Mike Major's blog/daily paintings

Corona Hills

2011-12-27T17:18:00.000-08:00

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This pastel painting was a plein air piece I did a couple of days ago in the hills in Corona at the edge of the Cleveland National Forest. This was the first time I painted on this surface. The surface kind of reminded me of velour with a little more resistance to the pasel as I stroked it across the surface. The name of the surface is called Pastel Mat http://www.pastelmat.com/ I like it enough to continue to use it. I did think that it did not hold as many layers of pastel as velour. I did like the feel of the texture of the surface. I did like the ability of the surface to be covered quickly. It did hold the pastel better than velour. This study took about an hour and a half. The painting measures 18"X25". I am gearing up for a my first plein air competition coming up in January.

Morro Bay

2011-12-25T10:10:00.000-08:00

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This painting is done on Wallis paper with soft pastels over a water color underpainting. This painting measures 16"X24". I let the watercolor underpainting take the middle values of the piece and kept it almost all grays. This way I could really punch up the brilliance of the cliffs with the pastels.

Afternoon Eucalyptus Stand

2011-12-25T00:02:00.000-08:00

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This painting is done on Colorfix paper with soft pastels. The painting measures 18"X25". The subject for this landscape was a eucalyptus stand of trees near Santiago Canyon. My daughter's soccer practice didn't start on time so we went exploring nearby.

2011-11-17T18:58:00.001-08:00

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This painting is done in oil on canvas. This painting measures 20"X24". This view is about a half a mile from my house on the hills by my daughter's high school. I think I made good choices in the selection of the colors I used and their relationship to each other. "Let your idea be not that you are doing a portrait of that place but of that time of day." -Hawthorne

Setting Sun Upon the Hills

2011-11-10T19:35:00.001-08:00

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This painting of Chino Hills State Park is one of the more dramatic paintings I have done. The light of this late afternoon was very intense. This painting is of a late August afternoon. It was the dramatic contrast of the colors in the shadows and the highlights on the hills that caught my attention. This painting is a soft pastel over a water color underpainting. The painting measures 27"X35".

Santa Ana River

2011-11-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

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This plein air painting is done with soft pastels on velour paper. This painting measures 18.5"X27'. It was a very bright morning and the trees were backlit by the morning sun. This stretch of the river is uncontrolled by concrete and the corps of army engineers. About a mile down stream that all changes.

Into Coal Canyon

2011-11-03T19:13:00.000-07:00

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This painting is soft pastel over a water color underpainting. This painting is done on Wallis sanded paper and measures 28"X35". This painting is the first thing you see once you walk under the 91 freeway and into Coal Canyon. I had seen this view for years as I went to work. I did not realize it was part of Chino Hills State Park and I did not see the entrance until I had hiked along the bike trail running from Yorba Linda to Corona. This is one of my favorite paintings out of my recent efforts.

Sun Upon the Hills

2011-11-02T22:16:00.000-07:00

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This pastel painting is done on Wallis sanded paper with soft pastels over a watercolor underpainting. This painting measures 25"X 37". This painting is from a late afternoon hike throught Chino Hills State Park. The shadows were growing longer by the minute and the sun was blazing on the steep face of the eroded hill in front of me.

Coyote Hills

2011-10-31T22:22:00.000-07:00

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This pastel painting is a plein air sketch. This painting is done on velour paper with soft pastels. This painting measures 18"X25". In order to work on my quick draw skills I have been painting with time limits. On this painting I started at 5:30pm and finished at 7pm. The benefit is that it helps me not lose the lighting when I am painting because I am able to paint quicker. It also makes me pull my composition together quicker. In looking at this painting the way the hills fall off to the left and the way the mountains follow the line of the hills on the left side of the painting is distracting. I think a better transition from the foreground through the middle ground of the painting would give a better representation of distance. The colors are something I can use as a study for a studio painting.

