Ponto Storage

"Ponto Storage #1"
oil on panel, 2012
5" x 3.5" (12.7cm x 8.89cm)
For Sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

This building looks like it once was the original Ponto Storage office. Although the business moved next door into a newer building this one stands out because it sits on an otherwise empty lot.
I do a lot of these types of images shown late in the day, a metaphor for its end.
It appeared to have been shut down for some time yet curiously, its green light still glowed.178

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Apparition-like Flash

"Amtrak Bridge Oceanside #3"
oil on panel, 2012
5" x 7" (12.7cm x 17.78cm)
For Sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

I painted this after a visit to Oceanside California in the late afternoon.
The bridge passes over the Loma Alta Marsh near the Pacific Ocean.

The late afternoon light makes for a dramatic image with the landscape dropping into shadow and the bridge catching full sun.
I added the train after watching several pass by and noticing that at this time of day they move so fast they appear as a quick, almost apparition-like flash, a nice contrast to the earthy landscape.176

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Oceanside Pier

"Oceanside Pier"
oil on panel, 2012
3.5" x 5" (8.89cm x 12.7cm)
.... private collection...

I love days like these along the coast. Warm drifting fog, deep shadows, silvery spot lights spilling randomly across the ocean and landscape. They are vaguely haunting. That was enough for this painting.

I should point out this is not the best picture of this painting. In order to get enough light in the foreground shadow I lost some of the subtlety of the lights.175

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Former Glory

"Top Gun House (Fence) Study"
oil on panel, 2012
4" x 5" (10.16cm x 12.7cm)
For Sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

A study for my Top Gun House series.

The house, from the movie Top Gun, has fallen into a state of disrepair the last few years but is planned to be moved and refurbished.

On that note I carefully chose this view showing the unpainted backside. It speaks of the house and its formal glory days as well as the redevelopment of the site.

I like it for the small amount of the blue paint, the relative lack of ornamentation that the front boasts, the cleanly scraped lot and the rail of the fence visually cutting through the house. But not enough to dissect or cross out the landmark completely. Just enough to indicate the new is replacing the old and that the house will survive.172

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OMA #6

"OMA #6"
oil on panel, 2011
6" x 10" (15.24cm x 25.4cm)
For Sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

A simple frontal view of the Oceanside Museum of Art. To compliment the straight lines of the architecture I set the museum against the organic shape of shifting clouds sweeping overhead dropping soft shadows across it’s facade.169


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Industrial Drapery

"CHOC Drapery #1"
oil on panel, 2011
7” x 5” (17.78cm x 12.7cm)

My Containment series on modern construction techniques. These days everything gets wrapped in heavy plastic or tarps to contain the work, a sort of cocoon, keeping dust and materials from contaminating the surrounding environment.
Twenty or thirty years ago it was not done and open construction was more prevalent. Modern green thinking has changed our approach to not only recycling but how we do everything.

This painting of the new Children's Hospital Orange County also gave me an excuse to tie together my industrial subject paintings and the long tradition of classic drapery in art history.154

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Encina Power Station at Dusk 1 & 2

"Encina Power Station-Dusk 2"

"Encina Power Station-Dusk 1"

"Encina Power Station - Dusk 1"    SOLD
oil on panel, 2011
6 5⁄8” x 10” (16.83cm x 25.40cm)

“Encina Power Station - Dusk 2”  
oil on panel, 2011
7” x 5” (17.78cm x 12.7cm)

You won't see this palette from me very often. I have an aversion to pinks and most purples. However it was unavoidable here to accurately depict the time of day.
In "Dusk 1" I pushed the pink/purple as far as I could towards a slightly dirty earthy color, by adding burnt sienna, so it was not Easter lavender (yuck!).
In "Dusk 2", which I prefer over the two, zooming in allowed me to loose the pink altogether and again the purple is earthier, more like a dusty desert chaparral color. I then substituted an orange for pink at the horizon. The black helps to kill the 'pastel' palette too.

These are from my series on power plants.
Two elements of our coastal landscapes and a common motif in my work. The mix of industry and nature. Not beautiful to some but in scenes like these I see themes that go beyond the mere industrial or nature images alone. Themes in the tradition of Homer and Hopper.

