No Hands Bridge #3 7x7

It's been overcast or foggy at my house for the last week or so. I had to go up to Auburn to work in my classroom today and I decided to make a side trip to the confluence. It was very nice to be painting in the sun for a change!
Happy new year!
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oreos #2 6x6

I found this great piece of pink fabric. It's the same one I used for the snoball. I really like the color as a background for items that aren't very colorful.
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overcast lake 7x7

Sheesh, from a snoball to this cold landscape! I decided to go to the lake to paint today even though it was overcast. It was a good excuse to do something kind of muted and moody. It was cold though, I'd rather paint in the sun! I will post this on ebay in a week or so.
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snowball 6x6

I wanted to get a pink snoball. I couldn't find them anywhere. I actually had trouble finding this white one. I had to settle for painting the background pink. I had no idea there was chocolate cake inside these things!
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500!

I'm half way to 1000. To celebrate this milestone I've posted some paintings to eBay starting at $5.00!

peppermint pattie 7x7

This is my 500th painting. I've managed to do it without missing any days. It's been a pretty interesting thing so far. Not every painting has been a winner but I've found that there's as much to be learned from painting poorly as there is from painting well. Thank you to everyone who has supported me in this project so far (especially my wife and son. They are super patient!). This one starts out for just $5.00 on eBay.
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apartment 7x7

I loaded up my bike with my paint box and went for a ride today. This apartment is about a mile from my house. I liked the light and shadow.
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jello cake 6x6

We had Christmas dinner over at my dad's house and I did this painting there. Strawberry Jello Cake, prepared by aunt Jane. Very delicious!

Pringles 7x7

Merry Christmas every one, and thanks for looking!

This painting is available through my new gallery, Kasini House.

Lays Potato Chips 7x7

I think it's because I was a commercial sign painter for so long that I have avoided painting anything with lettering in it. These recents paintings of junk foods have been pretty fun to do though. I like the bright colors in the packaging.

This painting is available through my new gallery, Kasini House.

cupcake 6x6

I have been enjoying painting these processed junky foods lately. I do like to include some packaging some of the time. In the case of these cupcakes though, the packaging was kind of lame. It was just a brown plastic holder for the two cupcakes covered by a clear cellophane membrane with some lettering on it. If it had been foil or had some brighter colors I would have probably included it. I do like the way it worked out though. A Hostess Cupcake is so iconic you really don't need much else. The silly white loops of frosting across the top are enough to immediately identify them.
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vienna sausage 7x7

I think these are strange things to eat. People seem to either love them or hate them. I like the color.

Twinkie #3 9x7

This is the largest still life that I've done so far. At 9"x7" it's still pretty small. It just seems huge to me. I was contacted the other day by the person who purchased my two previous Twinkie paintings. She informed me that she is the grand daughter of the man who invented the Hostess Twinkie, James Dewar. One of the wonderful byproducts of this painting project has been the interesting connections with other people that I have made. Thanks everyone!

This painting is available through my new gallery, Kasini House.

Crystal Cove #4 9x7

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Pelican Point #2 7x7

This is Pelican Point as seen from the top of the bluff. It's a nice walk to this spot from Crystal Cove.
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Crystal Cove #3 7x7

I managed to squeeze this one in at the end of the day. I was attracted to the glowing light on the cliff. There was a group of young boys playing catch and digging holes nearby and I was getting a little worried that they would accidentally throw sand all over my painting. I had this recurring vision of their football slamming into my palette. After a little while they became interested in what I was doing and came over to ask me some questions. They turned out to be pretty nice kids. Their father came out later and thanked me for talking to them.
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Pelican Point 9x7

This is the view north from Crystal Cove. I painted it on my last trip and erroneously called it "Crystal Cove".
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Crystal Cove #2 9x7

I had such a great time painting down here last month that I made a special trip to do it again. These colorful cottages make a great subject. It seems like everywhere you look there's something cool to paint.
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San Clemente Pier 7x7

This is the pier at San Clemente. I like the simple composition and pallette on this one. The weather was great on this trip. I took a nap in the small park next to the beach after I finished this. I probably looked a bit like a transient in my paint covered clothes with my pack of painting gear but everyone was very polite and no one disturbed me. It's no wonder Nixon liked it here so much.
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Beach Cottage 7x7

There a a whole row of these little cottages a couple of miles north of the pier in San Clemente. Painting the rocks was fun on this one.
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Painting Trip

I will be going out of town for the next several days and I may not have access to a computer or the internet. I'm headed to Southern California and I intend to do quite a bit of painting. I will just have to catch up on my posting when I get back on the 17th.

tree 7x7

Today was a bit overcast. I spent about an hour driving around some agricultural areas looking for something to paint. It was a nice scouting trip as I found quite a few things that caught my eye. On many of them, the flat, overcast light was pretty uninteresting. I finally settled on this lone tree in the middle of a field. I think the atmosphere makes it look a bit sullen and moody which I think is kind of fitting. Most fields like this around here are becoming housing developments. In another few years there will probably be one here. It will be called something like “the Pastures".

