Laguna Wilderness Park

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This pastel painting is done with soft pastels on pastel card.  It measures 22"x29".  This was one of those amazing clear days that I seem to be drawn to when painting.  This location is by some of my favorite subjects to paint.  What really brought me to paint this scene was the crystal clear sky with those dramatic clouds and the contrast to the washed out field.This scene is from a hike I took this past January.

Through the Trees in Caspers Park

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This pastel painting is done on pastel card and measures 29"x23".  It is done with soft pastels.  This painting is from a hike I took in Caspers Park this past summer.  I like the outcome of this painting for a number of reasons.  I like my mark making in this.  It does not have a overworked feel to it.  I also like how the atmospheric perspective turned out.  This painting is currently at my show at the Village Center in Fullerton through the end of the month.  Village Art Center art walk 11/10-3/11.  Shown at In the Light of Day show at Brea Gallery from 8/6/11-9/16/11.

Oak Tree Shadows in Caspers Park

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This painting is done on pastel card with soft pastels and measures 22"x28".  One of the big cattle ranches in Orange County turned into a park: Caspers Park is full of old oaks and sycamore trees.  The amazing light coming through the branches and the contrasting shadows underneath were what drew me to this subject.  I think a better communication of the vibrant light coming through the branches was needed.  This I think will be a really great subject for an oil painting further down the line.  I think I will also try this again as a pastel  at some point.

Tree Along the Road

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This painting is done with soft pastel on pastel card and measures 23"x29".  This painting is from a hike I took around last December in the Chino Hills State Park.  I really liked the atmospheric perspective in this painting as well as the values and color.  I wished I had done more with the tree and the large hills in the background.  I really connected with the scene and will paint this again in the future.

Field in August

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This painting is done on pastel card with a variety of soft pastels and measures 29"x22".  This painting is done from a hike through the Chino Hills State Park behind the Green River Golf Course.  It was a blazing late summer morning.  This Sycamore tree stands over the gate entering the park from the south.  This painting is currently showing at the Village Art Center in Fullerton.  My show opened on 11/5/2010 and is a group show.  It will run through the end of December.  Village Art Center Art Walk 11/10-3/11.  This painting was shown at the Brea Gallery in The Light of Day show from 8/6/11-9/16/11.

Chino Hills Sycamore in Winter

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This painting measures 19.5"x26" and is done on pastel card. This will be one of my paintings at the Fullerton Village Art Center Gallery starting Friday the 5th of November and running through December.  For me this painting represents some growth and progress as an artist.  Just like in sports for me there are times when I am in the zone.  This painting and several others around this time were paintings that seemed to step up the quality of the work I do to another level.  The key is working to stay in that zone. Village Art Center Art Walk 11/10-3/11

Winter Sycamores

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This painting measures 19x26 and is painted with soft pastels on pastel card.  This location in the Laguna Wilderness area is rich with great Sycamore trees.  As I work through this series of paintings I find myself leaning towards painting these trees without leaves.  I am facinated by the crazy structure of the branches and the individuality and character of these trees.  I will be showing some of my recent work from the last 2 months at the Village Art Center in Fullerton California on Harbor blvd. from 11/5/2010 through the new year.  The opening is on 11/5/2010 at 6pm.



Chino Hills at Sunrise

This painting is done on La Carte pastel card.  It is done with soft pastels and measures 23"x29".  This painting was inspired by a hike I took in mid August.  As I entered the Chino Hills State Park from its south east border the sun lit everything up through a haze.

Black Star Canyon Road

This pastel painting is done on La Carte pastel card and is done with soft pastels.  It measures 23"x29".  This road winds through old ranch lands in the Cleveland National Forest.  Some of the ranches are still active.

Eucalyptus on the Hill

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This painting is done on velour paper and measures 23"x29" and is done with soft pastel.

The shadows against the dry grass and the almost lavender color of the bark grabbed my attention as I walked through the park.

Through the Hills

 

This painting is done on velour paper and measures 14"x19".  It is done with soft pastels.  This view is from the southern edge of the Chino Hills State Park facing the Cleveland National Forest.  This view is before the fire ripped through the park and came within several hundred yards of my house.  Most of the trees and vegetation are gone although there are still pockets that were untouched by the fire.

Sunset Cliffs at Twilight

This painting is done on colorfix paper with soft pastels and measures 22"x29".  It is done with soft pastels.  This is one of those paintings that is a near miss.  The colors in the painting are close to the ones I experienced on that fall evening in San Diego but I feel I missed the depth and the rocks in the water.  The subject is so amazing that I know I will revisit this area and try again.  This subject may be better served as an oil painting.

