Painting to music

"Bach-3 minutes 43 seconds"

oil on canvas

This is a little collaborative project Lisa and I have been working on. Lisa Plays Viola, I paint. Still in its experimental stage I will keep updating as the process continues.

Palm Studies

"palm"

oil on canvas

"palms-sunset"

oil on panel

"palms-morning-evening"

oil on canvas

Palm springs

A few weekends past we travelled to Palm Springs to visit my Grandmother. Upon arriving I immediately noticed a stunning 4x4 foot canvas painted with alternating stripes and strokes of purple, orange, red, and yellow. Thus the inspiration I garner from visiting my grandmother never ceases to surprise or amaze me. We talked art, family, music, society, under a few beautiful  gold paintings, which were highly conceptual in their planning and execution. As my grandmother related, you cant get to the final pieces without going through the inspired creative process first! the trip was short, but my palette was necessarily brightened by the few pieces I got a chance to paint! Truly a joyful experience, I have plans to visit again soon.

"Mt SanJacinto"

oil on panel

"Sunrise"

oil on panel

July

"Royal Couple"

oil on canvas

Painted on 7-23-2014 

The month of July has come and gone quickly! I stayed nice and busy working on projects and getting out of town on the weekends. Out of respect for the 122nd anniversary of Haile Selassie I's earthstrong, We spent the 23rd of July in deep reflection, and meditation.

Student Work

Here is the student work from the painting class I have been teaching.

Abstact

"Untitled"

mixed media on paper

Still Life and Painting Class

"Still Life"

oil on panel

For the past month I have been teaching an introductory painting class to high school students. The job is truly a blessing, allowing me to focus daily on art and watch young artists grow and learn. We began the class with still life and a limited palette. Next we move on to copying old masterworks. Stay tuned for some of the students work.

Mulholland Drive

"Color study for View From Mulholland Drive"

oil on canvas

While I tend to paint most pieces "plein air" studio works are enjoyable as well. Often working from a combination of photographs, drawings, and studies these medium sized canvases hold a quality and precision different to those painted on site. I have been scouring Los Angeles looking for views to paint on two 6x4' canvases I recently stretched. We ended up on Mulholland drive for the first one!

"View From Mulholland Drive"

oil on canvas

work in progress

Color Study

"color study"

oil on panel

Palm study

I spent the last ten years learning to paint conifers, now it is time to learn palms!

"palm study"

oil on canvas