Flag Hill,Sunol, finished

Flag Hill Sunol,14 x 21
If you scroll down, you can see I made a change to the sky to reflect more accurately the way the vividness of the blue related to the creamy gold of the hill. Once I changed the sky, I found I needed to adjust some of the values of the blue and violets in the hill.  I am pleased that this feels like the summer day when it was painted..

The Allure of the High Horizon and the Far Away

I' ve been thinking  lately about why I choose the subjects I do and wanted to share some of my thoughts about the themes in my work.

  If there is level land where I live, it has subdivisions of houses (including mine) on it. From rural Massachusetts where I looked over a semi-groomed lawn of an acre, I now have a tiny postcard of a lawn, hemmed in by your typical California suburban fence.

These are two of the reasons why I paint what I paint. To see open spaces around me, I need to look up at the hills protected from development.What started as a necessity has turned into a preference. I love to paint panoramas with high horizons and create an atmospheric perspective. The folding, curving hills and ravines create such interest that the almost invariably blue sky is usually a very small part of my compositions. The distance in my paintings adds an emotional trigger for me of wanting to explore deeper into the landscape and the picture.

I wish I'd gotten here sooner. My paintings look like I am out in the middle of a wilderness, but they are often painted  roadside or in parking lots! When there are roads or buildings, I leave them out, trying to recreate what California  used to look like.

 Sunol In September 14 x 21

Hill Side Oaks 9 x 12 (in the CAC 100th Gold Medal Exhibition)

 The Curve of the Earth 21 x 16