candy cane 5.5x7

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Granite Bay 7x7

I had about an hour before the sun went down and it became bitterly cold. This little tree is near the boat ramp at Granite Bay on Folsom Lake. It is among the many that are usually submerged when the lake is full.

bike trail 7x7

This is along the American River bike trail near my house. I went to a painting demo and lecture put on by Terry Miura yesterday afternoon. He is a wonderful painter and teacher. He packed a ton of useful information into a fascinating two and a half hours or so. It was a real treat to watch him work. I tried to incorporate some of his ideas into this one with somewhat mixed results. I'm looking forward to getting out again tomorrow after school. It looks like the weather is going to be nice.
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Folsom nocturne 6x6

This is the kikomon soy sauce plant from the bluff above Lake Natoma. Painting this was sort of an experiment. I took my dog for a walk and tried to commit the essentials of the scene to memory and the painted it as soon as I got back to my house.

twinkie #2 6x6

The first twinkie I painted was brioken in half. This one I decided to cut instead. The cut made me much more aware of the planes involved so I focused on simplifying the shapes instead of surface detail.
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ruffles 6x6

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Lake Natoma #2 7x7

I am really enjoying painting landscapes right now. It's fun to plan the logistics and be outside for a while in the afternoon. When I druve to work or to the store I am always scouting for interesting things to paint. Sometimes something will catch my eye but the light will be wrong and I have to make a mental note to come back at another time of day. It's a lot different than just aiming a lamp differently like with a still life. There's a greater element of adventure.
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bosc pear #2 7x5.5

I like the earth tones in this one.

pomegranate #5 5.5x7

One of the nice things about the onset of winter is pomegranates.

river dock 9x7

It was a clear day but cold and windy. I did this one down at Miller Park as well.

silo 7x7

This silo is across the river from Miller Park in West Sacramento. It's right next to interstate 80 too. I used to drive by it when I was commuting to school in Davis. I always liked it and thought it would make a nice subject for a painting. The light was nice this afternoon, but it was windy and cold. I was happy when I finished!
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avocado #6 7x5.5

I painted this one for a friend of mine. It's pretty similar to a recent avocado that I did on a dark background. I like this one because of the variation in the cast shadow.
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metal building 7x7

This is an old metal building behinnd Heart Federal Savings in Auburn. I'm not sure what it's for as there were no obvious signs. I was attracted by the rusting roof and it's relative seclusion among the other buildings.

art room interior #5 7x7

There are a lot of views of my classroom that are pretty colorful. It makes it challenging and fun to paint.

This painting is available through my new gallery, Kasini House.

art room interior #4 7x7

I am really enjoying these interiors of my classroom. They have some narrative content, they seem sort of autobiographical.

This painting is available through my new gallery, Kasini House.

art room interior #3 7x7

I really like the way this turned out. It's pretty close to what I was trying for.

This painting is available through my new gallery, Kasini House.

golf ball 5.5x7

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beach bungalows 7x7

These are a couple of the bungalows at Crystal Cove. The state is restoring them and I sure hope they maintain there unique character. This is a marvelous place to paint.
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Crystal Cove 9x7

This is the shoreline at Crystal Cove just south of Newport Beach. It's a great beach with a bunch of very picturesque and condemned squatter's cabins which I may paint later. I had trouble finding an internet connection for posting this one.
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Goleta Slough 7x7

This is near Santa Barbara. I had to work fast. My wife and son were shopping and I had a limited amount of time before I had to pick them up. Sometimes having limited time is a good thing.
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Clam Beach 7x7

This is at Clam Beach, just north of Pismo Beach.

three wood 5.5x7

I'm going to be out of town for the next couple of days. I'm bringing my paint box and a borrowed lap top so, barring any technical problems, I should be able to continue posting. Wish me luck.
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Bear River (Duck Bill) 7x7

This rock formation is on the Bear River about a quarter mile above Dog Bar Bridge. When I was gowing up my mom would bring my sister and I down here to swim. It seemed like we would spend all summer at this river.
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fall tree 7x7

This tree is across the street outside my front window.
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Sacramento River 7x7

I painted this from Miller Park. It was an absolutely stunning day, especially for late November.
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art room interior #2 7x7

I wasn't going to put these two interiors up for auction but my wife and son talked me into it. Maybe someone will like them.
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art room interior 7x7

This is my first interior. I had a lot of fun painting it and I can't wait to try again. There are lots of things to consider and try. My classroom is really much messier than this. I want to try to capture that.
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strange persimmon 7x5.5

My friend Pollyanna put this very strange persimmon in my mailbox at school. I'm not sure if this type of thing is common among persimmons or not. It's certainly the oddest looking fruit I've ever seen.
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No Hands Bridge #2 7x7

I made it out to the river this afternoon before the canyon was completely in shadow. Unfortunately, I forgot part of my easel so I couldn't paint. I had a pencil though and I did a detailed drawing on a panel and made a bunch of color and value notes. I then finished the painting from memory when I got home. This is the result.
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