Ripple Effect

Ripple Effect
Oil on Canvas
4"X4"
It's raining, pouring, as the house fills up with family and my sense of well being is welling up like sunshine.

Ruffled Feathers

Ruffled Feathers
Oil on Wood Panel
2"X3"
The more I vow to paint big, the more I retreat to tiny. Maybe I'll do hundreds of these and put them all together to make one big painting. I don't like being told what to do. Even when I'm the one doing the telling. Maybe especially then.

Egret Walking

Egret Walking
Oil on Wood Panel
2"X3"
Warm, cold, rain, sun. Grey. Blue. Green. Gold. Today is a little bit of everything. Matching my mood.
Making water move on a 2X3 inch piece of wood gives my day a big boost. Maybe something satisfying will get accomplished after all.

My Neighbor's Dog

Tye 2
Oil on Wood Panel
10"X10"

Tye 1
Oil on Canvas
12"X16"
Last week my neighbor asked if she could commission me to make a painting of her dog, "Tye." I said I would on one condition. No obligation. That goes both ways. Expectation can have a dampening effect on the creative process. So there was no guarantee that I could even begin to brooch the subject of this dog. And if I did, what I captured might not be what she sees and loves in her dog. So no obligation on her part to have any part of the painting. As it turns out, I did two very different paintings of Tye. And enjoyed every minute of it. We'll see what Tye's owner thinks.

Google and the Gang

Google and the Gang
Oil on Canvas
12"X12"
It's definitely beach weather around here. Especially if you're a dog. I like the way they run around like crazy when they get there. In the water. Out. Splashing. Swimming. Standing. Stirring up sand, chasing birds, balls, each other. Energy in the raw. And then to conk out, totally spent, in a sunny spot on the porch all afternoon and into evening. Makes you feel good to be alive.

Beach Dogs

Beach Dogs 4
Oil on Canvas
6"X12"
Dogs, dogs and more dogs. Last night we went to City Arts and Lectures to hear New Yorker cartoonists George Booth and Matthew Diffee who were promoting Booth's new book, "About Dogs." We laughed. They laughed. Everybody laughed at themselves and each other and for 90 precious minutes we were in a room full of people and dogs who left the world's pressing problems outside. Booth has an infectious laugh and loves his art which he demonstrated right there onstage, sketching various dogs of various shapes and sizes, capturing in a flash their unique personality. Once again I was reminded that to create art with passion that fills people with even a fleeting moment of joy is in itself, a life's work.

Montgomery and Pine 3

Montgomery and Pine
Oil on Canvas
8"X6"
On the way to lunch today I stopped by the Thiebaud Gallery to stock up on some serious inspiration. Richard Diebenkorn paintings and drawings from the Collection of Christopher Diebenkorn. There's nothing like being in a small space all by yourself, surrounded by a master's art. No crowds. No hype. Goes right to the heart. Of the matter.

Montgomery and Pine 2

Montgomery and Pine 2
Oil on Canvas
8"X6"

Montgomery and Pine

Montgomery and Pine
Oil on Wood Panel
4"X4"
While waiting for our meeting to begin yesterday, I watched people and their shadows come into and go out of view as they crossed Montgomery Street. Like a dance. It reminded me of a play I saw in London called, "The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other," by Peter Handke. For 90 minutes, actors pass through a town square. There are no words. There is no story. It is riveting.
I've always wanted to do a series of paintings of people and their shadows seen from above, moving through space. Maybe this is the first of more to come.

May Cow

May Cow
Oil on Wood Panel
4"X4"
The truth is, I never made it to the easel today. We had a meeting in the morning and then it was lunch time and such a glorious warm day that we went to Fish and sat outside and marveled at how lucky we are to live right here where we could go on vacation without leaving home. Feeling Spring fever setting in, I came home and wrapped a few presents for friends and set off to deliver them, stopping for tea with one for a spur of the moment high octane visit. When I got home, there was e-mail to read, the dog to pet, roses to smell and well...Here we are. This painting was actually made yesterday. Or maybe the day before. I've been pouring on the color. And steering clear of blue.

May Day Bouquet

May Day Bouquet
Oil on Wood Panel
8"X6"
Alice brought me this bouquet in celebration of May Day. All the flowers were gathered in the neighborhood, just like she used to do as a child. It's been 5 days and their fragrance keeps on giving.

Red Vase

Red Vase on the Kitchen Window Sill
Oil on Wood Panel
8"X6"
SOLD
This morning I stopped to smell the roses. And cut a few. I put them in all my favorite vases on every sill and table top. The house is filled with their sweet fragrance and simple beauty. I can't help remembering the time that I sent images of a few flower paintings to a woman who was considering including my work in her gallery. She fired back an e-mail saying, "Flowers! Not in MY gallery." And that was the end of that. Never to be heard from again. Flowers. Fatal error.