Late August Shadows in Chino Hills

2011-10-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

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This oil painting measures 24"X36". This painting is in the Chino Hills State Park. It was a late afternoon and the hills were covered in warm shadows as the sun pushed through onto the different levels of fields seperated by a ravine in between. The hills above Coal Canyon are in the background.

Below Scully Ridge

2011-10-28T20:06:00.000-07:00

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This is a pastel painting done in the studio from a hike through Chino Hills State Park. This pastel has a water color under painting on Wallis paper and measures 27"X35". It was the end of August and the scrub had just lost its last bit of green. The shadows were starting to lengthen earlier in the afternoon and the shadows were hazy with humidity.

Newport Beach Sunset

2011-10-26T23:09:00.000-07:00

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This painting is 14"x18" and is oil on canvas. This is from a stay down in Newport Beach. We went down to the beach and walked along the bike path down by 58th street. The glow of the sunset as it lit up the water was supernatural.

Shadows on the Hills

2011-10-25T22:59:00.000-07:00

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This pastel painting was done en plein air in the Chino Hills State Park. It is done on velour paper with soft pastels. The painting measures 18"x25". The shadows that day were amazing. The time of day and the time of the year and the atmosphere all worked together. There might be 20 days a year that all of the elements come together like it did that day. I felt lucky to be at the right place at the right time.

Newport Back Bay Bluff

2011-10-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

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This is the plein air painting I did from the last entry I made. This painting is on velour which I really like for plein air because of the ease with which I can quickly cover the surface. It is a relatively fragile surface for holding the pastel but the number of layers it can handle is impressive. This velour is attached to museum board which gives it a lot more stability outside. The overall size of the painting is 18"x25".

2011-08-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday the LPAPA had a paint out at the Newport back bay. Paul Kratter was the signature artist who was there hosting the paint out. He did a one hour demo which I missed because I was on the wrong end of Back Bay road. I hiked in 5 miles to find the group already painting out of the backs of their cars.

There were about 10 artists who showed up for the paint out. There was one other pastel artist.

This was the subject we all painted. The cliffs are one of the more painted scenes in the back bay area. Since I had traveled the whole length of Back Bay road I had the chance to scout out other painting locations.

After four hours I was finished. I was not the last to leave but it was getting close. I thought Paul did a good job. He spent time with everyone. I thought the type of advice was well considered to the skills of the painters at the paint out. He even let one painter use his set up

2011-08-07T22:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the opening of "In the Light of Day". It was a nice opening. The curator did a good job at organizing the hanging of the paintings. The opening was well attended and it seemed like I had a number of interested people in my work.

Laguna Canyon in October

2011-07-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

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This pastel painting is done on Wallis paper with a soft pastels over a underpainting of watercolor. The painting measures 24"x34". I was inspired by the more visible shape of the sycamore trees and their foliage.

Afternoon Tide

2011-07-29T22:56:00.000-07:00

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This painting is done on Wallis paper with an underpainting of watercolor. This painting measures 24"x34" and is completed with a finshed application of soft pastel. This painting is at Salt Creek. This painting demonstrates some of the growth I have made as an artist in the last year. I did an earlier version of this painting which at the time represented my current level of skill. I think the biggest growth is in my handling of the color and value of the painting.

Black Star Canyon Oak

2011-07-27T22:38:00.000-07:00

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This pastel painting is done on Wallis sanded paper with a water color underpainting. This painting measures 18"x24" and is done with soft pastels over the under painting. I feel like I have made a break through in the quality of light that I am capturing. In addition I am happy with the values in my paintings at this time. It seemed like I was stuck with these dark paintings. It was a morning around 9am when I took the reference photos for this painting.

Santa Ana Canyon Eucalyptus

2011-07-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

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This painting is from a trip through Santiago Canyon in the morning a week ago. This painting is done on Wallis sanded paper and mearsures 24"x18". It has a water color underpainting with a soft pastel finish. The sun and shadows in the foreground was what initailly attracted me to this subject. I also liked the quality of the sky through the eucalyptus trees.

