Service Road

6x8
Oil/linen panel
Plein air

A concrete tube.... a dirt road..... and being able to paint underneath a nice shady tree.  A good way to start a day in my book.  Another scene from Colombia (though it looks like it can be anywere really). 

Down By The River

6x8
Oil/linen panel
Plein air

But on the banks of Rio Calima, not the Charles River..... (Thank you Standells!!)  El Rio Calima was a joy to paint.  How could it not be, with food on the grill, tropical weather and nice cool river to swim in.  Another lazy afternoon with the in-laws in Colombia.  This was especially fun because because I rarely have the opportunity to paint a river scene. Hopefully more are on the way.

Semi Lazy

8x10
Oil/masonite panel
Plein air

Looooved painting this one!  I don't know what it is about roadside junk but for some reason it speaks to me.  This was painted along side of the Pacific Highway in San Diego on a sunny morning.  Sometimes ready-made compositions are waiting to be discovered on the side of the road.  Been wanting to do this one for quite a while and glad I finally got around to it.  I'm thinking maybe a larger studio piece might be a possibility from this one.  We'll see......

Futbal Anyone?

6x8
Oil/linen panel
Plein air

Painted on a very hot day, too hot for anyone to be play soccer that's for sure.  And that was at 10am in the morning.  This field was always busy in the afternoon when the weather was a bit cooler (but not that much cooler).  I was lucky enough to be situated underneath a nice shady tree with all the pesky mosquitoes.   All was good, another day in the life of a plein air artist in Colombia. 

Fill-er-up!

 
6x8
Oil/linen panel
Plein air

This was painted underneath a freeway bridge on a rainy San Diego morning.  What caught my eye about this scene was the unique perspective of a high horizon line (this horizon line is above the viewers eye level) so you the view are looking up at the subject.  I was standing on a downhill incline underneath the bridge.  I love paintings that have a high or low horizon lines and it's also a chellenge as well to execute with composition.  On grey days colors to me are more saturated, more chromatic.  The yellows and oranges were so bold in this kind of light.  Looking forward to more rainy day paintings!

Alley Garage

6x8
Oil/Linen panel
Plein air

Painted on a nice, cool San Diego morning.  This alley is near our apartment.  So many interesting things to paint in my own neighborhood of Hillcrest.  I really like the old garages that populate the alleyways here.  In most cases I find them more interesting than the houses on the main streets.  Everything seemed to great for this little painting until the "art" police showed up.  Turns out the guy across the way was concerned that I would get hit by a car from where I was positioned.  I think he just didn't want me there, some strange and dangerous art guy minding his own business.  Maybe my brush strokes were a bit too loud for his beauty sleep.  The officers really enjoyed the painting and we chatted for a while.  After the two patrol cars left I eased back into my painting........ and all was good.  What I like most about this painting is the color in the shadows and the strong raking morning light.

Mini Bus

6x8
Oil/linen panel
Plein air

Painted on a Sunday morning in the neighborhood where my mother-in-law lives in Colombia.  As I was painting there was a sermon going on to my left.  And the building pictured in the painting doubles as a church and auto mechanic garage.  The mini buses down there are very colorful and each one has its own personality in the way they are decorated inside.  And all of them are tuned into a salsa music station for your enjoyment.  In fact most of the places I painted at there was usually salsa music playing in the distance.  But on this day I heard the sermon of an energetic priest.  That was a new one for me while painting.