Portrait of an Oil Plant

“Oil Plant # 9 (Broken Pipe)"
oil on panel, 2011
6” x 6” (15.24cm x 15.24cm)

This is the third of my paintings in the  6" Squared Exhibition and Sale at the Randy Higbee Gallery , Saturday December 3rd through Thursday December 22nd.
The opening was packed as usual with lots of little painted gems. The real joy of a show like this is the wide variety styles and artistic approaches among the 500 or so artworks, including some fabulous watercolors and pastels. Impossible to pick a favorite. In addition to the art, meeting the collectors and other artists is always a highlight of the evening.

When I have a visceral reaction to something I sometimes have to pause, really look and figure out what it is I’m seeing. It is not always obvious. I initially responded to this view of the storage tanks for its clean, neat and tidy nature. Not too cluttered, no scattered remnants of the broken plant other than the broken pipe, which was my own invention.
What I eventually saw in this view was an industrial version of an old face, wrinkles and all... a portrait of the oil plant ... solemn, dignified. It reminded me of a man with most of his years behind him, who had a well lived life, worked hard, but is still vital, still fastidious and loaded with silent stories.153


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Industrial Purgatory

“Old Dredge”
oil on panel, 2011
6” x 6” (15.24cm x 15.24cm)

Here is second of my 3 paintings in the  6" Squared Exhibition and Sale at the Randy Higbee Gallery tonight, Saturday December 3rd, and hangs through December 22nd.

An old relic, left in the cold shallow waters, listing to the right, about to face another winter storm, half heartedly covered by the yellow tarp.

Hung up by the dock and unable to sail it’s stuck between two worlds in a state of purgatory. It’s no longer needed but not pulled ashore. It can’t sink anymore but is contained by jetties in the protected harbor so no storm will be able to put it out of its misery by dragging it to the bottom where at least marine life would have it as a home, an artificial reef.

Too outdated for work but neither is it salvaged to be put back into service in some new form. It is forgotten in plain sight.152


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Herculean Muscle

“47 Bridge (Three Tanks)”    SOLD
oil on panel, 2011
6” x 6” (15.24cm x 15.24cm)

Here is one of my 3 paintings that is in the  6" Squared Exhibition and Sale at the Randy Higbee Gallery this Saturday December 3rd.

The 47 Bridge, its design born more out of its practical need than aesthetics. The middle spans raise up to allow boats and ships to pass in the channel underneath, the reason for its boxy towers. The two near towers for auto and truck traffic, the two far ones for the railroad.

But its very utilitarian design gives it a herculean look, one of muscle. It is not a design to be admired for its grace or beauty. There are no sweeping curves of suspension cables or steel arches, no ornamentation. It belongs to no school of design other than its industrial purpose. So it stands disproportionately tall for the channel it crosses.

An obvious approach to support it’s brawniness would be a worms eye view but that would say nothing of its relative place in the bigger picture of the harbor mechanisms.
The high vantage point I’ve done here doesn’t minimize its stature but instead allows it to dwarf the surrounding area, both the background and the foreground tanks sitting low in the composition.151

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6 Inch Squared Show

Here is the announcement for the square format show and sale at the Randy Higbee Gallery.
Artists from all over the country are participating with all the paintings done in the 6" x 6" (15.24cm x 15.24cm) format.
The opening night and artists reception is December 3rd.
The show will hang until the 22nd.

Burnscapes - Man vs Nature

"Burnscape #4 (Charred Pine Stand)"

"Burnscape #8 (Charred Cactus)"

"Burnscape #4 (Charred Pine Stand)"
watercolor on paper, 2011
6" x 8" (15.24cm x 20.32cm)

"Burnscape #8 (Charred Cactus)"
watercolor, Pelikan india ink on paper, 2011
6" x 8" (15.24cm x 20.32cm)


Here are two recent watercolor/mixed media's from my Burnscape series. Both were at my solo show at the Randy Higbee Gallery. See previous posts.

Living in Southern California and seeing so many wildfires it would be easy to focus on the destruction. My attraction for the burned landscape isn't for its destruction... but instead how it modifies the landscape, turning it into a charcoal terrain... it is rebirth, the way Mother Nature intended.
It is how She manages her jurisdiction, by controlling dense undergrowth. We usually get in the way.
Man has traditionally prevented fires, the growth becoming so thick that when fire does occur it is devastating. Another topic on the Man vs Nature theme.

Top - #4 Trees are meant to survive fires where brush is low to the ground, the fire sweeping through too quickly (and frequently enough) to wipe them out. This pine stand didn't look like it would survive so to accentuate this I set its blackened silhouette against a background of unburned green.

Bottom - #8 As fire sweeps through dry brush, here... all that's left of a thicket, sometimes all that is left behind is high water content vegetation like cactus. What caught my attention was how the left side of the cactus clump seemed to have leaned away from the fire.137,138

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Matrix 2

"Power Plant Interior #2"
oil on panel, 2011
5" x 7" (12.7cm x 17.78cm)

Here is another view of the power plant interior, the first here and a drawing here.
I could do dozens of these and not tire of it, even slightly different views. In fact I have a larger 24" x 30" in progress. I love the limited palette of muted ochre/yellow and sienna, with punctuations of earthy greens and reds.

