"Industrial"

4 x 12"

oil on panel
sold

I'm back to painting in my spankin' clean studio - with this new addition to my series A to Z.  I played with a different technique, using a white ground rather than black,  painting different values of a grey-umber then scratching and washing and wiping out areas.   I love it.

From the industrial district outside of Seattle, Washington.

"Pike Hike"

10 x 11"
oil on masonite
sold

Also included in the upcoming May show - a cityscape of Seattle at the corner of Pike Street and First Avenue, right at the opening of the Pike Place Market. I had taken a cab to the market early in the evening and started my hike back to the hotel - delighted with the break in the clouds and this gorgeous, dusky, peachy light - dispelling the myth that Seattle is always rainy and gray.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Quintessential Duvall"

14 x 4"
oil on masonite
sold

I worked and worked and worked on this new painting - constantly making decisions on tightening up or loosening the brush strokes. It's a different experience painting landscapes, where I want the depth, shapes and color to be the most important features - but personally I try hard to not illustrate the scene at the same time. It's been both a challenge and pleasure to switch over to landscape pieces - considering 95% of what I paint is figurative.

This serene farmland is in Duvall, Washington - outside of Seattle.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Georgetown Rooftops"

9 x 12"
oil on masonite
sold

For the next couple of weeks, I'll be working on paintings for a group show at 16 Patton, in Asheville - titled 'Escapes: Day to Night'. I love/hate painting landscapes and nightscapes.
I start each piece with great hopes of creating something different than the usual, then an hour into it, I lose my confidence. Invariably I start tightening up, then I wipe it off and start again.

This is the first finished painting - the industrial neighborhood of Seattle, what I think is Georgetown, if I remember correctly. I was dazzled by it. After driving around the area, I got a higher perspective - around the time the sun was setting, which made for glistening light and a smoky atmosphere.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Pike Street News"

10-1/2 x 14"
oil on masonite
sold

My precious internet access is back. After being out of sorts all week, I'm myself again. It's a small inconvenience compared to other calamities, true, but it is a large part of my world. This new painting was done on a day when I was in the studio at 8 am, with a guy working inside my house and no internet and leaving was not an option. High motivation to tackle a tough painting.

I usually start these more complicated cityscapes with a lack of confidence. It's not important to me to render the photograph as much as it is to capture the atmosphere and the place. Stay loose enough to feel as if you're there and life is moving around you - but make sure the buildings don't look as if they're falling in. It's a challenge. And I'm really not convinced that I pulled it off until I see the light - the rim glow around the people, the sky, the street, the shadows. Then it becomes real - full of life.

The place is on the corner of Pike Street and 1st Avenue, in Seattle - on a brisk, bright, February morning.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Metropolitan Grill"

9 x 12"
oil on masonite
sold

(detail)

I painted this back in April, a result of my curiosity with a value study technique - using burnt umber and olive green as the base color. A medium tone covers the entire board - then the lighter areas are a result of diluting the paint down to the white surface, likewise the darker areas are the umber/green with a touch of black. Near the end, I added a touch of white/gold to the highlights to give it a warm glow, very much the mood in reality. This interior scene is taken from a well-known steakhouse in Seattle, the Metropolitan Grill. Truth is, I wanted to keep this painting but I do need to make a living.


a note ...... I'm heading out of town for more picture-taking, my last trip before it gets too hot to enjoy walking around a city. Happy trails and I'll be back with a whole lot of new work next week.

"Yellow"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

Winding up with the alphabet series, Y is for Yellow - a bright spot on the sidewalk of Seattle.

"Refinery"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

On to the R for Refinery. I've developed this odd affection for industrial areas - the older the better. Factories are usually so basic in form, like big blocks on pavements. Gritty, messy combinations of shapes. I spotted this sugar refinery while driving around Seattle's outskirts - you can see a glimpse of the skyline to the left of the horizon. Good light, around 7 in the evening, with a rare slice of the clear sky.

I did five different versions, one right on top of the other, not so much until I was satisfied - and I am - it was more a learning experience - decision making. One hour turned into three, with another hour this morning. And I had no idea what I was looking for. I think I was fascinated with seeing that a few strokes could change everything. Drastically. Pretty unusual for me to add the sign on the building, but somehow it just felt complete when I did it. Always learning.


One more thing ...... in an effort to teach myself more movie-making, I made a short video called A day in Chicago. Click here to view this new YouTube addition.

"Quintessential"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

This painting came as a result of my admiration for a fellow artist, Terry Miura. I have this great desire to paint landscapes - but I tend to only appreciate those done in a more impressionistic style. Sharp, realistic versions just don't do it for me. I can be driving along a quiet road, see a composition that stops me in my tracks - but it's the composition, the color - not the fact that it's a road or a barn or a field of wheat. It's more of a snapshot in my brain made up of areas of color, mostly blurred from the distance. That's what I want to paint. I'm not really concerned whether this looks like a typical painting of mine - I really rather enjoy the freedom of the subject and the use of the oils.

I also thought this new piece would be a perfect Q for my alphabet series. Very Quintessential of the countryside outside of Seattle, specifically Duvall.

"Pike Place Market"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

On to the P in the alphabet series - the Pike Place Market. A must if you're in Seattle. I chose to tackle this scene in a more impressionistic way, the only way to contain the 'busy'.

Color-wise, it really was more muted than you'd expect - the oldness coming through - with spots of greens and reds breaking up the greyness - which is something I resisted at first, but appreciated when the painting was done.

"Mellow Yellow"

10 x 8"
oil on masonite
sold

I was walking up to the door at a Starbucks, in Seattle, when I spotted this gentleman. I could best describe my surroundings as grey - the sky, the sidewalk, the wall - and bam - this yellow coat. That does good things to your brain, seeing color when there isn't much.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Opening"

5 x 7"
oil on masonite
sold

I couldn't resist using Opening for the letter O, continuing on with my alphabet series. This was taken from the opening reception of my show, a couple of weeks ago, at the Howard/Mandville Gallery. There was a nice, casual feel that night - and this painting needed to reflect that. The man portrayed in the scene was so kind to mention he watched my YouTube videos - I remember when I got back to my hotel room that night, it dawned on me that I reach a lot of people with what I do. And occasionally I have the pleasure of meeting those people in person, way across the globe. It really does make me proud.

"Seattle Glow"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

This new painting shows that beautiful glow of the early evening light on my first full day in Seattle. Skylines can be really difficult unless you approach it as a collection of shapes and color, hoping the depth will take care of itself. I often walk around cities squinting - seeing bundles of blocks and light - and this was one of my favorite views. Many, many more to come.