Oregon Coast Studies

Coast Cliffs Study, 8 x 10 oil on linen on board

Lifting Fog, Oregon Coast 8 x 10 oil on linen board

Greens and Blues

Green and Blue Study, 6 x 6 oil on gesso board

A plein air study done at a nature park near my home. I intentionally broke some rules about de-emphasizing chroma of the background elements in a painting. I like the temperature contrasts between the (relatively) warmer greens and the cool blue-violets, and I just can't make myself  "grey" the blues. I appreciate the skills of the photo-realists, but I wanted to bounce those temperature variations against each other. This little study is feeding ideas about a possible larger painting or series.

Fun Run

Fun Run, 6 x 12 oil on linen on board

Barley the labradoodle has crazy fur that is too much fun to paint.

See at Daily Paintworks.

Treat-Seeker

Treat-Seeker, 6x6 oil on linen on board

Jack, our rescue spare-parts-dog, offers up his most hopeful expressions at meal-time. Painting such foreshortened shapes in a pose like this is an interesting challenge, because all you can do is paint "shapes of color."

See at Daily Paintworks.

Summer Hilltop

12 x 12 oil on linen

Fence-Sitter - Siamese Cat

Fence-Sitter, 6 x 12 oil on 3/8" archival panel

This neighborhood Siamese cat perches on a fence at the entrance to a small natural park, where she hones her hunting skills. So far no luck on her part, I think, as I've seen her being chased by an irritated Northern Flicker.

See at Daily Paintworks Auction.

Fishing Boat

Mediterranean Fishing Boat, 16 x 12 oil on linen

These boats, called "lateen-rigged," are used for fishing from Portugal across the Mediterranean to Greece. This one, along with several other brilliantly-colored ones, was anchored in the harbor of Lerici, near Pisa. They've apparently been used for fishing since the second century B.C.

Wetlands Studies and Studio Painting

I painted "en plein air" recently with Bill Sharp, a talented Portland painter, and produced a little study, with the intent on "pushing color," exaggerating the intensity of what I was seeing.

Wetlands Study, 8 x 10 oil on linen board

The painting location is in a Beaverton neighborhood, where a protected wetlands winds its way through backyards (I envy the homeowners the views of the flora and fauna just outside their windows). I brought the painting home and decided to use the color notes I captured to design a new painting with a different format, (this time a 2:1 aspect ratio, one of my favorites). I first painted another small color study:

Wetlands Study 2, 6 x 12 oil on panel

I then started a 12 x 24 painting on linen that I had mounted on board and toned with a light, very warm wash, laying in the initial placement of major shapes:

 

I then added my lightest lights (sky area) so that I could see the range of tones I was working with:

It was at this point that I made a compositional change, removing the tree near the center because I felt blocked from the marshes beyond that were calling to me. The final product brought me back to my initial goal of experimenting with exaggerated color:

Wetlands Morning, 12 x 24 oil on linen on board