Painting on the Limonneira Ranch in Santa Paula, CA...

Santa Paula is one of the most beautiful & quiet areas in Ventura County. It's the 100+ year old home of the place most of our lemons are green-grown, The Limoneira Company. Limoneira has been providing low cost housing for their steady labor force for generations, and this is one of them. The house part of a group of 3 similar art-deco homes at the entrance to the ranch offices. The challenge in painting it is that the sun really never hits the front of the home, so it is always in some kind of shade and the most interesting view is flat, head-on, directly from the front. A painting no-no. After 3 hours it all worked out in the end. I always put what I create in a frame to see if I like it. I do, especially the poles and wires and the view in the background down Cummings Road to the lemon orchard and the mountains in the distance.

Jessie's Grove Vinyard Home

Painted on a cold but sunny Superbowl Sunday morning at the famous and original Lodi, CA vineyard. I finished it off in the studio this afternoon and here it is drying after the gloss varnish was added. Like all my plein air on-location sketches, a nice memory. Visit if you are in the area. The company is relaxed and the wine from the vineyards all around is wonderful. Have a glass and wonder through one of the last remaining oak groves in the area.

The Captain's House

Time for a RE-Do...

I did a very loose painting of this great home in Duxbury, MA in 2008 and it never rally came together for me. I pulled it out of a pile on a rainy afternoon when I was studio-bound and tried to "fix it" to my taste 4 years too late I think. It has it's "loose" sections that I like, but too much of it is just not right. So I am going to re-do it. This is the "Before" shot. Let's see what I turn out now that I hope I am better at it this many years later.

Framed and signed - Moss Hill Farm - The garden farm home of TV host P Allen Smith

Beginning painting of P. Allen Smith farm house...

A pal put me on to digitizing the P.Allen Smith daily TV half hour. As a career TV producer I like trying to figure out why a program is a hit, especially one as simple as this garden lifestyle format. The show often takes a look at the hosts 500+ acre "new" farm house and grounds in progress as a chance to tout green building and landscape design. I spotted a photo on his web site that is from a NYT profile of Allen's farm that is at the left of the beginning painting. Clean lines and coloring appealed to me as a fun painting to do. This is the result after 90 minutes and I am enjoying it as an exercise in simplification, block design and coloring. Hope to finish it this weekend, then antique it and send it to host Smith who is also a painter.

Super demonstration for art buyers and painters in the crowd...

I did the 5.5hr drive to Lodi, CA to visit the Knowlton Gallery, where Robin Knowlton was opening a great exhibit and "meet the artists" wine and artist talk afternoon. What a great time and the collection is super. World class artists [visit the Knowlton Gallery home page for the details] stood & spoke about their work. Artist Tim Horn gave a 2 hr painting demo which was really why I was interested in the first place. You can visit Tim's blog here too. The demo went almost 2 hrs. Visitors were in their seats with questions & comments all the way. What a great way for pro-painters to allow gallery-goers in on how they work from selection of a subject to completion of a canvas. This kind of "behind the scenes" stuff peaks buyers interest for sure & is a great place for always-learning painters like me to see how it's done and learn even more so we can have as much fun doing it was possible. I did.

Artist Tim Horn demo at Knowlton Gallery Exhibition

Painting at Jessies Vineyard in Lodi, CA