In the Light of Day

2011-07-19T10:52:00.000-07:00

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This is the show card for the upcoming show that I will be participating in. I have been outside painting a lot lately. I dropped off my paintings on my birthday and got a preview of the show. My daughter and I walked around looking for a spot to set my paintings down. There are couple of people I look forward to seeing at the show's opening. Rick Delanty http://delantyfineart.com/

Temecula Mountain View

2011-06-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

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This is a soft pastel painting over a watercolor underpainting. It measures 24"x 36". It is done on Wallis sanded paper. This painting is from an early morning trip I made around the area. I want to go back and paint the wine country when I get a chance.

Summer Sycamore Trees in Caspers Park

2011-06-29T23:06:00.000-07:00

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This painting is done on Wallis sanded paper with an underpainting of water color with. The finishing of the painting was done with soft pastels. The painting measures 24"x36". This painting was based off of reference photos from a hike I took in mid summer.

Late Afternoon in San Clemente Canyon

2011-06-28T20:31:00.000-07:00

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This painting is done with soft pastels on Wallis paper with a water color underpainting. The painting measures 24"x36". The underpainting on this pastel like some of my more recent work is very detailed compared to my past efforts. I think this painting really captures the mood and the feeling of this place for me.

Santiago Canyon

2011-06-19T10:13:00.000-07:00

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This painting is done on La Carte pastel paper with soft pastels. It measures 23"x29". The day I was in the Canyon the skies were brilliant. The skies were so clear and crisp. Everything had a certain kind of sparkle. The depth of the sky somehow seemed deeper than I had ever seen it.

Afternoon Beach Winds

2011-06-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

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This painting is on La Carte pastel card and measures 19"x 26". This subject was given to me by friends Steph and Kerri Simpson.

Steph and Kerri's View

2011-06-14T22:10:00.000-07:00

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This painting is done on La Carte pastel paper with soft pastels and measures 23"x29". Our friends Steph and Kerri go to Hawaii every year. They brought back this picture from a trip and Steph asked me to paint it. I like this one but think I could make it better if it was lighter. I think I will try this one with an underpainting of water color with pastels on top on sanded Wallis paper.

Plein Air Acceptance

2011-06-09T22:42:00.000-07:00

I recieved notice today that I will be in the show. I will have all three of my submissions entered into the show. I am not going to lie I am pretty excited!

At the Top of Chino Hills

2011-06-07T22:56:00.000-07:00

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This is an oil painting on canvas.This painting is 22"x28". This painting is of the Chino Hills at about 7am in January. I had climbed to the tops of the hills and faced North towards the San Gabriel Mountains. We had not had any rain yet so the hills were still very dry. The shadows cast by the morning sun and the sunlight striking the hills through the distance were breath taking.

Early Spring in Chino Hills

2011-06-07T10:02:00.000-07:00

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This painting is done on Wallis paper and measures 26"x34". It is painted with a water color underpainting with soft pastels. This painting is mapped on panaramio at http://www.panoramio.com/user/4907141

Clouds Over Black Gold

2011-06-06T17:12:00.000-07:00

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This painting is done on Wallis sanded paper (Belgium Mist) with a water color underpainting and finished off with soft pastels. This painting was done from a reference photo taken less than a mile from my house. The foreground is a local golf course called Black Gold. http://blackgoldgolf.com/ The painting measures 26"x34". I like the range of values in this painting and in particular I like that it is not too dark. I am currently working to make my paintings more representational of the values as I encounter them. My wife is constantly telling me my paintings are too dark.

Through the Sycamores in Capsers Park

2011-06-02T20:31:00.000-07:00

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This painting is on Wallis paper with a water color underpainting and an overlay of soft pastels. The painting measures 26"x34". This scene is from the middle of summer in the early afternoon. The sun was beating down and the heat was brutal.

