white dress

A companion piece to Black Dress and my first diptych. Haven't seen them together as BD is in a show right now, but it should be interesting to see them together. Acrylic on wood panel 8x10.

Mouse

Betty, an artist friend, has piqued my interest in botanical/natural science art by showing me her botanical drawings so I created this critter as a gift for my cousin. There's something very satisfying, straightforward, and pure about a drawing. A lot of my paintings are a bit like wandering around until you get someplace, but drawing is much less forgiving. If you overwork something or make a big mistake there's no going back. When I do an illustration for reproduction I will use white out or sometimes scan it and clean it up in Photoshop but for this, I wanted it to be right without any messing around or corrections. I really enjoyed doing it, got on a roll, and did about six other drawings as gifts. Dang! I just realized that I never scanned the other pieces. Just wrapped them up and mailed them off to avoid the holiday rush. Being too efficient can have its drawbacks...Been messing with my signature too, with this one being influenced by printmaker's chops. This drawing is small, 4x4 inches, ink pen on Arches 140 pound cold press watercolour paper.

iMarv

I took a class in portraiture a while back and really enjoyed it but haven't done one since, so I decided to remedy that. I was inspired by some David Park and Diebenkorn paintings and was determined to be loose and not try for a resemblance. Well, as you can see, that didn't happen. Something took over and...oh well. I'm happy with it anyway. Marv is a friend that absolutely loves Apple products and is well-equipped with them at all times, hence the title of this piece. Acrylic on canvas, 8x10.

Field

I've always loved black and white images but for some reason I rarely do them. I finally got around to creating this one. I'm quite pleased with the feeling of it so it won't be the last. Acrylic on canvas, 11x14.

Muir Beach Barn

A scene on one of my favorite Marin roads. This barn is across the street from the Pelican Inn, right on Highway One. This image was lurking in my head for a number of years and I finally got around to doing something with it. Acrylic on wood, 5x7 inches.

Rich's BD Card

A friend of mine is having a big bash for his 70th birthday so I decided to paint a card for him as a gift. It got a little out of hand and I ended up spending a lot of time on it. Well, I guess it's appropriate as his party will no doubt get out of hand with lots of besotted guests and altered-consciousness induced behavior. The "R", "S", angel, and "TM" are glued-on metal objects, something I like doing when I get into collage mode. This is acrylic on wood and is 14" by 14". I enjoyed doing this so much that there will probably be similar pieces soon. Let the goofiness commence!

Penny

My cousin J has a good friend whose Corgi went to doggie heaven. J commissioned me to do this painting to give her. I learned a valuable lesson regarding getting away from something that I've worked on for a while. At one point I thought this piece was on the road to hell and decided to start over. So I went to the art store and bought a new canvas. When I got home I looked at the original piece again and thought, "There's nothing wrong with this!" and a few hours later it was done. Weird.

Lesson

Finally employed some self-discipline and created a quick piece for Illustration Friday. This is acrylic on watercolour paper drawn with a Staedtler Pigment Liner pen. I always intend to participate in this challenge and rarely do it but this was fun and good practice so I'm intending to do it, or so I say today.

Little Black Dress

The idea for this popped into my head so I just went for it. My eyes are a little screwy so I suspect something is a little off-kilter in this, but I can't see it. It bugs me a little, but that's what makes art unique and human. Acrylic on wood panel.

Kagi

Another gift commission, this one a college graduation gift. Kagi was a homeless cat found in a forest in Japan. Now living in the lap of luxury in Atlanta. Hopefully I'll be there to see the recipient receive his gift. Something started to feel familiar as I was painting and I realized I know someone else with one of these stubby-tailed Japanese cats and had done a portrait of their cat several years ago. Didn't even realize they came that way. It hangs out at a auto repair shop during the day so I just thought it had had a bad experience with a car door.

Cadeaux

A commission created as a gift. I received a very rewarding picture--a jubilant recipient wearing jammies in bed holding the painting.