"Cloud Chasing"

Purely for the fun of it, I painted this warm soft sky today.  The location is on the coast in the small magical seaside town of Malibu.  Todays rainy weather had clouds gathering together quickly and separating just as fast, reminding me when painting a moving sky, you just have to pick a pattern in the clouds and stick to it.  

Oil on canvas,  14" X 18"

"Elsmere Canyon Glow" ©

Got this one fairly close to finished and dumped it face down on my palette while trying to get a decent photo of it.  It reminded me that rushing just never works and trying to squeeze a painting in while getting ready for the Thanksgiving Holiday is ridiculous, and yet I cannot find the discipline to stay away from the easel.  I will tidy up the nice blue, orange and white blobs of paint here and there and bring the piece back to something desirable in between brining the big bird and washing floors. 

Oil on canvas, 14" X 18"

"Placerita Creek" ©

Green and gold mixed together as fall sinks into winter, is the story behind this painting.  Placerita Canyon creek runs though the nature center where I discovered this view last week.  The color is leaving more and more each day as the weather cools.  It's tough for painting,  short days and the briefest of daylight striking the ground from the south quickly approaching.  The good news is that it is too cold for snakes to be very active, the bad news is my new car was hit today.  What can you do, life marches on.  

Oil on Canvas, 18" X 24"

"Cottonwoods in Shades of Green" ©

Often I see a spot and know it's a painting but the timing is off.  Either I am driving somewhere with a timing issue or working on a show or I am just not up to painting the piece technically.  A while ago another artist Janet Anderson and I spotted this idyllic scene as we were driving from Jackson Hole back to Scott Christensen's studio in Victor, Idaho.  Both of us wanted to stop and paint but time was banging it's drum loudly and we couldn't spend the time.  My delay in trying the painting was technical, I could see the painting in my mind but couldn't make the connection to my hands.  Without the pressure of a show in the wings I decided to give it a go and feel pretty good about the painting.  Since this photo I have changed quite a bit but you can get an idea of the serene scene of the Cottonwoods on a gray day.  

Oil on Canvas, 20" X 24"

"Beginnings of a Bright Day" ©

A couple of days ago the coastal fog was making it's way over the mountain into our valley and I zipped out the door to capture the unusual view.  By the time I got to a good spot, the fog had disappeared leaving a bright morning scene in it's wake, at the trail head leading to the old Walker Ranch.  Still beautiful in the cool quiet morning light I went ahead with a painting.  

Oil on canvas,  20" X 24"