Man and nature side by side. Industry has to be placed somewhere so it’s impossible to ignore. Since we like to live in beautiful areas we end up with power stations becoming part of the landscape.


Dusk 1 - This one shown in a panoramic view encompassing the lagoon with the station at it’s center.

Dusk 2 - Set in a palette of soft muted colors but contrasted with black. A calm lagoon and clear sky, it’s all there... maybe even therapeutic.148,149

See the nocturne version of Encina Power Station here.

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OMA Store 5

"Tree Nocturne (Downhill)"    SOLD
oil on panel, 2010
5” x 4” (12.7cm x 10.16cm)

This painting is the 7th of those at the Oceanside Museum of Art store. Click label below to see the others.
The nocturne ... its origin, mid 19th century French from Latin, nocturnus, meaning ‘of the night’.
Like most from my Tree Nocturne Series this is from a combination of imagination and memories, which lends it a subtle surreal quality. Working this way I allow things like the slightly off kilter street, the rustling tree wrapping around the streetlight, the distant harbor veiled in a marine layer. All to give it a more dreamlike quality.145

Link to value thumbnail here.

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OMA Store 4

"Tree Nocturne (Billowing Tree)"
oil on panel, 2010
5" x 4" (12.7cm x 10.16cm)
For Sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

Here is another of my small paintings at the Oceanside Museum of Art Store.

The nocturne... its origin, mid 19th century French from Latin,
nocturnus, meaning ' of the night '.

My Tree Nocturne series. I've kept the series compositionally simple, focusing on the tree and usually an unseen light source.
This painting breaks from that slightly.

There is more of a surface showing in the street, the cracks and buckling of decades old concrete, before asphalt. The sidewalk, hints of commercial storefronts and power poles all adding to its more urban setting.139

Link to value thumbnail here.

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OMA Store 3

"Sulfur Pile #1"    SOLD
watercolor on paper, 2011
5" x 8" (12.7cm x 20.32cm)

Here is another of my paintings at the Oceanside Museum of Art Store.
This one is framed and ready to hang, shown here unframed.

These sulfur piles were to hard too resist, bright lemon yellow in the middle of all these earthy, rusty browns, grays and blues. Clean pure high chroma colors are unusual in industrial settings.

I'm sure they are at least 30 feet high, so they reflected the sunlight like a beacon. Impossible to miss.125


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OMA Store 2

"Encina Power Station Nocturne"    SOLD
oil on panel, 2011
4" x 5" (10.16cm x 12.7cm)

Here is another of my paintings at the Oceanside Museum of Art Store.

No moon, the darkness of night slowly consuming the fading light.
The lagoon for now still visible, but just barely. Soon the only interruption to the inky black will be a thin strand of smoldering embers at the horizon, nothing else till morning.124


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OMA Auction Paintings SOLD & OMA Store 1

I'm happy to report that my two paintings for the Oceanside Museum of Art sold saturday at their 'Summer Soirée'. Links to previous posts on this here and here or see below, a couple posts back.

I'm also fortunate to have some of my paintings offered in their museum store. 7 small oils and one watercolor.
The 3 below currently on my blog here, here and here. The train used for my Avatar/Favicon/Photo URL in a cropped version.
The others will come in (near) future posts.

OMA Auction Paintings

Top:        "OMA #1"            SOLD

                oil on panel, 2011
                10" x 7.5" (25.4cm x 19.05cm)

Bottom:  "OMA #4"            SOLD

                oil on panel, 2011
                10" x 7.5" (25.4cm x 19.05cm)
View the complete art auction online; Oceanside Museum of Art Blog
For more info or to place a bid on any artworks in the silent auction call 760.435.3722
or email ; danielle@oma-online.org.


Here are my two paintings for the Oceanside Museum of Art Auction/Fundraiser. See previous post for more info.
Having visited the museum during the day as well as after dark to really study the architecture I decided to focus in on its entrance instead of a panoramic view, choosing two slightly different views, each taking advantage of that time of day and night.


