"After the Rain" © 24 x 30 Sold

Those of you who live in Southern California know what the "June gloom" is but for those who don't, it is the overcast mornings we have during the month of June. The gloominess usually "burns off" by 11:00 a.m. to reveal a nice sunny afternoon. Anyway, the June gloom we are experiencing right now reminded me of a painting I did last year of a scene in Bishop, California. It had just rained and the sun was just trying to peek out afterward. The mountains in the background were still misty but the sun was shining in the foreground. This was my attempt to capture that mood but some of nature's light effects are elusive when it comes to painting. I guess I got close.

While I was in the studio painting this scene, one of our patrons stopped by, spotted the half-finished painting on my easel and said she wanted to buy it when it was done. I wish I could sell all of my paintings that way!

"Summer's Gold" © 6 x 8 Sold

Our posting of last week prompted me to look back at some of my paintings of coastal scenes. I'm not sure anymore where this scene was from but I think it was somewhere on the Malibu coast. The obvious reason for this painting was the "glow" of the sunset and the reflections on the water. I sold this one almost immediately after it was painted. As I recall, the paint was still wet when I sold it to a lady who had lived in Southern California for several years. In a matter of days, she was going to move back east and wanted a little painting of the coast as a remembrance. Currently, I am painting a series of paintings from our recent trip to Visalia but as soon as I am done with the series, I might paint some more coastal scenes. I love the challenge of painting the different moods of the ocean.

"A Stop Along PCH" © 16 x 20

Saturday evening, we attended the opening reception of the "On Location in Malibu" exhibit at the Weisman Museum at Pepperdine University. This painting of Frank's is part of the exhibit. The show is a collection of paintings by Artist Members of the California Art Club and all the paintings are from the Malibu area. It is a fabulous exhibit and we encourage you to see it before it ends on August 9th. It is a collection of marvelous paintings by some of the best artists in Southern California. We had a wonderful time at the reception and it was very well attended. It was fun to visit with some of our artist friends and to enjoy the beautiful weather and atmosphere of the Southern California coast. I love the "glow" that Frank captured in this painting which is typical of the beautiful light conditions in Malibu.

"Autumn Song" 6 x 8 © SOLD

This is a small painting I did a few months ago based on a scene from the Santa Ynez valley. It sold this past weekend at the Sierra Madre Art Fair. Frank and I both exhibited paintings at the show and, as usual, had a very pleasant time. The Fair was on Saturday and Sunday. We have been doing this annual show for several years now and always have a nice time even though it is a lot of work. So many of our friends and fellow artists stop by and it gives us a chance to visit with people that we only see once a year at this show. Thank heavens the weather wasn't as hot as they predicted. We have had years where the temps were over 100. (Not fun when setting up heavy equipment and paintings!). After spending yesterday unpacking, I am ready to get back to the easel.

"Gifts From The Garden" 12 x 12

A couple of weeks ago, Frank and I were invited to participate in a paintout and show at the beautiful Descanso Gardens in LaCanada, CA. In preparation for the show, I painted two still life paintings of roses and one painting of a scene from Descanso Gardens. Unfortunately, on the day of the paintout and show, I got sick and couldn't attend. Frank participated though and had a very pleasant weekend painting with friends. The weather was beautiful and everyone had a nice time. I wish I could have been there but maybe next time! Since I didn't have any real roses to paint from, I used some photo references to paint this painting. Although I like to paint from real life, I think this one turned out quite well. It was fun painting this one because I hadn't painted a still life in quite awhile. For me, it's good to mix things up a bit and paint subject matter that I haven't done in awhile because it prevents uninspired "tunnel vision".

"Hop Sing Tong Benevolent Association" - 11" x 14"

Several weeks ago, Frank and I spent a lovely day participating in a "paintout" in Chinatown. The paintout was sponsored by the California Art Club and there were several other artists there performing their "magic". The weather was perfect and as you can see, there was no lack of color in our surroundings. All day long we were surrounded by shoppers , hustle and bustle. Chinatown is doing a lot of publicity, trying to attract business to their area and one of their ways of doing that is to have performers in this courtyard on weekends. In addition to having a very pleasant painting day, we were entertained with music and several acrobatic shows. They were excellent performers and some of them were scheduled to perform in Cirque du Soleil. The sign on the building with the flags said, "Hop Sing Tong Benevolent Association", hence, the title for this painting. At the end of the day, all of the artists lined their paintings up in front of one of the shops. We were treated with Chinese food and wine and a few sales were made. I think Frank truly captured in his painting the festive feeling of the day.

Companion Pieces: "California Surf" and "Coastal Sun" ©

Occasionally, I love to paint a series of small paintings anywhere from 5"x7" to 8"x10" in size. It's a nice change of pace after painting a large painting and they are such fun to do! Lately, my favorite small size is 6"x8". Very often, when painting small, I will do two of them of a similar subject matter so that someone can purchase them as companion pieces and make a small "grouping" on their wall. We all have at least one little wall in our homes that "needs a little something" and this is a great remedy. It's also nice for people who are on a budget but want to have some quality original artwork or for those who want to buy a nice gift for someone. These two scenes are from the central coast of California where Frank and I love to visit. Specifically, these two paintings are from Cambria. When we go up there we will usually stay in Morro Bay and travel around the area during the day, visiting Cayucos, Cambria, Moonstone Beach, and Montana De Oro. There is absolutely nothing better than a weekend in the central coast area to shed stress and completely "chill out". We always come back rested, inspired, and with great references for paintings.

Recently, Frank and I participated in a couple of paint-out events with the California Art Club. One event was at Chinatown and the other in the southern foothills of the Sierras. Stay tuned for our resulting paintings!!!