch of one of the beautiful beaches in Pacifica.  I always struggle with capturing the surf along the shore.  I tried a dry brush technique with the whites of the surf and used glazing for the sand.

 I finally tidied up the library so I could use the room as a studio to do some painting.  Here is an 8x10 seascape oil painting not far from our house. I limited my palette to essentially two colors using three paints - french ultramarine blue, burnt umber, and flake white.  I focused on values to capture the light reflecting off the ocean and the mist blanketing the hills and cliffs.

Ocean serenity

 Today I was inspired to sketch a beach near our home that we frequently visit. I hope to do more art and painting in the year ahead.

Sunrise on Lake Cuomo

 Last year I finally delivered on a promise to paint a harbor scene for my mom. It took me a couple of years to get inspired and with the pandemic I found some time to do this painting based on a photo I took at Lake Cuomo, Italy. I also included a few photos such as a color study to illustrate a bit about my processs.

 

An imaginary hike through Big Basin

Travel watercolor during COVID-19 lockdown

We were supposed to travel to Russia this May and as fate would have it those plans are out the window.  As I look out the window from our home during the COVID-19 lockdown I did a couple of quick watercolor sketches from photos.  Most of you will recognize the first sketch as Red Square in Moscow.  Can you guess the location of the second sketch?  I'll give you a clue...

It's near San Francisco.

Still can't guess?

Ok, it's the rocks near Pedro Point :)

The Captains House

Just a quick sketch while picnicking at Coyote Point.  The building in the background is actually the restroom while the Captains House is behind me.

Dancing with the daffodils

I tried out a nature easel I designed today. Sketching daffodils at Filoli was a good test drive of my new watercolor apparatus.

Montara Beach

Enjoyed a beautiful day hiking near Montara Beach.  Before the hike I did a couple of seascape sketches.  I'm trying to work on rendering waves and tides.  Definitely challenging but I'm convinced if I really observe and practice I'll eventually get the hang of it

Portola Vineyards

I spent a beautiful day Plein air painting with a group of artists that meet regularly.  Today enjoyed the sun, scenery, and wine of Portola Vineyards.  Here is an 8x10 oil painting after about 4 hours of work.

Antenna

It's been about a year since I did my last plein air painting.  I met up with the Burlingame Plein Air Painters Meetup group at Princeton Harbor in Half Moon Bay to exercise my artistic abilities and get some fresh air.  Here is the result of a few hours dabbling with my oil paints.  A few people walking by complimented me on the painting and as I was packing up my supplies one couple offered to buy my painting.  Maybe I'm not so bad after all.  Anyway, I do it more for fun than anything else.  If I had more time I would have worked out the values and forms a bit more.

Landscape facing Woodside Road near the Pioneer Inn

I decided to join the Burlingame Plein Air painters meetup today to see if I could overcome my apprehension to oil paint landscapes outside.  I figured it would help to be around some other artists and since it was a beautiful day I decided to give it a go.  After laboring in the sun for 4 hours I produced the following.  I found landscape painting to be quite challenging since there is so much information you really have to force yourself to simplify the scene but I'm happy with the result.  I spent about 30 minutes setting up and just thinking about the composition.

The old oak tree

Old gnarled and twisting oak trees are full of character and interesting patterns.  I enjoyed painting this oak tree located in a park near my house.

Overlooking the South Bay from Edgewood Park

I was hiking on Saturday at Edgewood Park and decided to sketch some oak trees while taking a break to look out over the Bay.  I also took a picture for reference which I used to do this watercolor painting.  I focused on the oak trees off center and to the right as my subject.

Water Dog Lake

I find landscapes to be the most difficult to compose because it is not always clear where to focus.  There is a small lake in our neighborhood that one day inspired me to sketch the surrounding hillside as the sun rose behind me.  Below is an attempt at rendering this scene in oils.  I struggled a bit with the subject but found it a good exercise to experiment with colors.