This year I had been invited to exhibit at the La Jolla Arts festival 2010. It was a two day show and sale that featured other award winning artist such as myself.

While in my old-home of Jamul. I returned to my second mother and teacher, "Mother Nature" to marvel at my childhood friends, "The Mountains of Mexico" and the surrounding landscapes that I knew all so well. This time I brought my easel, paints and canvas to document this pristine view that has not changed since I left over 20 years ago. This is were I played with childhood buddies who lived at the end of my street of Hillside Drive.

In the future this view will have around 170 homes and polo field however I have preserved this scene in time for many generations of people to see how it looked. In my current Sonoma County, I have also been documenting the rural landscape as it stands today. Some day these images will be considered early California paintings.

Last week I participated in the Carmel Art Festival. I figured I would put all my eggs in one basket and paint two large paintings 18"x24" for this competition. I managed to complete both paintings thought neither one of them received an award breaking my two  year winning streak.




                                                                       
Here is a tonal sketch done before the paint 
was applied. I used a thinned down medium
to soften the blue chalk pastels texture.





                                                                          
                                                                          

I decided to be a spectator during the Quick Draw competition. I found Kevin Courter and watched him methodically lay down his paint strokes.



Kevin Courter's final Quick Draw Painting.

You can find more of Kevin's work on is website along with his painting experience at the Carmel Arts Festival http://kevincourter.wordpress.com 

This is a painting that I started as a painting demo for members of the Petaluma Arts Counsel. The demo was only an hour long so I had to work fast. I was able to cover the canvas while the painting looked complete.

later I worked on the details and this is what you see. I use a photo that I took while painting on the Carmel coastline upon my painting trip to the area.

"Maverick Waves"                        oil on canvas panel                              18"x24"

Here is a painting I created yesterday on a friends Dairy in Chileano Valley located in North Marin County.

Last weekend I showed at the West Portal San Francisco. Aside from getting rained out on Sunday I had a pretty good show. The 16"x12" painting "Yellow Kayak" sold along with other small unframed studies and greeting cards.

This was painted last summer on a stalk pond in Seabastopol Ca. en plein air.

Here is a painting I created using a limited palette of three colors. The colors are:

Indigo (cold deep blue)
Alizarin Crimson (Cold deep Red)
Chinese Orange (very warm orange)

Have fun!

This morning was one of those memorable times when the beautiful spring light was beaming down after all the rain we have been getting. This is what I saw as I gazed through my kitchen window. I rushed out to collect my treasure with paint to canvas. The pastel spring colors were very present.

    "Man in the Sea"                                                                                        18"x24

Here is a painting that I just completed in the studio.
I originally started this seascape in plein air during
my painting trip in Carmel last January.

We had some beautiful weather last Sunday
so I took advantage of it. Here are my
neighbor's trees that I painted.

"Sunday Palm"                      12"x9"

Here is a painting that recently sold at the "Napa Valley Mustard festival" in Yountville California. My heart felt thanks goes out to our patrons of the arts, with your support we are able to continue our passion to bringing fine art into this world.