My Chair

This is a study for a commission that I completed years ago. My practice is to execute a number of studies and final paintings to give the client a lot to choose from. Usually they purchase more than one piece. I enjoy painting pets for people as they are part of the family.

Stuff from the courtroom.

From The Courts

403rd district court

403rd district court

299th district court

Happening with my art

Also juried into the Texas Pastel Society show.

Juried into the Texas Pastel Society Show. Opening reception June 4, 2010 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the New Braunfels Art League/Elaine Felder Gallery, New Braunfels, Tx

This one just sold to a collector

Hallway Strategizing (pastel study)

Exploratory sketch

The watercolor version.

This is the pastel study for the watercolor version of this piece. Ive been focusing on the courthouse hallways and corridors more because that is where the real deals are made. The expressions are great as well as the body language.

Forest Path

Years ago I stayed with a group in a cabin in Bastrop State Park. This group of trees and the path was right next to our cabin. It was a fun weekend of walking in the woods and being away from stuff. This was an early attempt at plein air painting.

Stoic Watercolor Study

This is the watercolor version of "Stoic". My plan is to do the larger "final" version in pastel. I worked on some Cotman watercolor paper that I bought from Johanne Morin a fellow blogger. The watercolor study is more focused on values, shapes and color separation.

Ive done this one before but I'm going back because it is an interesting image. The first time I painted this scene I worked in acrylic. This is La Jolla, California by the way. I worked on Canson paper using my usual mixture of pastels.

Over the Bridge

Im calling this done. This is the approach to the Bay Bridge in San Francisco.

Peruvian Suki Player

The recent sketch of the same musician.

This musician is part of a group that plays at every Pecan Street Festival that I have attended. Their music is calming and they always wear white. I've been toiling over this for about 2 years. I'm letting go of a number of pieces and just signing. It is best. I went by their booth during their most recent appearance there and did a tad of sketching.

Happy Boy

I caught this image at the most recent Pecan Street Festival. This guy was very social and happy to be hanging out with his mom. He was sniffing the air because it was filled with lots of food from the vendors. When I first saw him he was dancing with his owner (mom).

Pastel Shady Cove Turbulence

The watercolor study.

The first pastel study.

This is the final painting. It was inspired by a photo that I took on Glass Beach which is in Fort Bragg, California. I worked with a variety of different pastels on Wallis pastel paper. I posted the studies in an earlier post but I will include them in this post also. Today I went to Asel Art Supply located in Austin, Texas and the clerk informed me that Wallis is going out of business. Grab up this product while you can its a great surface to work on. This one is an 18 by 24 and its available in addition to the two prior studies.

This is a compositional sketch done in prep for a painting. I have previously posted the painting.

This sketch was executed on a train ride from Richmond, California to Dublin, California. This guy sat in front of me during one part of the ride. The guys in front of him were fun to sketch because of their body gestures.

This is a sketch from the 167th District Court. The guy with his hand near his mouth is a fellow blogger and prosecutor. Of course I have the jailer next to him. Above them is a defense lawyer and a man waiting in the audience.

Wedding Altar

In the spring this alter blooms with these delicate yellow flowers. I have spent lots of time in the Austin Botanical Gardens painting and photographing.

El Paso Rainbows

During my first and only trip to Big Bend National Park we were just leaving El Paso and storms were sporadic off to my right I saw these two beautiful rainbows. Of course we pulled over and got a few shots. I may revisit this image one day and Big Bend National Park.

The Patch

One summer we took a trip to Wimberly, Texas and did a lot of driving around the area. At one point we pulled over to take a shot of these trees. It was scorching hot and these trees provided some much needed shade. I think they were close to Mansfield Dam.

Walk Away

I call this one "Walk Away" because it reminds me of those times when a judge just isn't buying my argument and I get frustrated. So rather than be held in contempt of court and jailed I make an excuse to get something in my briefcase. This sketch reminded me of one of those moments.

Watercolor Shady Cove

After I started the pastel version of this one I got blocked. So I started this version to focus on the values because watercolor forces me to do that. This image is also tricky because of the clear divide between warm and cool planes. Of course I have revisited the piece many times. This is after about 2 hours.

Jacob with Cat

I'm finally kicking this one off the easel. Ive had it in front of me for over a year. I finally said done. This is the child of a guy that used to work with me. We were at a party and I noticed how he interacted with the cat. It was all very tender and innocent. I worked on a gessoed gatorboard with pumice.

Shady Cove Turbulence Study

When in the Fort Bragg, California area I always try to get to Glass Beach. Its foggy and turbulent at times but I like that . This is one of those scenes that included a cool foreground and a warmer background. As I remember this scene I think I have painted it before. See the image above that sold in a recent show.

This painting was inspired by one of the many sketches I got in while waiting in court last week. It was a murder trial that involved drugs. The actual jury charge is the law that the jury has to abide by. Before it even gets read to the jury the lawyers study and argue over it to make sure its fair to both parties. The lawyers here had just begun to iron out the jury charge.

Across the Lake

A few years ago I took an outdoor painting class out at Laguna Gloria Art Museum. This was one of the views across the lake. I can't remember who taught the class but it was very good. It had lots of great painters that I could learn from. I worked in oil on small canvases.