White Wall

8 x 10 oil on hardboard

It's been raining for several days but this morning dawned clear so I headed down to Mission Basilica Alcala in San Diego to meet up with the San Diego Plein Air Painting Group. The rain was still threatening so I looked for a simple subject that I could paint quickly. Beautiful day!

Clearing Storm - Sedona

24 x 12 pastel on sanded paper

I've been working on this for a while. I love the panoramic format and this time I decided to flip it vertical. What fun!

By the Lake

6 x 8 oil on canvas panel

Fall is usually the best time of the year for light here in Southern California. Clear skies, warm light, low sun angles. But this Fall it's been all about fog. Yeeesh. So when I woke up to more cloudy skies this morning I decided to take action and head inland until I found some sun. Fortunately, I didn't need to go too far...

Bataquitos Lagoon

8 x 12 pastel on hardboard

Sometimes we have our best weather in Fall here in Southern California. The Summer fog and heat are gone and the skies are clear. We just had one of those great Fall days so I headed down to the coast to see what I could see. And paint it.....

Valley of Fire

9 x 12 oil on canvas panel

Just north of Las Vegas is a wonderful but often overlooked Nevada state part named the Valley of Fire. It's an incredible place to paint! This painting was done as the sun set behind the distant mountains - setting off an explosion of yellow colors. 

If you ever get out to Las Vegas, add an extra day to visit this park. Well worth it!

Evening Hike

9 x 12 pastel on hardboard

I was all ready to pack up and head back out to Joshua Tree NP but then our good buddies on Capitol Hill decided to shut down the government -- and the National Parks. Good move, children.

I'm sure it will re-open soon but in the meantime, here's one from a past trip to the park...

Into the Canyon

9 x 12 pastel on hardboard

Well, Fall is here so it's cooling of in the local deserts. Time to get out and off-road into some fantastic places to paint!

Sunset - Bishop, Ca

6 x 8 oil on canvas panel

I just returned home from a workshop with Frank Serrano in the Eastern Sierras. We had a great time. One evening after returning to the hotel I went for a stroll down a side street and saw this sunset coming on. So I ran back and grabbed my painting gear and dashed off this little study. Man. it happens fast! 

Rock Garden

11 x 14 pastel on hardboard

I definitely have the desert on my mind today...

A Great Way to Start a Day

I woke up this morning, staggered into the kitchen and stared in disbelief at the light from the sunrise. Is this cool or what?

Fall on it's way...

9 x 12 pastel on sanded paper

After a long summer of fog every day we're finally having hot weather. I welcome the change but I'm also aware that August is over now and Fall is right around the corner.

In a couple of weeks I have an opportunity to paint in the Sierras with Southern California artist Frank Serrano. If you're not familiar with him, check our his fantastic work HERE.  

So, to get myself in a Fall mood I sorted through my photos from last Fall in the Mammoth Lakes area and started this painting.

Morning Calm

8 x 10 oil on panel

It looked like another hot one today so I headed down to the shoreline and found a dead calm morning. The sky was very bright and filled with the warm yellow light you get in the early morning. 

This painting is available at DailyPaintworks

Popcorn Sky

8 x 10 pastel on sanded paper

With all of the coastal fog we've had this summer I've been taking treks up to our local mountain to find some sun. This last weekend I ventured into Mount Laguna, east of San Diego.

The weather was spectacular and although I didn't find the massive thunder clouds I was hoping for, there were enough around to make it interesting. In fact, I think I likes these little popcorn clouds even better!

BTW - this painting was selected as a 'Pick of the day' at DailyPaintworks.com where I have a digital gallery. You can find it here.

I also did this little sketch of some trees I found in a very unusual configuration.

5 x 7 gouache on watercolor paper

Oceanside Harbor

8 x 10 pastel on archival paper

I spent the morning with the San Diego Plein Air Painting Group down at Oceanside harbor. This is close to home for me an I come here often just to walk and clear my head. It's ironic that I've never painted here before. Go figure....

On this day I managed to bring everything except my easel. Just a minor problem! So I sat on a bench and did this in hand as a quick sketch. 

This painting is available at DailyPaintworks

Bone Dry

8 x 10 oil on linen panel

It's been so dry here for so long that its little wonder that we have so many wildfires going right now in the Southwest. 

This is a painting I did on location on Palomar Mountain. So much dry grass,,,,

Lambert Dome

9 x 12 pastel on sanded paper

I've been daydreaming about the Sierras lately so I pulled up a photo I took last Summer and did this painting to hold me over until I get back there this Fall!

This painting is available at DailyPaintworks

Tawas Bay

8 x 10 pastel on sanded paper

Well, it was finally a little cooler today in Northern Michigan so I ventured out and did a little painting. It was still in the 90's (with humidity) so I didn't venture for long. Boy did that water look inviting!

This painting is available at DailyPaintworks

Sturgeon Point

8 x 10 pastel on sanded paper

We're up North in Michigan this week! I've been looking forward to painting here again. Unfortunately, we weren't expecting a heat wave! Yesterday: 102 degrees / 90% humidity. Brutal!

Needless to say, I haven't been out painting very much. But this morning I couldn't stand waiting any longer so I packed up and hit the shoreline early before the heat got too bad. I'll tell you one thing - what a great way to learn to paint quickly!

This painting is available at DailyPaintworks

Sketches

6 x 6 gouache on Aquaboard

Did a couple of little studies in gouache tonight...

6 x 8 gouache on watercolor paper

Heat Wave

6 x 12 oil on linen panel

We've been having some crazy heat this last week so I headed down to the shoreline lagoon to try and cool down. I got there about 7 am and it was cooler alright but you could tell that is was going to cook. The air was thick and still and the light was very hazy. So that's what I went for.....

This painting is available at DailyPaintworks

Zion!

9 x 9 pastel on sanded paper

I saw something on TV last night that reminded me of a late evening that I spent in Zion NP last fall. Fortunately I had a photo that I took so I revived the moment on paper...

Somewhere

4 x 8 pastel on Pastelmat

I wanted to try out some new pastels tonight but didn't have a lot of time so I did this little sketch from memory of a ranch house I saw somewhere in Southern Utah. 

Ranch Sky

Today I went hiking at Daley Ranch in Escondido. A storm just passed through so the air was cool and clear and there were still some clouds left behind from the storm...

10 x 8 pastel on sanded paper

Torrey Pines Trail

8 x 10 pastel on sanded paper

Got out again with the San Diego Plein Air Painters Group. This time we met at the new trail section at Torrey Pines State Park. We went once before but the fog was thick and drizzly. This time... glorious sun!

Back Again - I Hope...

I've been working on a major project at work and haven't been attending to my blog for quite a while. But it's time to get back to it so Hopefully I can keep up again.

Thanks to everyone who has kept in contact with me while I was slaving in the salt mines...