Shadowed Hay Bales in Irvine Park

2011-06-01T07:06:00.000-07:00

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This painting is of hay bales under a sycamore tree and in shadow was a challenge for me. Seperating the shadows on the ground from the shadows on the hay bales and how they wrapped around the hay bales to show their form and the color of the hay bales vs the ground was what was difficult for me. This is one of those paintings that I would like to do again and see if I could do it better next time. This painting is done with soft pastels and is painted on La Carte pastel paper. This painting measures 23"x29".

Last Light Over The Mountains

2011-05-31T13:57:00.000-07:00

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This painting is done on Wallis paper and measures 28"x36". It is done with a water color underpainting with soft pastel. The vista was from a hill right behind my house looking towards the Cleveland National Forest.

Laguna Canyon Wilderness Park

2011-05-27T23:18:00.000-07:00

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This painting is an oil which measures 36"x24". These trees were perched above the trail leading up into the hills. The vista from the top had a 180 degree view showing Mount Saddleback to the east and downtown Laguna just around the hills at the end of the 133.

Panoramio

2011-04-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

I started using this google maps application which allows me to post pictures I have taken and placed them on a map of the world. I am posting reference photos I have taken and turned into paintings. http://www.panoramio.com/ This link is also on my home page of this blog under favorite links.

Creativity

2011-04-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

I have been painting for a while now. I have only gotten "serious" in the last four years. What I mean by "serious" is working to get better and better in the quality of my work. I am working on all aspects of my craft. I am studying, trying new techniques, working different mediums, to name but a few of the ways I am trying to get better. My style is evolving and I think I am getting better. One thing I don't think I am working on is my creativity. I think I take my creativity for granted. I have read hundreds of articles in magazines and books about artists running into various forms of creative blockage. Is this something I am going to run into in the future? I hope not.
After reading another article about how to get out of the creativity funk; I stopped to think about my creativity. It seems I am always thinking about my painting when I am not thinking about something else. I am thinking about possible subjects, paintings I am working on, amazing colors, places I want to go to paint- it just goes on and on. I think that my creativity is something that is and always has been inside me. I think that my painting has become one of the consistent ways in which I express this creativity. I think that painting is a form of excercise for my creativity and the more I practice the better I become at using it. I think this whole discussion of the use of the left side or the right side of the brain is a matter of choice and practice. I think the blockage of creativity in artists and their struggle to let their creativity flow is a matter of choice by the artist.
My creativity expresses itself best when I am focused. I never think about anything besides what I am doing at the moment when I am thinking about creating or when I am actively creating. I am sure that at a deeper level some other thoughts are happening. but they don't seem to surface. When I am creating, my main thoughts are about how to best demonstrate my thoughts through the use of my materials and technique. However, these thoughts of technique flow in an almost unconcious manner. My skill or lack of it influences the outcome of the mental part of my creativity. It is my ability to focus and to not become distracted from my thoughts and their actions that allows me to take my creativity to different levels. It kind of feels like the differrent levels of sleep you experience. When I am in my creative thinking process and I am not actively engaged through painting, my thoughts move around. The act of painting focuses my creativity. When I am engaged in creative thinking, I often become reflective about myself.

The above statements about my creativity may be right or wrong. They seem right to me. If they are true for others to a certain extent, then it seems to me that this creative block is more about the inability to focus, concentrate, and open up to the flow coming from your mind than anything else.

California Art Club

2011-04-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

As a member of the California Art Club, I was given the opportunity to update my profile. Here is the link to the California Art Club. http://www.californiaartclub.org/membership/associate-artist

Moreno Valley Sunlight

2011-03-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

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This pastel painting is done on La Carte pastel card and measure 19"x26" and is done with soft pastel. Like the painting before this one, the reference photo was taken while driving along the freeway. It seems to me as we cut up our enviroment with roads or whatever, we take some of the best scenery and put it out for everyone to see if you are quick enough to notice. But there is no time to stop and be in the landscape. Instead the highways frame the landscapes often tearing them down the middle.