Hazy Morning in the Canyons

This painting is done on velour paper with soft pastels and measures 14"x19".  This painting like my two previous posts has been sitting in my studio for well over a year waiting for that final touch.  I would say that about 99% of the time I work start to finish on a painting without starting anything else until it is done.  Even if I become stuck in the execution of an idea or technique, I generally just do the best I can.  I may rework a section a couple of times to get it right but if that doesn't work, I just move on anyway.  There are times when I realize I am just not good enough yet to complete some of my ideas as I see them.  So anyway, back to this painting.  I did not do anything more to it.  I thought about lightening it up and working on the atmospheric perspective.  Sometimes enough is enough.

Morning in the Orange Hills

This painting is done on velour paper with soft pastels and measures 14"x18".  This is the second painting that kept hanging around.  I knew it needed something but I was not sure until the day I finished the painting I did before this one.  This one was flat and needed more color and to be lightened up.  The morning I was hiking on the edge of the Cleveland National Forest the fog was just burning off and the sun was rising over the edge of the hills making the dry grass and cactus light up.  Village Art Center Art Walk 11/10-3/11

Chino Hills Twilight Revisted

This painting is done on velour paper and measures 12"x15" and is done with various soft pastels.  This is one of a few paintings that I liked but always thought it could be more.  It was too dark and void of any real color.  It sat around for about a year before I picked it up again and reworked it.  I spent about 2 hours on a total of 2 paintings that I thought had the same issues. 

Laguna HIlls

This painting is done on velour paper and measures 23"X29".  The hills in the distance were amazing because of the atmospheric perspective.  Beyond the hills is the city of Laguna Beach.

Joel Lake Reflections

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This painting is done on velour paper with soft pastels and measures 8"x12".  Joel is our tax guy who only lives down here during tax season.  The rest of the time he spends in Washington.  He lives on this remote lake and names all of the features after friends and family members.  He has got this really layed back sarcastic sense of humor which I like a lot.  His name is Joel hence the name of the painting.

Washington Forest

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This painting was the last in the series I did for my customer.  It is on velour paper and measures 23"x29". 

Shadows and Sun Upon the Path

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This is one of those paintings that just flowed.  From start to finish there was no stopping until it was complete.  It isn't my best painting but it was very satisfying to work on.  Frequently I find when I leave a painting for a day or two and it has not been completed; I lose the feeling for it.  This painting was so easy for me I felt guilty selling it for the same price as the others that I had worked so hard on.  SOLD in private collection

                 

Trees in the Fog

    

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This painting was one of the paintings that were sold.  It is painted on velour paper and measures approx. 38"x30".  SOLD in private collection

Island in Washington

This painting was commissioned and purchased for a couple from Washington.  It was my first straight up commission.  It was difficult for me because I had never been to any of the locations I was painting.  I felt a lot of pressure trying to convey the feeling of the area because of the length of time the couple had spent there.  I thought this was one of my better efforts.  I really liked how all of the muted grays turned out.  This painting measures 22"x29" and is done on velour paper.  Sold in private collection

Rocky River

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This painting was one of the final paintings I did on commission for a couple from Washington.  This one did not make the cut.  The rock in the center of the river does not look like your typical rock.  Although this rock looks like the picture they gave me I should have used artistic license to make it look like a rock people expect to see.  There is too much focus on this rock to have it look like this.

Cascading Through Shadows

   

This painting was one of the paintings that did not make the cut for the couple who I painted for.  This painting was a challenge for me in that I had never been to this location.  In addition the challenge of the moving water through the shadows proved to be difficult for me.  If that were not enough the bright sunlight in the background and the rocks in the shadows in the foreground all came together to make this a painting that was difficult to establish any unity.  This painting is done on velour paper and measures 23"x29".

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This soft pastel painting is done on Belgium Mist Kitty Wallis paper with a water color underpainting.  This is yet another painting done for my interior designers client from Washington.    After meeting with the customer I had a better idea of what they were looking for.  I then began a second group of paintings with no watercolor underpainting and went for a softer look with a change in surface.  The next several posts will show you the change in direction I made.

Filtered Light Through the Trees

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This soft pastel painting is done on Belgium Mist Kitty Wallis paper with a water color underpainting.  This is one of the series of paintings I did for the customer from Washington.  Although a very busy subject I was trying to convey the quiet lushness of the forest.

Sunlight Through the Trees

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This pastel painting is done with soft pastels on Belgium Mist Kitty Wallis paper with an underpainting of water color.  This is one of the paintings I did for a customer.  After meeting with the customer I found that this painting was the closest to what they were looking for.  I have gone back to the drawing board as it were and have cranked out a couple of more paintings.  I will be posting those soon.  I used photos that they provided.

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This painting is done on belgium mist Kitty Wallis paper with soft pastels and measures 22"x26".  I did this

painting as part of a group of paintings that I worked up for a client of a interior designer I work with from time to time.  The customer was from Washington state and wanted picture that reminded them of home.

