“Backlit”, oil on panel, 11×14″
I don’t usually paint back-lit subjects when painting outside, but I really liked the light coming through the bay tree. It will be an interesting place to come back to once we get some rain and everything is green again.
Archive for September, 2008
Backlit
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008Victorian Shadows
Monday, September 29th, 2008
“Victorian Shadows” oil on panel, 8×10, $320
I’ve painted this building that sits on the Petaluma turning basin before from the other side of the river. The clouds made this one challenging because the strong shadows on the building would appear and disappear as the clouds moved across the sky.
Industrial
Thursday, September 25th, 2008
“D Street”, oil on panel, 5×7, $75
I was painting around downtown Petaluma the other day and all day the geometry of these buildings (all that is left of the Rivertown feed store) was calling me. Towards the end of the afternoon the light was finally right, and I did this little study. I was inspired to try painting in the more industrial section of Petaluma by the paintings of Stephen Magsig who paints a lot of small paintings of industrial Detroit.
Petaluma Tug
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008
“Petaluma Tug” oil on panel, 8×10″ SOLD
Petaluma Marsh
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008
“Petaluma Marsh”, oil on panel, 11×14″
When I talk about the importance of estuaries, and the impact of habitat loss in my biology class, I often use the tidal marshes of the San Francisco Bay as an example. Nearly all the the original tidal marsh in the bay was converted to bay fill, farmland or salt ponds, with the exception of the marsh along the Petaluma river. The good news is there are several projects that are restoring salt marshes in the bay, and the total acreage of tidal marsh is increasing. There’s a great walking path through part of the Petaluma marsh near the marina that extends to Shollenberger park, and that’s where I went for this painting.
Painting at sunrise
Monday, September 22nd, 2008
“Sunset at the Railroad Bridge”, oil on panel, 8×10, $310
I’ve been spending a lot of time on the Petaluma river over the last few months rowing with the North Bay Rowing Club. It’s been really interesting and inspiring seeing the river and surrounding landscape from a different perspective. So I got myself out of bed really early the other day and set up on the bank above the railroad bridge near the marina, and painted the sunrise.
Green Dish
Friday, September 19th, 2008
“Green Dish”, oil on panel, 5×7, $75. Available at my Etsy Store
Here’s the last of the still lives for now. After several days of overcast weather, we had some sun today and I took advantage of the weather to do some painting outside. I’ll be sharing them as they dry. I’m putting some new works in the gallery next week. If you’re in the area, the opening reception for the new show is next Saturday, September 27th from 4pm until we run out of food and wine.
Sungold
Sunday, September 14th, 2008
“Sungold”, oil on panel, 5×7, $75
Deer Island
Saturday, September 13th, 2008
“Deer Island” oil on panel, 5×7 $75
I painted this last week when the temperatures were over 100. I wanted to explore Deer Island in Marin, and ended up hiking over an hour to wind up painting pretty much where I started. Highlight of the walk was the unexpected view of a red-breasted sapsucker. Low point was the poison oak I picked up when i was sitting in the shade thinking about what to paint.
Tomatoes
Thursday, September 11th, 2008
“One Two Three”, oil on panel, 5×7, $75 available at my Etsy Store
Right now our tomato plants are producing like crazy, and my favorite variety are the little orange cherry tomatoes called “sungold”, so I did a couple still lives with them. I really liked the contrast of the orange fruits with the blue shadows in the bowl.