In Process " Desert Hill " Study

Desert Hill Study, not done yet ,on my easel this Friday.

Randy Higbee Gallery ,Three 6 x 6 "s Accepted

                                                      Windbreak at Dusk 6 x 6

                                                            Above the Bay 6 x 6

                                                               October Hill 6 x 6

Trying my hand at some smaller pieces again. I find that very simple two or three value compositions simplify things for me when working  this small. My favorite is Windbreak at Dusk because of the way the silhouettes of the trees work and the limited color palette for the late day light. 

These three were all accepted by the Randy Higbee Gallery 6x 6 Exhibit and will be on display  December3rd to December 22nd with a reception on December 3rd From 5:00 to 9:00pm

The Randy Higbee Gallery is in Costa Mesa . Here is a link to the gallery for details. Randy Higbee Gallery Web Site

http://www.onlinejuriedshows.com/ClosedShowThumbs.aspx?OJSID=56&#11786

New Paintings from the Studio

The Ridge After Sunrise 14 x 21

Ridgeline Rhythmns 16 x 12


In winter, I tend to finish paintings in the studio. These are the two most recent. In the studio , I can use my outdoor starts as compositions where I play with color harmonies and really concentrate on what the painting needs.
In Ridgeline Rhythms, I pushed myself to abstract the ridge. I love the diagonals of the mountains.
In the Ridge After Sunrise, I explored the darks from early morning.
There was a piece in the New Yorker Magazine a while ago that described these hills as a lovely rumpled landscape, a phrase I love and plan on using as a painting title one of these days. The Ridge after Sunrise is more about the low light and colrs but has some of that rumpled feeling.

Highlights from the 79th Statewide Landscape Exhibit at SCAL

The crowd at the reception near my painting "December Tapestry"

Patrick Woodman "Pelican Point" First Place Oils

Robin Purcell "October Afternoon" First Place Watercolor

Carolyn Lord "Holly's Fig" Best of Show

For those of you unable to get to the exhibit at the Santa Cruz Art League, I took photos of three of the paintings that got awards. I love both Carolyn and Patrick's paintings so I am thrilled be in their company. Coincidently, this is the 90th anniversary of the Santa Cruz Art league, so they had a birthday cake at the very well attended reception. There were 14 awards in all. The exhibit runs through June 28.

Valley Vertigo Watercolor of Carmel Valley

Valley Vertigo 21 x 14

This is a half sheet I started in Carmel Valley way back in May after the Carmel Art Festival. It was painted near the top of El Caminto, which has unbelievably beautiful views everyway you look. It overlooks Holman Ranch which was closed last year because of construction. I ended up doing a lot of painting on the foreground in the studio but the horizon and upper third were pretty much what I did on location.