Yes, I'm listening.

This is my wife Irene. Took this photo at a stop for lunch while on a bike ride. She looked like she was ready for a rest. The goal here was to experiment with color and still have the person recognizable. The painting is a success on both accounts. 
24"x 24", Acrylic

Easy Par

This is John, a golfing buddy. We golf every week at the 9 hole course in my neighborhood. We know the course pretty well. Our favorite saying is, "easy par." This captures him pretty well. Unfortunately I didn't take a great photo of the painting before it was purchased. 
 • SOLD

Feeling Cocky

Roosters are a perfect subject matter for 'warm up' paintings. These were done simultaneously rather quickly giving them a fresh painterly look.

10"x 10" Acrylic

Mary

Mary is a friend and business associate.  When it comes to decorating and fashion her sense of color is a perfect match for my stylized portrait and figure paintings. The result was what I was hoping for! And I'm happy to say she liked it too.
16"x 16" Acrylic

• SOLD

Goodnight Irene

This is my wife Irene in her bedtime routine of reading before going to sleep. This painting was juried into Pasadena Society of Artists 88th Annual Exihibition June, 2013. 

9"x 12" Acrylic

Skies the Limit

These are 5"x 7" studies  for a larger series of Skyscapes.
The trick is to translate the spontaneity from the small studies to larger paintings...wish me luck.

Real Hope & Change

In light of current events, this concept came to mind...

12"x 12" Acrylic on Canvas

Veronica at Studio

Painting from a live model is a great exercise. Since most sessions are typically 3 hours, lots of decisions need to be made quickly and there is less opportunity to overwork the painting. Everything might not be perfect but that adds to the feel and look of the finished artwork. (Update – This painting was juried into Pasadena Society of Artists 88th Annual Exihibition June, 2013)

23"x 29" Acrylic

Texas Here We Come

Friends of ours recently packed up and moved to Texas to retire and be closer to one of their kids families. As a going away gift I presented these paintings for them to choose from. They are small 5"x 7" studies with 11"x 14" mattes. They picked the one with the angled flag and then decided to purchase the other flag one for their son. I kept the bottom one, 'Chili Tango'. 

Lemons in a Bowl

This was a challenge with a bird's eye view point and cast shadows from the window blinds.

Lemons in a Bowl / Acrylic / 24"x 24"

Woman on a Mission

This painting recently received an Honor Mention at the San Gabriel Fine Art Association Fall Exhibition. 12"x 12"

A Real Trouper

 




This painting can be seen at Millard Sheets Gallery, August 31 to September 30, 2012. The theme of this years exhibition is, "Art & Fair – A 90 Year Celebration". Be sure to stop by the gallery if you happen to be visiting the LA County Fair this year. The painting was from a live model. He mentioned he had performed fire eating, so when I got back to the studio I added the fire sticks and circus related graphics in the background. He is a Real Trouper.

Which Way Are We Headed?

By giving this painting a thought provoking title, it makes the visual even more interesting. Which way is the country headed?

STOP Leaning Left

While visiting my daughter and son-in-law in VA, we did lots of site-seeing in Washington DC. It is pretty impressive. The monuments and landmarks are must sees, however, I can spend days in the art museums, my favorite being the Portrait Museum. I don't really care too much for blatant 'political art' but I couldn't resist painting this photo I had taken. This painting was also made better with the use of scissors. It originally had a street with a car and crosswalk in the bottom 1/3. I never really liked the way the car came out, so out came the scissors. I like the square format and the design is much improved.

Apples & Oranges

Sometimes the best art is created with a pair of scissors. I did a 29"x 23" painting that was fun. I didn't use any reference, I just started painting. Originally there was a nude lady sitting on a chair holding an apple in front of a mirror. The apple in her hand was suppose to have some deep meaning which I was never really able to figure out. Anyhow, I painted more apples behind her head, to give even more meaning to the painting. When people looked at it, the only comment was that they liked the apples, and oranges, behind her head. I liked the apples and oranges behind her head too, but I still couldn't figure out why there was a naked lady sitting in front of a mirror holding an apple. So I painted over her head and took out some scissors cutting off the bottom 3/4's for the painting. That's hard to do on a signed painting you have spent a lot of time painting, thinking it is complete. But now I have a nice framed painting in an interesting format of 'Apples & Oranges'. It may still be lacking deep meaning though.

Tea for Two

Three Lumps, 12"x 12"


St. Patrick's Day Coffee, 12"x 12"

My youngest daughter is fond of hosting tea parties (the kind with Chinaware). I am going to keep trying to paint one she would like to have, I'm more of a coffee drinker myself.

Poppy Fields

Finishing touches.

After completing the brand identity for Tri-City Mental Health Services in Pomona the client asked if I knew of anyone that did murals. I said, "as a matter of fact, my daughter Tracy does." We set up an interview, she did two small paintings for the client to evaluate. It is an indoor mural in a multipurpose room that caters to kids. It is colorful and upbeat and represents the San Gabriel mountains and California poppies in the Tri-City area. I was Tracy's assistant on the project. It took us three, 3 hour sessions to complete. It's 7.5' high and 14' wide.

Michigan Theme

Working on the door at the studio.


The final painting back on its hinges.

For some reason my wife wanted a storage door in her upstairs home office painted. Since she is from Michigan and we have fond memories of vacationing there each summer, I referred to a photo I had taken of her walking on a sand bar on a lake in MI.

Michigan Man

This is a tribute to my father-in-law. This was one of his favorite positions while sitting and talking. There was ugly foliage behind him so I inserted the puffing Michigan clouds. He retired in the Traverse City, MI area where our family enjoyed summer vacations at his home for 24 years. He got to see this painting several months before he passed away last April. It brings back great memories when I look at it.

Peering Over Pier

After several preliminary studies this was completed on a 20" x 16" wrap-around canvas. It received a Second Place Award in MVAL 57th Annual Exhibition.