"OMA #1"
This is the most dramatic nocturnal view of the Oceanside Museum of Art entrance. Lit up from inside, the architecture has a completely different character with an emphasis on it's warm interior.
Diagonal lines of light, the stairwell and interior corridors converge on the museums strong signature "O" located prominently at the center base of a pyramid shape formed by the lights of the upper hall and highlighting the reception area.


"OMA #4"
This is my favorite view of the Oceanside museum of Art; it transforms the formal architecture into diagonal planes and highlights the strong lines in the windows.
The reflected light off the unseen side of the glass provides extra drama against the dark marine layer.
The Museums strong signature "O" logo is prominently featured against the dramatic glass architecture of the entrance and draws in artists, art patrons and the public.122,123


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The Oceanside Museum of Art 'Summer Soirée'

The Oceanside Museum of Art, a hidden gem in north San Diego County California, recently held the artist donor reception (June 26th) for their 'Summer Soirée Art Auction 2011'. I had the pleasure of meeting lots of interesting people, including other artists whose work is also part of the auction.
Events like this are always a treat because it gives us artists a chance to give back to the museums, the venues that in turn support our love of creating and earning a living through art.
The auction/fundraiser is June 28th through July 23rd, culminating in their Summer Soirée held Saturday July 23rd at the museum. All proceeds from the sales of art go to support the museum. Bidding is open to the public.

I had the honor of painting two pieces for the auction (bottom photo), choosing to focus on the stunning architecture of the museum.

As you can see from the first two photos, the huge plate glass windows are actually sliding doors that allow them to turn the museum reception area into an open air event, perfect for the summer.

For more info on the art auction click here.
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Subdued Energy

"Tree Nocturne (19th St.)"
oil on panel, 2010
3.5" x 5" (8.89cm x 12.7cm)
For Sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

The nocturne... it's origin, mid 19th century French from Latin, nocturnus, meaning 'of the night'.

My Tree Nocturne Series. I've kept the series compositionally simple, focusing on the tree and usually an unseen light source. This small painting breaks from that slightly.

Here I show the foreground and middle ground source of the street lights with light emanating from the distant LA Harbor. All, the orange sodium lights. This also is a more zoomed back view than previous tree nocturne's, including more of the surrounding landscape. The color saturation is pushed a bit to give the scene more life, the subdued energy of the suburb and urban setting. In contrast to the previous post.95


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*Update - previous post original value thumbnail here.

Low Growling Murmur

*with compositional overlay

"Harbor Line #72 (47 Bridge)"
oil on panel, 2010
6" x 8" (15.24cm x 20.32cm)
NFS

In a low growling murmur, the #72 slowly crawls through the harbor on an almost imperceptible uphill grade, pulling a string of rail cars loaded with cargo containers, the 47 bridge as it's backdrop. Late in the afternoon, the sun from the left puts the sides in shadow... jet black. One of those days where the atmosphere is heavy and hazy but bright.

This location is wide open, a staging area for huge piles of dirt, asphalt and concrete used throughout the harbor for all the various construction and renovation projects.

The slight upward tilt as well as the heavy section of bridge bearing down convey the weight of the long train being pulled, even if unseen. Well fit to this task, the sturdy black locomotive dominates the horizontal composition.

Anatomy of a painting... structurally the image is made up of horizontal bands (rectangles), triangles and the forward leaning angles of the stripes. All serve the subject. As indicated in the *overlay above, the triangles point in the direction of the action, moving the train forward and through the composition from left to right. The stripes too seem to push the train forward, a thought the designers must have had in mind.

The horizontal bands of the foreground left simple but punctuated with tufts of grass and dashes of paint to set up implied lines also moving left to right. The blunt shape of the locomotive echoed by the same shapes of the trucks, it's smaller commerce cousins, in the background approaching the bridge.75
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Gritty

"Stack of Shipping Containers (w/ Sulfur Pile)"

oil on panel, 2009

3.5" x 5" (8.89cm x 12.7cm)

For Sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

Painting small quick studies allows for experimenting without the time commitment should it not work out. Without regret, I have wiped away many failed attempts working at smaller sizes.

This oil shows a break from my usual palette. Using more black interspersed through-out gives it a more gritty look. Blurring the foreground to add some movement and indicating or suggesting forms rather than clearly delineating them for a more ambiguous effect.43

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