Morning Bluffs

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". This painting is the result of some trespassing I did at an oilfield near a home I used to live at.

Laguna Shorebreak

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". This painting was taken on because of the quality of light. The sea and the sky were so crisp I felt I had to capture it.

Hazy Laguna Cliffs

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". It was around 8am and the sun was still low enough to keep the cliff in a partial shadow. The haze was starting to burn off in what would turn out to be a great morning.  This painting is in Westerfields Gallery

Eucalyptus Morning Path I

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". This path runs through a wooded area populated entirely by eucalyptus trees. Off to the right side is an oil field.

Oil Field Bluffs

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". The values of the bluffs were what interested me in this subject.

Pepper Trees II

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". This painting is done from a hike along an empty lake bed that has been changed into a huge horse trail.

Irises I

This painting measures 27.5"x19.75" and is done on a sanded paper called Colorfast. The inspiration for this painting was a home down the street that had hundreds and hudreds of Irises growing in the front yard.

Fuschia

This pastel painting measures 27.5"x19.75" and is done on velour paper. This Fuschia was found with many of my other floral subjects at a nursery in Newport Beach called Roger's Gardens.

Lake Arrowhead

This pastel painting measures 27.5"x19.75" and is done on colorfast paper. Colorfast paper is a sanded paper-it is literally like sandpaper.

Corona Hills

This pastel painting measures 27.5"x19.75" and is done on sanded paper. This is part of the Cleveland National Forest and is the view I would have from my home if it were not obscured by trees. The shadows in the hills is a constant source of interest to me.

Morning Trailside Shadows

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". This is a painting from a series of paintings based on my preparation for a plein air contest in Yorba Linda.

Nasturtiums I

This painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". These flowers were growing through this beat up picket fence in front of an old law office that was right next to my bank. I took about 50 pictures of them and this was the subject that looked the best out of them. This piece is SOLD and in the collection of Lisa Dreim.

Laguna Hills

This painting measures 27.5"x19.75" and is done on sanded paper. These hills are covered with California Live Oaks (species) that are threatened by an expansion of the road leading into Laguna.

Carbon Canyon II

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 24.5"x19.75". The morning light was coming through the canyon as the fog started to lift.

Nasturtiums II

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". I caught sight of these flowers growing through an old wooden fence and knew I had to paint them.

Laguna Palms

 This painting is done on velour paper and measures 19.75"x27.5". Another classic vista from one of my many field trips to my favorite beach.

Petunias

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". The intensity of the color in these flowers was amazing. This is from a field trip to Roger's gardens ( a great nursery in Newport Beach Ca.)

Laguna Rocks

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". I came across this view as I was hiking from one cove to the next in north Laguna. In the distance you can see the main beach and the Hotel Laguna.

Carbon Canyon

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". The hills in the canyon were filled with low hanging fog that was starting to burn off. The Live Oaks growing along the road on this ranch were what appealed to me.

East of Lahaina

This pastel painting measures 27.5"x19.75" and is done on velour paper. This picture was taken while driving to the airport on my last day in Maui. We were just leaving Lahaina and my wife was concerned that we were going to get into a car accident.

Mexican Primrose

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". I saw a field with a bunch of these growing in it and I had to stop and take some pictures. It was a late summer twilight and the shadows were long.

Steamboat Springs Farmhouse II

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". The texture of the trees and the clouds were my inspiration for this painting.

Sunset from Papawai Point

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". We were heading to the Maui Airport and had just turned the corner on the highway heading east when there was a dramatic change in the lighting. A minute before we were heading due south and it was sunny-the next we were surrounded by these dark clouds. I took this picture with my camera hanging out the window while driving.

Dahlia

Here is a floral from my garden. It measures 27.5"x19.75" and is done on velour paper.

Pepper Trees

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". The texture of the hanging leaves and the grass with the shadows is what caught my attention for this landscape.

Rocks at Kapalua Bay

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". While we were staying in Maui I had the good fortune to walk out onto this point several times. The volcanic rock worn away by the ocean created a change in my work. I found myself more focused on value and less on color from this painting on.

Onola Bay

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". This is a painting done from a photo from my recent trip to Maui. It had just rained and the sun was coming out when I saw this amazing tree.

Steamboat Springs Farmhouse I

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". The open vistas and the sense of distance in both the land and the sky were what drew me to this subject.

Laguna Beach

This pastel painting measures 27.5"x19.75" and is done on velour paper. This painting is from a trip I made in early spring when the sun made everything crisp.  SOLD in the collection of Don and Doris Jones

Morning Pines

This painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". This landscape is by my old home in La Habra. I was taken by the shadows and the pines that were leaning as if by a heavy wind.

