More small sketches from my recent California trip...

 Irvine Sycamores (8x10) o/c

 Irvine Hills (8x10) o/l

 Indian Head at Sunset (12x16) o/l

Cleft in the Rock (12x16) o/l

Due Diligence in the Desert

 "The Santa Rosa's & Coyote Mountain" (8x10)

I just returned from spending a few days in the Anza Borrego Desert in Southern California. Thanks to some friends who lent me their vacation home and SUV,  I was able to get to places a two-wheel drive car couldn't, and the weather was perfect; sunshine and 85 degrees!

 "Desert Rock Design" (8x10)

Ever since I was a little kid when my grandparents kept a trailer out in Palm Springs, I have had an affinity for the desert; from the sunshine and sand to the colour and expanse. It was not just a trip to collect reference sketches for paintings, but to recharge myself after a long, grey Northwest winter and reconnect with my past...

"Coyote Mountain Sunset" (8x10)

Studying your subject from life is essential, especially when one lives so far from it. I never paint landscapes from photographs, but from life (or from my field studies done from life). It's the only true and accurate way to capture colour, value, perspective and the other sensual aspects of temperature, sound and the whole experience of being there...

 "Desert Mountain Colour" (8x10)

The colour of the desert is the most appealing aspect of painting there -- it is so intense on the mountains at sunrise and sunset, and when coupled with the silence and warmth, it really has an impressing effect! 

 

  "Fish Creek Passage" (8x10)

 

I hope to get back there before too long where I can relax from the stress of everyday life and appreciate the beauty of this wonderful & mysterious place!

"Indian Head Mountain" (8x10)