North Coast Fog

"North Coast Fog" oil on panel, 5x7, $75

I painted this standing in a pullout along Highway 1 North of Jenner. I really liked the way the fog made the distant trees almost disapear. Just as I was finishing, the fog suddenly lifted, so I'm glad I was able to capture this moment before it changed.

Line of Eucalyptus

"Line of Eucalyptus" oil on canvas, 12x24" [$900+shipping]

I started this painting outside, and then ran out of time, so I finished it in the studio. It's from the same location as this little painting.

Morning Light - painting a day

"Morning Light" oil on canvas panel, 5x7" [$75+shipping]

Leaning Shack - painting a day

"Leaning Shack" oil on canvas panel, 5x7", available at my Etsy store.

I packed a lot of landscape into this little painting. I think this really wanted to be bigger, but I didn't have a larger panel with me. Just means I'll have to go back to this location.

Oak Knoll

"Oak Knoll" oil on canvas, 12x24" SOLD

This is a studio painting I did after doing this plein air study. I'm really enjoying the long and skinny format. I think it makes it easier to enter the painting and have a sense of actually being present for some reason, maybe because it engages more of your peripheral vision. I bought a bunch of stretcher bars this afternoon to stretch more paintings in this size. I think they'll be a good size to take outside as well.

And the exciting news of the day is I've consigned some paintings to American Artisans gallery in Nashville. Anne Elkins, the director, found me through Etsy, and I'm really looking forward to working with her. So if you know anyone in Tennessee, point them towards the gallery!

Eucalyptus Grove

"Eucalyptus Grove" oil on canvas, 12x36"

One of my personal goals has been to try and find a way to do studio paintings that have the same life as my plein air work. I'm finding that one of the keys to good studio paintings for me is viewing my reference photos on the computer, rather than trying to print them out. And I think the other piece of the puzzle is doing the studio painting as soon as possible after completing the field study, so it's easy to tap into the sense memory of what made that place special. This painting grew out of a frustrating plein air session, where I couldn't seem to make things work. I realized when I got home that part of the problem was that the painting wanted to be long and skinny instead of my usual format. So I listened to what the painting had to say.