Moreno Valley

2011-03-08T11:21:00.000-08:00

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This pastel painting is done on La Carte pastel card and measures 19"x26". I took the reference photo for this painting as I was driving to see my sick grandfather. The photo was taken inside the car as I was driving down the 60 freeway east at about 80 mph.

Storm Clouds Over Yorba Linda

2011-03-04T07:33:00.000-08:00

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This pastel painting is done on La Carte pastel card and measures 23"x29". This location is about a half a mile from my home. When I saw the clouds I quickly went home and got my camera and took about 20 pictures.

Oak at Sunrise

2011-03-03T10:19:00.000-08:00

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This painting is done from reference photos taken on a hike through Chino Hills State Park. This is one of those paintings I just wasn't equipped to paint like I wanted to. This would have been better if I had done it as a plein air painting. The subtle color changes and the overhanging oak branches would have turned out better if I had been there painting.

2011-03-02T10:20:00.000-08:00

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This is an oil painting that measure 20"x24". This painting is in the Chino Hills State Park facing south. I am over looking Donner Canyon. This oil painting is done with Old Holland paint. The colors are amazing. This I believe is the same paint that Van Gogh used. The prices are pretty crazy but I accumulated quite a bit of it before I even started painting, knowing that I would paint someday in the future. http://www.artsupplywarehouse.com/

Sunrise at Chino Hills

2011-02-26T12:17:00.000-08:00

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This oil painting is 24"x36". I painted this after an early morning hike into the Chino Hills State Park. This location is on the south side leading into the park from the Green River Golf Course. The shadows were dramatic and the wind cold as the winds swirled around me at the higher elevations. This scene is from early December before the rains changed the hills to green. SOLD In the collection of Bob and Cindy Leys.

Wine Country Temecula

2011-02-25T15:14:00.000-08:00

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This oil painting measure 16"x24". This painting is from late August in the early morning. The clouds shapes and colors were amazing as the rising sun hit them.

Storm Clouds Over Chino Hills

2011-02-24T09:02:00.000-08:00

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This graphite drawing is done on museum board. This drawing measures about 15"x26". Like the post before this one I started this drawing a couple of years ago and put it away because of how long it was taking.

Oyster Shells in Laguna

2011-02-20T20:50:00.000-08:00

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This graphite drawing is approximately 8" x 12". I started this drawing a couple of years ago and just finished it about a month ago. I did not pick it up for such a long time because of the time invested to complete a drawing is so much longer than my pastels. I have to get the feeling of accomplishment that comes with putting out a quantity of work. I am going to try and work more graphite into my art production. I want to do a showing with just my graphite work in the future.

Laguna Wilderness Park

2010-12-09T08:54:00.000-08:00

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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

2010-12-03T15:10:00.000-08:00

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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

2010-11-23T22:58:00.000-08:00

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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

2010-11-22T22:21:00.000-08:00

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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

2010-11-15T09:59:00.000-08:00

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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

2010-11-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-10-28T09:13:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-10-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-15T16:49:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-11T09:33:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-10-10T17:18:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-05T10:14:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-04T09:40:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-03T17:14:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-02T23:27:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-01T23:30:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-08-18T07:34:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-08-17T10:04:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-08-16T10:22:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-08-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-08-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

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".

2010-06-01T12:36:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-05-31T12:40:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-05-20T12:43:00.000-07:00

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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.

2010-04-25T00:46:00.000-07:00

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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.

2010-04-24T12:41:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-04-19T08:51:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-04-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-04-14T15:59:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-04-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-04-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-04-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-04-07T10:45:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-03-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-03-08T23:00:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-20T09:42:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-15T22:08:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-15T10:30:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-09T18:10:00.000-08:00

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.

