Sun Kissed Ocean

A plein air piece done during a recent visit to Fort Bragg, California.

September Marina Vibe

The bones of this painting were done in ink on site. Color and various media were added later.

Marina Hillside

I painted this piece during my recent stay in Northern California. I frequently "turn around" and paint something other than the ocean.

Morning Fog Lifting

On our last day in Fort Bragg we went to one of our favorite spots. It was raining off and on. I was filming timelapses and sketching. When we get here I tend to stay in this spot. I love the atmosphere. I used oil paint sticks and tempra paints on canvas.

Bay Bridge Vantage Point

This birthday season we did a lot of local parks with different views of the Bay Bridge in California. Years ago I would never have tried the bridge because I found it intimidating. As I have grown older, painting is more about joy and fun and not selling. As I post paintings from this visit. You will notice that I used tempra paint and paint sticks in some on the many paintings that I managed this visit.

Pier Group Three

This is part of a series that started out as 1, 5 and 15 minute drawings of a scene. After the lesson, I continued to work on them. They were done on Khadi paper using multiple mediums. The subject matter is a marina in Richond, California.

Magical Hills

The fog was extremely thick on the day I took the photo that inspired this painting. Of course all images are open to interpretation.

Night Flight 2

This was inspired by the sketches that were posted previously. I am in the process of evaluating what I currently have in storage. I have a lot of old sketchbooks that I have completed. Maybe I can explore them again with fresh eyes and different skills. Some of them were completed in 2009-2010. IMHO my people sketches were much better.

Point Reyes Layers

This was also inspired by the same set of plein air sketches I spoke about in my most recent post. Below are the sketches completed on site.

I recently purchased a set of oil pastels made by Caran D'ache. I think the next paintings will be with this medium. I will keep you posted.

Miller Knox Renovations

During my last stay in Northern California, I of course went to many marinas. The Miller Knox Marina is one of my favorites because the fishermen/women are fun to sketch, photograph etc. They are so used to me that they ignore my presence. Part of the old pier was being removed. It was quite an interesting thing to watch and film.

Rebirth

On our way to and from Lee Vining, California and the Eastern sierra we drove through many areas that had been hit by wildfire's. These areas were going through what appeared to be regrowth. I tried to capture that in this image.

Crowned Wave

This was painted from one of my favorite places.

Fort Bragg Storm Clouds

Happy New Year all. I spent some time in one of my favorite spots at the beginning of the year. It was rainy and foggy a couple of days, but that makes for dramatic skys and waves. I painted a lot. Great way to start the year.

Albany Bug Cove

I follow painting groups online and that is how I found this fine painting spot. I was attracted to the atmosphere which for me is the fog. Depicting fog for me is a fun atruggle.

Emeryville Marina View

It was cold and very windy. The Emeryville Marina was a beautiful place to sketch.

Lake Cleone Morning Mist

When last in Fort Bragg, California we visited one of my favorite morning spots. The morning mist and colors were beautiful. I did some small value sketches on pastel paper. I later added pastel. I used that painting as inspiration for this piece.

Coastal Fog and Waves

I recently had the pleasure of moving (not) and found a lot of paintings that had not been shared or posted on my websites. This painting was completed a number of years ago. Its from Fort Bragg, California. I think the scene is near the Beachcomber Hotel. Its painted on a copper panel and was inpired by a previous plein air painting completed on one of our many birthdays celebrated there.

Hol Up

The title refers to a situation involving two friends one of which senses a sketchy situation that the other doesn't. Its a person that has your back. This image is associated with the "False Bravado or Self Care" painting posted earlier. I recently saw it framed in a collection (Pam's) and really liked the design from a distance.

Downtown Hopland

Great food served here especially on New Years Day on the way home from the Mendocino coast. I hope everyone has a fruitful and happy new year.

Bulb Entrance

We went back to the "Albany Bulb" for some different scenery. This time we walked around a bit before I got this sketch in. One reason, I had a new modified full spectrum camera to play with. I really liked that the eucalyptus tree provided a natural entrance into the area. I threw down the intial lines in ink and moved on to the next sketch/photo op.