Cole

Drawings in my sketchbook of my younger son Cole. These sketches were all done while he naps in the car.

Francis Scott Key Monument & Vasona Lake Park

I have been teaching a color workshop this semester for some of the students in the Animation/Illustration program at San Jose State University. Below are two demonstrations of plein air painting in oils, painted on Sunday, April 15th and 22nd. The first painting is of the Francis Scott Key monument situated in the Music Concourse of Golden Gate Park. The second color study was done at Vasona Lake Park in Los Gatos. 

Lands End, High Noon

Lands End color study painted at high noon.

Spring @ SJSU

Two color studies from my small watercolor Moleskine. These were painted last week with my Color Principles class near Tower Hall lawn at San Jose State University. The first painting took about 60 minutes; the second one is painted in 45 minutes.

Sutro Baths Lookout

Last Sundays plein air study at Lands End in San Francisco, looking south towards the Sutro Baths lookout. It was one of those days where the color and light changes frequently and the scene you are painting looks completely different from when you start to when you finish. It's a good thing that I had a fairly clear vision of the final state. Otherwise you can end up chasing and correcting your painting based on how the color and light changes, which usually ends up a disaster.

Lands End, Warm Winter

Lands End in SF looking towards the Marin Headlands in warm Winter conditions in the last week of January. This 6"x 8" color study was painted around sunset.

Figure Studies, Charcoal & Gouache

Figure studies in charcoal & gouache with the Thursday night figure drawing group at the Riley Street Art store in San Rafael. Gouache color studies are 20 minutes.

Japanese Tea Garden, SF

The entrance to the Japanese tea garden in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

Palace of Fine Arts

It is hard to believe that I have lived in San Francisco for the last 7 years or so and this is the first time that I have painted at the Palace of Fine Arts. I loved the grand scale of the architecture and will be back again to do more paintings or drawings. These two small gouache paintings were painted with a few members of the North Bay Plein Air Painters. The first painting was a longer study that took about a 90 minutes. The second was a quick study around 35 minutes.

Fall Color at Stow Lake

More Fall color in Golden Gate Park. This tree is between the Chinese pavilion and the man made waterfall at Stow Lake.

Speedway Meadows, Golden Gate Park.

Speedway meadows in Golden Gate Park.

Fall Color at Stow Lake

Fall color at Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park with the Sutro tower in the background.

Quick Figures in Gouache

Two small figurative studies painted in gouache, 20 minutes each. Painted with the Thursday drop-in figure drawing group at Riley street art store in San Rafael.

Memorial Park, San Mateo

A few weeks ago, we went on our first family camping trip with three other families at Memorial Park in San Mateo. The nice part about going with other families with kids is that we all took turns watching the kids as they played and explored the campsite, giving me some free time to paint two small gouache paintings. Each painting took around 70 minutes or so. The first one is the swimming hole and the second one is from the site we reserved within the Azalea campgrounds.

Nishi Honganji, Kyoto

I was in Japan from September 1st - 11th to attend my sister in-law's wedding in Kyoto. The ceremony was held at Nishi Honganji, the headquarters of their Buddhist temple in the older section of the city and was visually stunning. Since we were busy with the family, I only had a few brief opportunities to paint.

The first one is based on my memory of the wedding day. The ceremony was held in a building adjacent to the main temple and afterwards, we walked in a procession to the main temple as an attendant held up a red umbrella in front of the newlyweds.

The other two gouache studies are from life of the main entrance of the Nishi Honganji temple gates. One is painted from the courtyard inside the grounds and the other is across the street from the gate.

Downtown San Jose

These are small color studies painted with gouache in downtown San Jose. It was a warm sunny day spent with some students from the SJSU Animation/Illustration program. The first painting is the Center for the Performing Arts. Below is SJ Museum of Art.

20 Minute Figure Studies

20 minute figure studies painted with gouache.

Alum Rock Park, SJ

Wednesdays plein air outing at Alum Rock Park with a few SJSU A/I students. It was my first time visiting and painting in this beautiful park and I will definitely be back to explore the many other areas this park has to offer. We met in the very back parking lot and walked up the trail that follows the creek for about 15 minutes or so until we came to this bend. Since it is summer and dry, most of us set up down in the creek. I would love to go back to this spot during in the winter and see the creek flowing with water.

Lands End, NBPLA Painter's 2011

Two paintings from Sunday's outing with the North Bay Plein Air Painters group meet-up. It's a friendly group of painters that meet on the last Sunday of every month. This time it was at Lands End on the Sutro Baths side in San Francisco.

Unfortunately for me, I was too picky about finding a location to paint. I didn't find a composition that really inspired me partly due to the heavy fog and lack of sunshine. So that meant I spent a lot of time walking around looking for a spark of inspiration.

The first painting is a 30-minute color sketch to help me loosen up. I didn't really care if it turn out in my favor or not. It is mostly painted with a palette knife. The second painting took about 70 minutes. I would have liked to have spent more time it had I started earlier. I'd say this is more of a study than a painting. I am not happy about the composition, but I always feel compelled to paint the ocean when I am near the coastline.

Summer in Honolulu

These are my three gouache studies from my summer vacation in Honolulu with my family. I wanted to do more paintings while on O'ahu, but my two boys a 4.5 year old and 15 months had different ideas like going to the beach and me being the lifeguard.

The first two are painted from the Moana Surfrider Hotel in Waikiki a little before sunset and a nocturne around midnight. The second painting is at the tide pools just north of Sandy's beach.