Strolling Under the Silk Floss Trees

This is a very small watercolor. I took the same general scene as depicted in "A Walk in the Woods", but changed it to a spring setting.

Christmas Cactus

This is a walk down memory lane. This was painted about 3 years ago, and was the first time I achieved the proper "watery" effect when painting. This was a class assignment. I spent 2 hours drawing the flowers. When I put the paint onto the pot, it started running all over and I shrieked out loud, "It's ruined!!!" My watercolor teacher told me to let it dry, and this wonderful glazed pot was the result. 11x14", original watercolor.

Squashy Buildings 2

My friend Karen challenged me to re-create the squashy buildings. This is another 8x10" original watercolor. It was surprisingly hard to achieve the rainy effect a second time. I think I like this painting even better than #1. It must be the purple flowers in the foreground! This is in the private collection of Karen Hilb.

Squashy Buildings1

An earlier impressionistic building, this 8x10 original watercolor is part of my "squashy buildings" series. It is in the collection of Vicki Hilb.

The Old Mill

This is an original watercolor, 11x14", not quite in my usual style. It is much more impressionistic that I normally paint. I really like the soft and hard edges. This was a challenging study in perspective, as there are 2 vanishing points, both of which are off the edge of the paper.

High Surf

Returning to the subject of water, here is another "wave" picture. I love the energy of this wave, with the foam blowing off the top. Would you believe, the rocks were done by crunching saran wrap into the wet paint? This is a watercolor original, 11 x 14".

A Walk in the Woods

I'm quite pleased by this 5x7" watercolor painting, which was a quick study to capture mood using a limited palette of colors. The people walking in the distance anchor the picture and lend a sense of scale. This was recently accepted in a juried show by the California Art Club.

Paradise

This painting may be the first in a series of tropical flowers. This was a class subject. We had a guest in class that day, and she was startled when everyone started saying "oh, my painting is ruined" about halfway through the class. She timidly told her sister, "It doesn't sound like anyone is having fun..." Her sister smiled, and told her, "No, this is just the halfway stage when no one likes their painting. It frees us up to be experimental and some great paintings result!". I added highlights and dark tones after the class, and am much happier with the result.

Koi & Lilypads

This is a second monoprint, done in the same session as Lotus 2. This is in the collection of Lin & Joe Cochran.

Lotus 2

At the suggestion of fellow artist Belinda Del Pesco (check out her website), I experimented with creating monoprints by drawing on plexiglass with water-soluble crayon, then putting a wet paper over and running it through a lithographic press. The resulting line drawing is then painted with transparent watercolor. Here is an example of the result.

Harvest Time

I liked the contrast of the soft, dusty-looking wine grapes with the brilliant fall foliage. This painting has a narrow depth of field, with the leaves in the foreground being more realistic, and the foliage around the edges fading to the abract. The hardest part of this painting was creating a sense of roundness on each grape...

Little Newt

I had one really great day where I painted 3 complete paintings, a new high for me. I painted the Windmills. While that was drying, I painted the Lady in Red. While THAT was drying, I painted this picture of one of my cats, Little Newt. I'm pleased that it actually looks like a cat, and not a meatloaf. I'm happy with the use of negative space in this painting. For once I don't feel I overworked the subject.

Aspens - Autumn Light

Back to the subject of aspens again...this time in oil. This is a "plein air" style picture, practicing painting a whole picture in a single session. I was quite pleased with the result.

Bishop's Peak 1

This is countryside around San Luis Obispo. There are a series of volcanic peaks near the coast, which provide endless inspiration for painting. This is a view of Bishop's peak from the farm country just to the south.