One of the most fascinating buildings...several stories high...the interior nearly wide open... a matrix of pipes, valves, steel... deep and cavernous.

The light and colors seen here are faithful to the actual site...the walls and pipes painted in these ochres and creams, the floors a mixture of reds and greens, worn and distressed...deep earthy orange reflected light, then the translucent glass filters the outside light...a cool pale yellow.135

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One Man Show Opening - Randy Higbee Gallery

Me and Jennifer Teter-Mitchell
just before the show opened

Artist Wendy Wirth and Me

The opening night of my One Man Show at the Randy Higbee Gallery looked fabulous.
The highly professional presentation is the norm for the Gallery but is never as easy as it appears. It is achieved through lots of hard work by the entire staff there; from the framing to the hanging, the advertising and right down to the little finishing touches. All done with smiles and enthusiasm.

Here are some iPhone pics of the opening night. I'll post more pics soon. Here's a link to more art in the show, which will hang until October 15th.

Here at Avid Art, before it even becomes a show, there is the same hard work happening behind the scenes.
Jennifer Teter-Mitchell, who handles all the marketing and graphic design at Avid Art, deliveries, ephemeral material and far too many little but equally important tasks was tireless.
And Susan Laumen, who handles all the accounting, inventory, and archiving documentation, typing and the same... multitudes of minor details, was also tireless right up to the end.

None of us can do it alone, it requires a concentrated effort by too many people to mention individually.
So I thank every person in helping to make the show a success.

One Man Show - Seascape

"Seascape #5 (Rock Outcrop)"   SOLD
oil on canvas, 2011
24" x 36" (60.96cm x 91.44cm)

Another of my seascapes that is hanging in my show at the Randy Higbee Gallery and was sold on opening night. The show will hang until October 15th so there is still time to see it.

This Painting is loosely based on a real location off the California coast. Viewed from above but zoomed in for a slightly closer look so I could paint a classic seascape. That meant making certain compositional decisions and thus throwing out elements from the actual location to achieve that goal.

The foreground rocks, slightly soft focused, were designed to lead down into the composition.
The water surrounding the outcrop of rock had to be completely invented to really work as a convincing seascape so I carefully observed the actual behavior of the water and how it interacted with the rock, making sure to use my knowledge of art fundamentals as much as what I was seeing in real life.131

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Temper Tantrum

"Seascape #9 (Angry Wave)"   SOLD
oil on panel, 2011
24" x 36" (60.96cm x 91.44cm)

One of my larger works that will be in my show at the Randy Higbee Gallery this Saturday  October 1st 2011, (See previous posts for more info). And a nice contrast to the harder edged works I do.

We like to give human characteristics to inanimate objects and the sea is no exception. Here I experimented with a soft edged focus to play against the somewhat angry wave violently slamming down like a child throwing a temper tantrum.129


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One Man Show - HB Power Plant

"HB Power Plant - Dusk"    SOLD
oil on panel, 2011
12" x 16" (30.48cm x 40.64cm)

Here is the painting from the postcard announcement for my show at the Randy Higbee Gallery next Saturday, October 1st 2011. See previous posts for more info.

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 plants like this one becoming part of the landscape.

Here the setting sun and the marine layer provide a dramatic backdrop to both the power plant and the wetlands of Huntington Beach.128

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One Man Show at Randy Higbee Gallery

Here is the postcard announcement for the show at Randy Higbee Gallery. More info on this show here and here.
All above paintings are new and were painted for this show so this is the first preview of what the show will look like.

Rabbits Everywhere and Looking Forward...

Posts here on my blog may start getting rather sparse as I finish work for the upcoming show at the Randy Higbee Gallery October 1st 2011. Click here and here for earlier info on that show.

I'll do my best to post something at least once a week, but even doing that requires time to assemble and write and that is time better spent on painting. I will post some random images of work for this show as it approaches, so stay tuned.

The amount of work always seems like a daunting task with research, preparing panels, and all the other details I seem to forget about before I can even begin putting down paint. Even with all the help I get with calendars, schedules, gallery contacts, framing, accounting, archiving current work and too many other mundane tasks to mention it can seem overwhelming.

Some chores like cleaning and re-organizing get left out though, my studio is becoming choked with works in progress, materials strewn about and stuff I call 'Rabbits'... those little odd things laying around that seemingly come out of nowhere and multiply when I'm not looking (you know, clutter). Sometimes I have to hopscotch thru my studio. Bummer dude.

I am however excited, already have some work done, several larger works in progress and am chomping at the bit to begin others. This kind of nervous energy is always positive thing. It's the energy that feeds and drives me towards a goal. I like deadlines, I find I'm much more decisive with less time for second guessing. Those gut instinct decisions are usually right. My best work is usually born out of necessity.