Honokohau

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". The desert side of Maui along the coast was where I found the "Agave" looking plants.

Santa Ana River

This pastel painting is done on Sennelier La Carte pastel board and measures 25"x19".

Sunset toward Molokia

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". I find sunsets amazing even if they are a bit cliche. This one grabbed me because of the way that the clouds, the island, and water all seemed to blend together.

Creek at Brandt's Ranch

This pastel painting is done on Sennelier La Carte pastel board and measures 19"x25". I was really struck by the highlights of the rushing water amidst the deep shadows of the trees along the bank.

Brandt's Ranch

This painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". This is a creek that runs through our friends property in the San Gabriel Mountains. The ranch is over a 100 acres and is where my wife Kim and I were married. When my wife was around 9 she told her parents that she would one day get married there.

Mokuleia Bay II

This view is towards the Ritz at Kapalua. D.T. Flemming Beach is in the distance. This painting was done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75"

Kahana Reef

This pastel painting measures 27.5"x19.75" and it is done on velour paper. This tree was about 20' from the ocean. The water must stay so calm for a tree this size to last. All along the edge of the beach ran a old reef. You can see it running along the edge of the beach.

Kapalua Boulders

This pastel measures 27.5"x19.75" and is done on velour paper. The shadows of the trees onto the boulders caught my attention and I had to paint it. This is from the west side of Maui just north of Kapalua.

Mokuleia Bay

Beyond the outcrop of rocks, a aquatic ecological preserve begins.

Mokuleia Bay is on the north side of Kapalua and is next to D.T. Flemming Beach. This painting measures 27.5"x19.75" and is done on velour paper.

Eucalyptus Path

This painting is 19.75"x27.5" and is done on velour paper. I found this mountain bike path running through a "park" which in reality was land the oil company did not want to go the trouble of removing all the pipes below and above ground. The intensity of the blue sky and pale bark of the eucalyptus trees contrasting the shadows across the path is what caught my eye.

Orange Grove

This pastel is done on Sennelier La Carte Pastel board. It measures 25.5"x19.5". There were these old Orange Groves along the Santa Ana river. At one time Orange County was nothing but orange groves. Now they are a hidden piece of history that seem to be tucked away in obscure areas. I caught a great dose of Poison Oak on this hike that lasted 3 weeks.

Laguna Lowtide

This pastel painting is 19.75"x27.5" and is done on velour paper. This is the second time I have painted this landscape. The beaches in Laguna are diverse. One moment you are on a wide sandy beach and the next you find yourself amongst a sea of rocks, boulders, or sandstone cliffs. It is the source of much of my painting. The subject matter is so rich there is little chance of running out.

Kapalua Twilight

This pastel painting is done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". It is done with soft pastels only. This was my first night in Maui. After unpacking I took a quick walk to the beach. On the way down I looked to the east and saw these amazing clouds moving towards the sunset over Molokai.

Lipoa Point

Lipoa Point marks the northern boarder of a aqauatic ecological preserve. The sun was just rising and casting long shadows across the point. The water was glassy and reflecting the early morning sky. This painting was done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75"

D.T. Flemming Beach

D.T. Flemming Beach the number one beach in the world in 2006. Who votes for this and how they consider all the beaches is beyond me but it was beautiful. It just does not get any better than painting a beach. This painting was done from my visit to Muai this past summer. It measures 27.5"x19.75" and is done on velour paper.  Orange Open 2nd place award

Hollyhocks

This painting was done on velour paper and measures 27.5"x19.75". I was on my way to one of my kids games when I saw this amazing group of flowers. I stopped took about 40 pictures and was on my way-I do not always have my camera handy but for every time I do have it at the right moment there must another ten when I don't.

Laguna Beach II

Just another sunny day...This pastel painting was worked on in my studio from a number of reference photos. It is 27.5"x19.75" and is done on velour paper. In the space of 3 hours I took enough pictures to keep me painting through probably 70 pieces. I am considering plein air painting which is French for doing it outside. The challenges are time, equipment, and organization.  This piece is SOLD.

Kapalua Shorebreak

This painting is a pastel done on velour paper and is 27.5"x19.75". It was just another beautiful day on Maui. I do not know how anyone could take it for granted.

The process continues

This dry pastel (not oil pastel) was painted from pictures I took this spring at Laguna Beach. It is painted on velour paper and measures 27.5"X19.75". This day was one of the clearest I can remember. It was unseasonably hot and everything seemed to be blooming.

The longest journey...

This painting's view is from the Plantation Golf Course. The island of Molokai is covered in clouds as it was every day we were in Maui. This pastel painting like most is done on velour paper. It measures 27.5" X 19.75".