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This soft pastel painting is done on Belgium Mist Kitty Wallis paper with a water color underpainting.  This painting measures 23"x26".  This painting is one of the series I did for my interior decorator's client. 

Into the Eucalyptus

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This pastel painting is done on velour paper and is done with soft pastels.  The painting measures 23"x29".  This scene is from a hike I took up along Black Star Canyon Road. 

Donner Canyon Sycamore Stand

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This pastel painting is done on velour paper with soft pastels and measures 14"x23".  This scene was painted from my hike through Donner Canyon in the Chino Hills State Park.  The park is recovering from the fires that ravaged the park a year and a half ago.  This painting was done in Febuary as Spring was just starting to take hold after the rains stopped.  In the distance you can see the Cleveland National Forest.

From Under the Sycamore

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This painting is on velour paper made with soft pastel and measures 29"x23".  This painting was done from a visit to Irvine Park which was established around 20's.  The day was an unseasonalbly warm spring day with Santa Ana winds blowing through the canyon.  As with so many parks in the area it was once part of a vast cattle ranch.  In my search for Sycamore trees this park had a huge number of old trees.  My only regret was that the majority of the trees were manicured.

Shadows along the Creek

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This painting is done on velour paper and is of a Sycamore tree in the Santiago Canyon.  It measures 25"x29.5".

Light Running Through The Woods

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This soft pastel painting is done on Belgium Mist Kitty Wallis paper with a water color underpainting.  I liked the light touching and running through the shadows.  This pastel painting is part of the work I did for our customers who lived there.

Sunset Cliffs Reflection

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This painting of Sunset Cliffs is done on La Carte Pastel Card and measures 23"x26.5".  I have been studying the book by Robert Henri called "The Art Spirit".  Though this book was assembled in 1923, I find myself identifying with many of his  thoughts.  I thought in particular for this painting the following quote was appropriate ..."the most vital things in a landscape endure only a moment"...The colors I used I thought were right for the moment based on my memory of it.  The movement of the waves and the contrast of the light on the horizon and the shadows upon the cliffs all came out as I remember them.

Swamp Grass

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This soft pastel painting is done on Belgium Mist Kitty Wallis paper with a water color underpainting.  The colors of the plants around the water and the differences in their colors is what interested me in this subject.  This painting is of a bog in Washington State which is part of the work I was doing for a client who came from the area.  When showing the pictures I found the customer wanted something less impressionistic.  I got those ideas of what they wanted from meeting with them in person.  I am now working on a group of new paintings that reflect what they were looking for.

Twilight at Sunset Cliffs

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The contrast between the ever changing waves as they reflected these other wordly colors and hushed buzz of all the people who had come to watch the sunset was the feeling I was trying to convey with this painting.  These ideas were expressed as well as I could at the time.  I feel like I should try this painting again.  The rocks are not subtle enough.  The colors in them were as interesting as the waves and the reflections of twilight in them.  I want to impress more detail in the rocks without making the waves any less important.

Sunset Cliffs

That early evening was hushed and full of energy as the day closed with a quiet bang.  The light impossible.  The shadows infinite.  The haze blending the details as the suns last moments made everything that came before it that day irrelevant.  This painting is finished but the subject was not captured as I would have hoped.  I will paint Sunset Cliffs again.  This series is done.  This is not the last painting but for this post I wanted to try and put into words what I felt the evening I was inspired to paint this landscape.

Fading Twilight at Sunset Cliffs

                                                  This was my second painting in the series from Sunset Cliffs.  The sun was just dipping under the horizon leaving this pink afterglow on the cliffs.  The colors on the rocks were shifting by the minute as I hiked along the edge of the ocean.

Incoming Tide at Sunset Cliffs

This painting was inspired by a plein air painting article in Southwest Artist Magazine.  The artist Scott W. Prior http://www.scottwprior.com/  painted this same scene from about the same vantage point.  This beach is in the older part of San Diego in the Ocean Beach part of the city.  These cliffs are an amazing park at the edge of the city.  At sunset hundreds of locals gather to watch the sun go down.  The local surfers climb down these crazy paths leading to the beach.  I would not try it at all.  The surfers climb down with their surf boards which seems like something only the most experienced mountain goats would attempt.  The quality of light as the sun scrapes the Pacific changes everything.  The color of the cliffs with the last light of the day turns a beautiful landscape into something so intense it transends the cliche.  This scene is from the fall.  I want to go back to paint these cliffs during the summer where the light at sunset will last longer and feel stronger.

Last Light Chino Hills

This painting is a view of north Orange County from the Chino Hills State Park.  This area is also know as Coyote Hills because of the large population of coyotes that have inhabited the area.  These hills run from the edge of LA County across the top of Orange County before the reach the edge of the Cleveland National Forest.

Stillness Before Nightfall

This painting is a view of the Cleveland National Forest from the Chino Hills State Park.  I had little time to get back down off of the hills from the time I took this picture.