Black Star Canyon Road

2009-12-10T13:00:00.000-08:00

This painting is in the Cleveland National Forest. I had been searching for out of the way places to paint that were near my house. What I did was zero in on the area around my house using google maps. I found this road that went up into the heart of the Cleveland National Forest that had easy public access. So I got in the car and 20 minutes later I was hiking up Black Star Canyon Road. The area had been surveyed in the 30's. I found one of the national survey spikes while hiking. It was really interesting to see that people were still living on this isolated road. I could not see any signs of electrical power or running water. There were a number of abondoned homes and vehicles in various states of decompostion. There were also a number of cattle ranches along the road. Some of the views were amazing. You quickly got the feeling you were a lot further away from the suburbs than you actually were. This painting was a success for me in 2 areas. I thought I got the contrast right and I liked the outcome of the ariel perspective. These have been a couple of areas of focus for me for the last couple of months. Village Art Center Art Walk 11/9-2/10 & 11/10-3/11. This painting also showed at the In the Light of Day show at the Brea Gallery from 8/6/11-9/16/11.

Sycamores and Oaks

2009-11-16T08:40:00.000-08:00

This is my last in a series of Sycamore paintings for the time being. This painting is from the Laguna Wilderness Park a couple of miles from the Pacific Ocean. This painting was from an early Fall afternoon. The hazy blue skies increased the aerial perspective in this piece. The trees in the background are California Oaks. My next series of paintings will be on Sunset Cliffs in San Diego. I am going to continue my search for great Sycamore landscape compositions. Another series of paintings I am considering is a focus on the Coyotee Hills. This area is protected by the Chino Hills Park. These hills still support drilling for oil in some areas. These rolling hills are about 20 miles in length and at its widest point 5 miles. They run into the Cleveland National Forest. The shapes of the hills and the colors of the shadows at different times of day have caught my attention for some time.

Santiago Sycamore

2009-10-28T10:14:00.000-07:00

This scene appealed to me because of the trees shape. The Sycamore trees run along a creek through the Santiago Canyon. My trip to the canyon was in the middle of summer. The time of day was around noon. All of the grasses had dried up months earlier. The color of the grass against the color of the tree captured my interest. This painting is done on pastel card with a dry underpainting of pastel. In the collection of John and Gloria Jones

Santiago Canyon Sycamore

2009-10-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

This painting measures 19"x 25" and is done La Carte Pastel Card. Running through the Canyon is a creek and along the creek are hundreds of Sycamores. The canyon runs from the edge of the Cleveland National Forest towards the Pacific and ends in the El Torro / Laguna Beach area. The area was a cattle ranch owned by the Irvine family. What really interested me was the contrast of the dry grasses and the greeness of the foliage around the creek. I also found the cast shadows of the tree onto the dry grasses grabbing my attention. As I constantly try to improve I set many goals for myself. These are not enormous unattainable things but simple ones that come from seeing art work that I admire and self criticism. One of these goals is to portray shadows in a more lively fashion. Seeing the color of the object as a combination of the value change created by the shadow but maintaining it's own identity and proper color relationship to the object casting the shadow and itself has been a recent focus.

San Clemente Canyon

2009-10-14T09:53:00.000-07:00

This painting was inspired by a quick hike in San Diego. I saw this site from the freeway when on a soccer trip with the family. My wife and son waited in the car while I quickly explored the canyon. I took my camera and quickly snapped off about 60 pictures of the area. In the midst of the suburbs is this cantyon with a creek running to the ocean with Sycamore trees that have been there for some time. I was only able to get about a half mile into the canyon before the message was relayed to me that I had to get back to the car and go. I will try to get back when I have more time.

