Storage Shed

6x8

Oil/linen panel

Plein air

Here's a quick little study I painted at Balboa Park, nearby where I live. There's a horseshoe club at the park and that's what I originally intended to paint: some old guy throwing some horseshoes around. Nobody was out that morning so I painted this little shed right next to the horseshoe grounds. It's not terribly exciting, but I do like the simplicity of it. Been cooped up painting some miniatures for a show my Tuesday group is having in late March. I have been painting mostly portraits and some landscapes in 5x7 and 6x8 sizes. Maybe I will paint some larger. Painting in these sizes is challenging, for me it's much easier to paint larger. Not as large though as those HUGE drops (60 feet by 30 feet) I used to paint in the theater world!

House On The Hill

8x10
Oil/linen panel

Plein air

This one can also be titled Sick Painting because I was quite ill that day. Started the new year off with a terrible cold. It's been over four years since I've had a cold, but everyone around me had it. I was cooped up for days and wanted to get out of the apartment for a while. It's a little more colorful than usual and I believe the drugs in this case might be the reason. Maybe I should take Claritin before I paint! Another Marian Bear Park painting. Can't get enough of that area. The house on the hill caught my eye. The light was coming from behind, creating the purple-ish shadowed hill in the foreground. I was surprised how purple it was and how vivid the other colors were that morning.

Rob

10x14
Oil/masonite

Life study

This plein air portrait was painted right before the end of '06. The last painting of the year, actually. The usual Tuesday portrait group wasn't meeting because of the holidays so I painted this one on my own. My friend Rob was kind enough to sit for this one, right on his front porch. I was going to use the Zorn palette but upon seeing all those fantastic colors in Rob's face I turned to my expanded palette. The colors that appear in the skin en plein air is awesome. It excites me to see a fleck of color that wouldn't otherwise exist with controlled indoor lighting or from a photograph. Rob has sat for me a two times already, making this the third time. He'll be the recipient of one of the portraits I painted of him when we get up to five. Can't ask for a better model as he did very well. What are friends for, huh?

Park & Robinson Revisited

10x12

Oil/Linen panel

Plein Air

Took another stab at this one, this time in a horizontal format. I think the tarps on the building add a bit more interest, something to break up the yellow a little bit. Of course the painting wouldn't be much without the crane (which of course moved a few times). Again, another fun time. Hope to paint more construction zones in my neighborhood.