Cold Day In Commerce

This is a color study for a larger painting. I did the underpainting in gouache on grey toned paper. A snow scene from my home town. I think this is my Aunt Davora's house.

Green Eyed Cat

This painting is of a friends cat that happens to be a Maine Coon. Those cats are big.

Hiking Point Reyes

The photo that inspired this painting was taken during an unexpected hike on the Point Reyes National Seashore. We decided to go out to this area on a holiday. Of course the parking was limited, so we had to take this rather long trail to the ocean. I liked the way the sun lit up the overhanging trees and shrubs. I used a piece of black Strathford paper with a gouache underpainting.

Golden Hills

To those who read this blog, I have been painting a lot but I have been neglecting my blog. I painted this little painting at the gallery yesterday during the torrential rains. It was truly beautiful listening to the rain and just creating in a warm environment. I love reading blogs and watching painting demonstrations on You tube. That's were I found this surface called "glass paper". Its made by this guy in the United Kingdom and its called Fisher 400 art paper. Its a nice surface similar to Uart. This is a scene from northern California wine country.

Cat Perch

A little color study for a larger piece. I was free with my color choices on this one and I think it turned out nice. I used a black 6 by 6 Artist tile.

Street Hustle

A corner in the city of New York. Years ago my cousin took a bunch of photos for me to paint from. He has always had an interesting perspective. The sketch was done a few years back. I applied the pastel last week after I found the drawing.

This is a sketch from my sketchbook. I am going for a larger pastel and graphite image. These are two members of our family. I gave my nephew Cortez one of my cameras to take photos of our celebration. His perspective intrigues me.

Lazy Afternoon Brunch

I like painting restaurant scenes because they involve people interacting with one another and great colors. I like sketching downtown after my workouts on the weekends. The shadows are fun too. This is Gloria's. I like that space for some reason.

A Little Romance

I did this sketch in downtown Austin about three Sundays ago. I had two pieces of watercolor paper in the car. I sat down on the curb and got this sketch of two apparent lovers sitting on a bench.

A Stroll Through Town

A scene from Charleston, South Carolina. I liked the way the people were dressed and also the way that their shapes interacted. I started out with a gouache underpainting and laid in the pastels last using Terry Ludwig darks and a variety of other pastels.

Jilted Blooms

Another floral painting using an abstracted background. I painted on the textured side of Canson paper. I also added in some splashes of gouache.

Just Outside The Shade

This is a color study for a larger graphite and gouache painting. I of course love painting structures that are associated with vineyards and farms. Pam gave me a Blick gift card as a present and I of course had to spend it immediately. I bought a bunch of Canson paper in some really interesting colors. I like using the ground in the final painting.

A Bloom Away

I recently read a book written by Ray Balkill. He combines pastel, watercolor and gouache. I decided to give his technique a try. The colors are just my latest take on painting.