The Best Days

A sunny day and an empty calendar happens to me exactly twice a year. So I have no choice when the fate aligns the conditions but to grab the opportunity and go out and paint. One such beautiful spring morning I headed out to Parma Park to paint this lush view over Montecito and Carpinteria, with just a little peak of the ocean on the right. After a very rainy winter there were wild flowers everywhere. It felt like a celebration of spring and possibility.

This painting was born to live on a lavendar wall. I hope Ruthie agrees.

Springtime Morning, Parma. 16 x 20. sold

Voyeurism or an Active Imagination

I started this painting late one night after struggling through another painting of the full moon rising behind the Santa Ynez Mountains. The moonrise painting was not a success, sometimes that happens. As I packed up my gear. I noticed this truck parked overlooking the Goleta Valley. My voyeuristic tendency revealed itself and I spied the people in the beat-up truck under the glow of the full moon and spent another two hours painting the scene. 

While packing up for the second time that evening, it occurred to me that there wasn't much going on in the truck. There was actually no one in there, and the truck was fairly new, not a ol' beater as I had imagined.

Parked, 8 x 10. Now on display at Corktree Cellars, Carpinteria

Moons in Carpinteria

December Crescent Moon, 9 x 12

On display now thru August 23 at Corktree Cellars in Carpinteria

While enjoying my moons I suggest ordering Midnight Moon, Cypress Grove to go with a glass of Savignon Blanc or a light Pinot. Just an idea.

Moons in Carpinteria

Seaward Crescent Moon, 9 x 12

On display now thru August 23 at Corktree Cellars in Carpinteria

Moons In Carpinteria

Valley Harvest Moon, 8 x 10

On display now thru August 23 at Corktree Cellars in Carpinteria

Last Chance and Last Stand

This painting was created on the side of the road on Cathedral Oaks Road in Goleta one evening this past spring. I was peeking through the fence at this stand of eucalyptus trees which I've admired for years while carpooling my daughter to and from DPHS. I was happy to have a chance to honor the magnificent grove. Like many open spaces in the area, I fear this one day will succumb to development. That is why I titled it Bishop's Last Stand. Stop by Corktree Cellars in Carp to view this painting and others until the end of August before my show comes down. And while there I'd like to suggest a split of something bubbly and the "Crowd Cheeser" plate. Sounds like a great way to end a summer afternoon!

Bishop's Last Stand, 12 x 16