The Cover Crop

9” x 12”  acrylic on canvas

NFS

I painted this for The Virtual Paintout, which is in Napa Valley, California, this month. Using the Google Street View, we create artworks as if we were there. Although everyone thinks of grapevines and wine when they think of Napa Valley, there is a second crop - a cover crop -which is also important, mustard.

When the grape harvest is in and winter is almost finished, the mustard is in full bloom. Mustard flowers carpet the area between the vines, their yellow hue stretching as far as the eye can see. Not only beautiful, the mustard plant is beneficial as well. It helps to prevent erosion, adds nitrogen to the soil and prevents the soil from compacting as workers move about the fields. And of course, the mustard seed itself is used in making mustard, another product of the region. Tourists come from all around for the Mustard Festival.

This piece is painted on all sides of the canvas. It can be framed, but you could hang it up just as it is.

To see more of my work, please visit my Gallery page at the Daily Paintworks.  Thanks for looking!

The Wild Woods

Monterey, California

9" x 12"   oil

The Daily Paintworks 

$75

The Virtual Paintout has gone to the Monterey Peninsula to do some drawing and painting. Using Google Street View, we select a scene that appeals to us and try and capture it - via the magic of the internet and our artistic efforts!

I love the Virtual Paintout because it gives me a chance to experiment with different styles and colors,  to paint pieces I might normally never think to do. While I doubt very much I would stand in this little woods and paint this scene like I have here, it was fun to try it, and play around a bit! (You can see what it really looks like by clinking on the link here.)

This piece is painted on all sides of the canvas,  it can be framed nicely, or hung up just as it is.

To see more of my work, please visit my Gallery page at the Daily Paintworks. Thanks for looking!

Heritage  Oak Tree

16" x 20" oil on gallery wrapped canvas

$295.

This big oak was at Heritage Oaks Park, it is a little park with lots of big trees!

This piece is painted on all sides, it is on "gallery wrapped canvas" about 1.5" deep, and does not need framing. It is ready to hang.

If you would like to purchase this painting, simply click on the Paypal logo on the Daily Paintworks page, or click below. To see more of my work please visit my Gallery page at The Daily Paintworks or visit my page on facebook!  Thanks for looking!

 

Bay Area Haze

9" x 12"  oil on canvas

 $75.

We don't get a lot of haze air in the San Francisco Bay Area in winter, but when we do it is kind of pretty to paint! Not so pretty to breathe of course. This area has gotten almost no rain in the past several months and it shows in the air - dusty, dry, and , well, full of color.  It's perfect weather for plein air painting - but we could really use some rain.

This piece is painted on all sides of the canvas. It can be framed up, or  hung  as  is. 

See more of my work - please visit my Gallery page at the Daily Paintworks, or at the Plein Air Artists, a website showing  all styles of plein air painting. There are also quite a few landscape painting pages on facebook - you can find me there!

A Majestic Tree

Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve

14" x 18"  oil on canvas

$110

This tree is gigantic! All the trees around it are mature, so you can see how big it is.  It is right at home with the many other big trees here, and not even the biggest tree around. It was both a pleasure and a challenge to paint it.

This piece is framed in redwood lath and is ready to hang.

You can see more of my work, you can visit my Gallery page at The Daily Paintworks, or find me on Facebook.

Late Spring at the Annex

16" x 20" oil on canvas

framed, 19.5" x 23.5" 

 $295.

In late spring, the almond trees have finished blooming, time has moved on. The grasses are growing long and drying out but everything still has that feeling of being fresh and green.

I love painting here at this small part of Cuesta Park - called the Annex - because it still has a feeling of wildness and space. Once an old orchard, now a bit of open space, it is a reminder of how things "naturally" are.

This piece has been exhibited, so it is framed - in wood, with a painted boarder, ready to hang. Here's how it looks:

If you would like to bid on it, or see more of my work, please visit my Gallery at The Daily Paintworks.

  

Table Bluff Road

9.5" x 13"  oil on board

sold

This month The Virtual Paintout went to Eureka, California to paint. I stopped here, on Table Bluff Road, drawn by the big trees and distant vistas. I hope you enjoy looking at it as much as I did painting it!

I wish you all the Happiest of Holidays!

Please visit my gallery at The Daily Paintworks.

And if you're in downtown Mountain View, I hope you will stop in at the Caffé Romanza - upstairs, at Books Inc. - where my work is on display through the end of the month.

Stevens Creek

12" x 16"

oil on canvas

 gifted

Plain and simple, I am in denial about summer's demise. I can't believe it's over, I can't let go. My heart belongs to long days, sultry heat and when stepping down to a quiet little brook, you can dip your toes in the cold water - what bliss. 

Stevens Creek Park in Cupertino has just such a creek, which runs from the Santa Cruz Mountains down to San Francisco Bay, but right here it is rather shallow and slow. It's a place where on a hot day you can just take your shoes off and dip your toes in the water. Or you can set up your easel and paint. 

This painting is available through my page at The Daily Paintworks. I hope you'll visit me there.

Egrets at Baylands

oil on canvas 

11" x 14"
sold

The egrets were everywhere. Nesting in the trees, fishing in the shoals, flying all around.  Even though I came here to paint the eucalyptus trees, I was captured by their elegance and serenity. With their beautiful wing spread and graceful,  long necks, complimented by snowy plumage -  well, they just stole the show.