"Sunset Swim" ©

Last weekends show was a success in spite of triple digit temperatures. The best part for me was meeting a potpourri of people from art lovers to other artists wanting to figure out the process of painting. I want to just thank everyone that bared the heat and came out to visit and make purchases.

Meanwhile I met this little duck while he was floating in the Temecula Duck Pond right next to Pat & Oscars Restaurant at sunset.

Oil on panel, 5" X 7"

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"Sunday Swim III" ©

Collector "Liz" emailed requesting a "Sunday Swim" to add to her personal gallery. And so Liz, this one is for you, my friend.

Oil on panel, 5" X 7"

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"Sand Canyon Trail" ©

The "Chasing Open Spaces III" exhibit has opened at the Canyon Theatre Guild in Old Town Newhall, on Main Street. Rod Edwards, Lorelle Miller and Ernie Dollman joined me in hanging 63 landscape paintings of the Santa Clarita Valley. We are having a reception on Saturday October 11, 5pm - 7pm and you are welcome to come by to visit, see the show and have light refreshments. Also this weekend I'll be displaying another 40 paintings at the Street Art Festival in Old Town Newhall. The Festival is billed as 5 blocks of music, art, a beer garden and street chalk paintings. In between getting ready for these two shows I painted another view of Sand Canyon. I have to apologize for the image posted today, this painting isn't half as dark as it appears on my monitor.

Oil on Linen, 11" X 14"

"Sand Canyon" ©

After framing 28 paintings (big show install tomorrow) I went out to run errands and the sun's lighting on the trees was extraordinary. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow, throw caution to the wind and follow the light as a moth to a flame. This little painting was my attempt to capture the light at 5:30pm in "Sand Canyon".

Oil on Linen, 9" X 12"

Have I mentioned how much I love linen? This is Old Holland, incrediable. It paints itself, pratically.

"Temecula Vineyard" ©

A Temecula local explained that because the ocean is just 15 miles away, all be it over a mountain range, the inland heat pulls sea air over the mountains meeting up with the warm inland breezes creating wondrous clouds daily. This little study is the view from the back lawn of the Falkner Vineyard in the heart of the Temecula Wine Country.

Oil on Linen Panel, 8" X 10"

"Placerita Canyon Sycamores" ©

This group of Sycamores greet every hiker at the main trail head within the Placerita Canyon Nature Center. This next week Lorelle Miller, Rod Edwards, Ernie Dolman and I will be installing over 80 landscape paintings, several plein air, at the Canyon Theatre Guild. Rod and Ernie have been painting the Santa Clarita Valley for over 40 years. Lorelle and I are fortunate to "hang" with these gifted painters. Lorelle not only paints local landscapes, she is excellent at figure work and sculpture. The show is titled "Chasing Open Spaces III" and is purely Santa Clarita Valley landscapes. We all chase the open space to paint and it's often that a new fence prevents us from going where we have been before. Many of the paintings will show our local oak trees and a few of the "Placerita Canyon Sycamores".

Oil on panel, 5" X 7"

"Lone Eucalyptus" ©

Another 5" X 7" for the Riverside Museum show, "Off The Wall" in November. These small scale landscapes are a very good tool for experimenting with a composition before committing to a large canvas. Looking at this view, the Eucalyptus tree almost cuts the panel in half, painting larger I would give the mountains in the rear more room to spread out, move the Eucalyptus tree to the right and create a cloud pattern that would provide an "S" of light from clouds, down the mountain to the trail and finally to the foreground. There are definite possibilities for the "Lone Eucalyptus".

Oil on panel, 5" X 7"

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"California" ©

This past weekend my family traveled up the state to Willows, California. Orange groves, vineyards, distant mountains and dancing eucalyptus trees lining the country roads reminded us of how fortunate we are to live in such a beautiful place, the state of "California".

Oil on canvas, 20" X 24"

"Temecula Sunrise" ©

Seeing a glimmer of light within the crack of the hotel blinds I stumbled out of the sheets over to the light, as a moth would. Pulling back on the rod that slides the blackout shades aside I was treated to a "Temecula Sunrise".

Oil on Canvas, 6" X 8"

"Gone Painting", off to the gold country for a few days, be back online Monday the 15th, smiling ear to ear.

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"Mentryville Spring Greens" ©

Just past Mentryville this dirt road winds up the canyon, turning into a trail. Today I was thinking about how much our trees need water and with hope I painted the spring greens of Mentryville.

Oil on panel, 5" X 7"

"Canyon Path" ©

So typical of the Santa Clarita Valley, a sandy path dappled in sunlight.

Oil on Linen, 11" X 14"

"Falkner Vineyard View" ©

The First Annual Falkner Vineyard Invitational was held in Temecula this past weekend. 28 artists from Southern California were invited to plein air paint on the property of the vineyard and the event ended with a reception in the gallery. It's always amazing to see what a group of artists can produce in a short period of time. Laura Segil of Segil Fine Art Source Gallery in Monrovia arranged the event, provided endless cold water, custom made T-shirts, snacks and complete support for the artists. This photo of one of my paintings was shot on the easel in glaring sunlight, but it does provide an idea of the "Falkner Vineyard View".

Oil on panel, 8" X 10" available at the Falkner Vineyard Gallery, Segil Fine Art Source $400.

"Sunday Swim II" ©

The phone rang today while I was painting a landscape. I was really excited with the painting, exploring all the greys I could create using Transparent Oxide Red as a base. The phone call was from the owner of the first "Venice Floater", asking me if I could possibly paint another, fast, for a special gift. Setting the landscape aside I put up a 5" X 7" panel and painted "Sunday Swim II". I think I like this little fluffy guy more then the first.

Oil on panel, 5" X 7"

"Ocean Trail" ©

The sun is sinking low faster every evening, leaves are just starting to show a glimmer of gold and you can smell fall. I am not quite ready to give up the season of summer, so today I painted a beach scene that I discovered while painting in San Clemente last June.

Oil on panel, 5" X 7"

"Pico Canyon Morning II" ©

Today I painted Pico Canyon Morning in the studio on a larger canvas then yesterdays "tiny" panel. I pushed and pulled color, rearranged the composition to help with the depth of the painting. The main goal was to have the viewer feel as if they could walk down the trail to the distant tree. If this painting can be finished off well, it will be part of the upcoming "Chasing Open Spaces III" exhibit, which requires that the views are fairly accurate, otherwise I would have changed the shape of the distant tree. I am already anxious to return to Pico Canyon.

Oil on canvas, 16" X 20"

"Pico Canyon Morning" ©

Wondering if this composition might work for a larger painting, I gave it a go today "tiny".

Oil on panel, 5" X 7"