California Brown Pelican

"Pelican #1"
oil on panel, 2011
6" x 8" (15.24cm x 20.32cm)
private collection

The California Brown Pelican is found all up and down our coast and in the 1970's was in danger of becoming extinct due to DDT, a pesticide.

Pelicans with their huge beaks appear gangly but are so graceful in flight. Simple subject, simple design.
The challenge with the single object is trying to avoid the  'clump'  or  'bullet hole' smack dab in the middle of a composition.

Fortunately birds, with their wings especially, make the design easier to manage. Even centered this configuration allows for a more dynamic composition of angles and interesting shapes.

After that not much more was needed. I put the lightest value along the bottom to put air underneath the pelican and provide a visual 'lift' and subtly echoed the head and feather shapes in the darker clouds to set up an opposing angle to the two wings.
Cool light from above, warm shadow or reflected light from below.126


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Early Announcement - Fall Show

Besides recent and current projects, I am incredibly busy preparing for an upcoming show in the fall at the Randy Higbee Gallery.
Up to 50 works, paintings and drawings in various mediums including mixed media, at assorted sizes from the smaller 5" x 7"s up to at least 24" x 36" maybe larger.

I plan on showing several current series; my favorite assorted industrials, trains, burnscapes, seascapes and especially the bridge series which the show will center around and one I haven't yet really shown other than a couple of 6" x 6"s at previous shows. I'm also going to try to include a small percentage of works (hints) of new series which have been rolling around in the back of my head for some time.

As the show nears I'll post a few random images of whats to come, so stay tuned...

Urban Seascape 2

"Seal Beach 2"    SOLD
oil on panel, 2011
6" x 8" (15.24cm x 20.32cm)

Seal Beach is quietly tucked between the two more well known Long Beach and Huntington Beach. Long Beach known for it's Grand Prix race every year and Huntington Beach, a major surf town, for it's surfing competitions.
This is the second painting of Seal Beach and is a variation of the first, "Seal Beach" click here. The first focused more on the water, this one features the sand more prominently.
Both are of the same time of day. A hazy, warm summer day, late afternoon. Silvery surf and bronze sand set against the backdrop of the LA Harbor. Visible are the harbor cranes, an oil drilling island, downtown Long Beach and the Palos Verdes Peninsula in the distance.
The beach is fairly empty after some kind of event earlier in the day and a few of it's remaining denizens lazily head for home.119

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Washed in Gray Green 2

"Tree in Rain/Fog"    SOLD
oil on panel, 2011
7" x 5" (17.78cm x 12.7cm)

I have always liked rain images, washing over the landscape
in grayish green tones. Even the most mundane scene
becomes far more interesting and worthy of pause. The middle
of a street takes on different patterns of light while wet and
can easily become the central focus. Although the tree in
rainy foggy weather was my original intent, it's the wet street that shines.118
To see another similar painting click previous post here Washed in Grey Green
For others click rain or weather Labels below this post.

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6" Squared Show Video

A video has been posted on the Randy Higbee Gallery Blog of the recent 6" Squared Exhibition and Sale.
This wasn't even the busiest part of the night. At some points you could hardly get through the crowd.
I managed to make a couple of unknowing appearances.
A fun night night meeting other artists, collectors and talking art. I even bought another artists' work and was fortunate enough to be able to hear her thoughts behind the painting... something you don't always get... and oh what a story! When I saw the painting I knew it was mine... some things you just know.

6" Squared Show Pics

Random show pic

Random show pic

Random show pic

Random show pic

Fellow artist Vicki, myself, gallery staff member Terry

Gallery photographer Jessica and I think....   Don King

Gallery staff member Terry and her son in front of my paintings

Here are some pics sent to me from the Saturday night 6" Squared Artists Reception. Thank you Erich.

It was an exciting and enjoyable night.

Click on images for larger view

6" Squared Show Packed

This reception at this past weekends' 6 x 6 show was quite packed.
I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to many artists and collectors.
There was lots of great art hanging, including some of my favorite artists.

The show itself will hang through May 6th so it's not too late to get down there and see for yourself.

Waiting for some pics from the show taken by their photographers, when I get them I'll post them here so stay tuned...

BNSF at 6 x 6

"BNSF 6631 Rain"   SOLD
oil on panel, 2011
6" x 6" (15.24cm x 15.24cm)

My fourth painting juried into the 6" Squared Show at the Randy Higbee Gallery. The 3 others here and here and here. If you are in the area it's worth checking out. The show promises to have lots of great art on display and for sale.

The BNSF 6631 near the top of the El Cajon Pass headed to the high desert in Southern California pulling a short string of passenger cars instead of the usual freight cars and cargo containers. Seen here punching out of the mist and into a clearing.
With it's lighter than usual load this train was moving pretty fast and despite it's climb up the steep long grade it rolled around the corner and was gone in a flash, traveling with a sense of urgency.112

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