Summer Sycamores

2009-10-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

This painting is the third in the series from the Laguna Canyon Wilderness Area. As with the others it is done on Wallis paper with a water color underpainting. This series of paintings represents some growth for me as an artist. After studying some of Kim Lordiers paintings at the Huse gallery on Balboa island and reading an article by Kim on her mark making, I decided I needed to work on my mark making. The two biggest influences as artists for me are Van Gogh and Monet. In my opinion they both had amazing mark making technique. The challenge for me as a pastel artist is to not over work a painting and to get it right the first time and step away from it. I work with soft pastels exclusively. They tend to fill the tooth of the paper quicker than harder pastels. The use of the water color underpainting has freed up my mark making in that I do not have to worry about covering the surface of the painting with pastel. This has allowed me to be more expressive with my mark making and sped up my overall time working on the painting. It makes it harder for me to overwork the surface. In the collection of Bob and Mary Jane Major

Laguna Canyon Afternoon

2009-09-30T10:06:00.000-07:00

When I have found an area rich with subject matter it seems natural for me to work a series of paintings. For about a year I have been interested in sycamore trees. They each seem to have their own personality. I love the way they twist and turn. I find the color of the bark and the contrast of the changing leaf colors amazing. Although we don't really have seasons in Southern California the sycamore trees are on their own program. I am looking for old, untouched trees in settings as untouched by man as possible. The thing I like about this painting is the cast shadow from the trees. It is something I have been working on. For me the shadow pulls the painting together. This painting is from the Laguna Wilderness Area. It is done on Wallis paper with a water color underpainting. As with all posts, if you click the image it will enlarge

Village Art Center 3/10-9/10

Laguna Canyon Sycamore

2009-09-23T19:40:00.000-07:00

Hello, I have been away for quite a while. After a year and a half of painting and not working I had to go back to what I know. I am back to managing big box retailing. The biggest obstacle is the lack of time I can devote to some of the things I love. After a nine month layoff from blogging I am back. I did not stop painting but it did slow way down. I am now at a point where I can get more focused on my painting. Because my time is limited I am going to work harder with the time I have. The rules have changed but my goals remain the same. I am going to have to achieve them by doing some things differently. This painting comes from a field trip I took last October to the Laguna Wilderness Area. One of my goals is to spend more time painting from life. The only draw back is the amount of time it takes to paint outside. I live in Orange County California. It is an amazing area with many beautiful places to paint. It is almost impossible to find landscapes not touched by "progress". One of the main themes of my work is trying to capture landscapes that have not been ruined by the development of Southern California. I do not have the luxury of visiting the same spot day after day to capture the images in my landscapes. When I am driving I am always looking for that spot off the beaten path-the road less taken as it were. The other way I find places to paint is by using google maps. I find a general area that I want to explore and then I move over the map until I find an area that looks good. I then plan my field trip for a day off. I usually start early to get the right shadows and I am off with my digital camera. I compose the picture in the view finder and snap hundreds of pictures a visit. I do not stop in one area or another but keep walking and letting my instinct guide the camera. I go until I run out of time. I come back download the photos and work with photo shop to generate the same saturation, hue, and contrast that I remember from my trip. Laguna Canyon Wilderness is a pastel painting on Kelly Wallis sanded paper. This painting is done with a variety of soft pastels over a underpainting of water color. The size of the painting is approximately 23"HX35"W. It is going to be displayed at the gallery I show at Village Art Center. A Night in Fullerton Village Art Center 11/9-2/10 Village Center Art Walk 11/10-3/11

Last Light at Sunset Cliffs

2009-03-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

This painting is the last of my Sunset Cliffs series for now. I feel like there is much more that I have not yet captured. The glow of the light on the cliffs is what interested me in these landscapes. I plan on visiting again this summer and getting more reference photos from Torrey Pines and La Jolla cliffs.

Morrow Canyon Sycamore

2008-11-15T01:10:00.000-08:00

This plein air pastel was completed on velour board and measures 18.5"x 26.5"

South Ridge Haze

2008-11-13T01:08:00.000-08:00

This pastel painting measures 15.5"x24.5". It was done on Kitty Wallis sanded paper. I did a fairly detailed watercolor underpainting. I established basic values and the overall composition. A Night in Fullerton, Village Art Center 11/9-2/10

A Night in Fullerton

2008-11-11T08:48:00.000-08:00

This is the art of pastel artist Brad Faegre. I envy his draftmanship and markmaking. He had about twenty paintings there that night.

http://www.faegrefineart.com