All Aboard

Everyone who visits San Francisco knows the thrill of the ride.  The hills are steep.  I exaggerated the hill in this painting and filled in the bay with an image that may be Alcatraz,  The rounded fronts of the Victorian houses are like the ones on Hyde St.  So this is a composite of many San Francisco symbols and overall is a blue painting. I tried to focus on the cable car by giving it the warm and complimentary color.  You know, the focal point is the darkest/lightest, hotest/coolest or complimentary colors.  The track lines draw the eye to it.

Portofino Morning

I love to play with images of Portofino.  I did many sketches while there and the colors are in my head.  The shadows were great on this warm morning.  This was a quick sketch and painting done at home in my studio.  I did it late afternoon and kept going back to peek at it as I liked something about it that I couldn't put my finger on.  Oh well, here it is and it was fun.  The picture sort of painted itself once I was ready to let loose on it.

Plein Air Painting at Fort Baker

It started off a beautiful day with sun and shadows but it quickly got very cold.  I did not bring any sweaters and was eventually shivering.  I wanted to paint the house as a vertical projected from below.  As seen in the photo it was on a hill.  My painting got rushed so I eliminated all of the windows on the porch and made the structure taller.  This was to give the painting a feeling of height.  The lines in the green background were also intended to create height.  Will have to visit again and be prepared for weather changes.

My Muse

The Muses are nine goddesses in Greek mythology who control and symbolize 9 types of art known to Ancient Greece,  My muse is a depot.  It is a source of inspiration for me, with its wonderful Spanish architecture.  It is an icon for Davis, CA.  I gather my paints and setup somewhere around the building and jump right in.  There is some urgency at the station with travelers waiting and little kids waiting for different reasons.  The big engines roar into and out of the station.  I am nearly always engaged by someone while painting.  It maybe a traveler, a greeter, a homeless person who will stay and monitor my progress.  This creates a deadline as I work to develop a finished painting.  Maybe this is why I am attracted to the station; my procrastination ends.

Rainy day painting

Went to Portefino, Italy during some travels several years ago and did a number of sketches and photos.  I have painted some of the scenes before, but this time wanted a more unified look to the buildings.   Windows, awnings and boats were too much in previous attempts.  This came out with bright hue.  It was a good effort and brought me back to the beauty of Portefino.  I once read that it was Liz Taylor's favorite vacation spot.  It is a busy spot with many luxury yachts with crews in uniform.  That was a first for me.  

Autumn in Rural Northern California

I did this watercolor painting on a beautiful Sunday afternoon outside of Fairfield, CA.  Some clouds in the sky and everything quiet on this farm.  It had rained during the night and the ground was muddy but drying out.  The other two photos show a produce stand with a special setting for the season and a vineyard not quite turning color yet as it is still getting into the 80's temperatures.  Nice and warm and sunny for painting.  Trees are just now showing some fall color.
It will be perfect for painting if the weather continues this way.  I want to go back and capture the turning colors of the vineyard, which should happen pretty soon.