Desert Mountain View Studio Painting

DESERT MOUNTAIN VIEW

This is a recent oil painting done on canvas.  It is 24" x 36".  I love painting desert paintings.  There can be so much drama and I hope that I have captured that and done justice to this area near Tucson, Arizona.

Cell Phone Tower - Oil on Muslin - 11.5" x 19"

This is a painting of what I thought was a beautiful bucolic scene of a farm house located just north of Escondido, CA. As I was painting it, a lady came by to check out what I was doing and when I asked her if she knew the owner of the farm house, she replied, "That isn't a farm house, it is a cell phone tower"! Well, I was flabbergasted. She pointed out the cell phone receivers and I finally saw them but they were very discreet. What will they think of next!

Day's End - Oil on Board - 24" x 39" - a newer version

This is a newer version of my ethereal landscape I just posted. I had some feedback and felt I needed to address some issues. I know you probably can't tell much by this jpeg but I lightened the mountains in back just a little, removed an orange form in the sky that was bothering me and put some more tree holes here and there. I took out some highlight and added some. This may sound picky to you but I think these are the things that make a painting go from good to great.

Hotel Congress Kiss - Oil on Board - 14" x 16"

I really like doing figurative paintings but they aren't as easy as setting up outside to do a landscape or setting up a still life in your studio. However, it can be great fun coming up with a pose for your models and creating a story. I try to give my models something to work with and think about when I am setting them up so they can get in the mood and understand what I am trying to capture. There is a hotel, Hotel Congress which I love to use as my backdrop. It is a vintage hotel where Dillenger "visited" and it has that 1920-30's look to it. The owners Richard and Shana love art and have bought several of my pieces that hang in the lobby and prints that hang in the rooms. They also have one for their home. There is always an art show going on there and they also have great live music. There restaurant is terrific too. What I like about it the most is that I can bring my dog into the hotel bar/lounge and have a drink where they bring my dog a doggy bowl of water. They do this in Europe and I sure wish they could adopt this ideology here in the U.S.A. I will be going off to San Diego on Saturday and painting every day during the week. If I can figure out how to post on my son's computer, I will. By the way, Kim from Texas, the winner of last month's give-a-way painting just received the painting and I am hoping she will post something on http://www.squidoo.com/daily_painter.

Looking at the Catalina Mountains from the Eastside

This painting is a work in progress. I don't think it is done but I am not sure what to do with it. If any of you have a suggestion, email me. I could use the help. I am working from a photo and it feels weird to me because I prefer to paint plein air.