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!
Sold

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.
Sold

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.
Sold

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!
Sold

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.
Sold

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.
Sold

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.
Sold

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

Sold

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.
Sold

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.
Sold

Pelican Point 9x7

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

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.
Sold

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.
Sold

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.
Sold

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

Sold

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.
Sold

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.
Sold

ruffles 6x6

Sold

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.
Sold

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!
Sold