"Smoke and Steam"

The subject is the Tacoma Pulp Mill in Commencement Bay.  It's an industrial sight, but rendered soft and beautiful by the steam.  The moisture in the air creates aerial perspective and turns the distant hills blue.  This painting is at the Silverwood Gallery in May and June

"Woods Near Ridgefield"

This backlit scene was near Ridgefield Washington on the Columbia River.  The trees were glowing from warm late afternoon sunlight.  The scene had a nice balance of lights, darks, and mid tones and gave an opportunity to explore warm and cool colors.  This painting is in the Silverwood Gallery during May and June.

"Island in the Columbia"

This is near Kalama Washington.   It's an island created by a channel of the Columbia - seen from the highway.  The late afternoon sun catches the tops of the trees and makes the distant hills disappear into the sky.  This painting is at the Silverwood Gallery on Vashon in May and June

"Blue Smoke and Madronas"

The madronas are in our yard.  We built a bonfire to burn some Scotch broom that we had cleared.   The smoke drifted through the trees and turned the air blue and smokey.  This painting is in the Silverwood  Gallery on Vashon during May and June. 

"Fern Cove at Twilight" SOLD

Fern Cove is on the West side of Vashon Island.  It is a protected area where Blue Heron nest in the trees.  This painting is in Silverwood Gallery on Vashon this May and June.

"Sunny Day Ninilchik Church" SOLD

Because this was a small painting I left out a great deal of information, i.e. the windows in the church, the fence around the graveyard.  And I simplified the composition: a big piece of middle value, smaller piece of light value, and just a touch of dark value to focus on.   This is the Russian Orthodox church in Ninilchik, Alaska.

"Five Cherry Tomatoes" SOLD

These tomatoes were actually painted last summer when the cherry tomatoes were so plentiful we gave pounds of them away.   Those sharp little leaves are quite exciting.

"Vashon Lighthouse" SOLD

This is the original lighthouse; there is a much newer and much less charming tower just out of the picture to the right.  This lighthouse is located at Pt Robinson at the east end of Maury Island.  This painting is at Silverwood Gallery on Vashon Island in May and June.

"Nisqually Glacier" SOLD

The glacier is waaaaay up in the valley-you can just see a bit of it.  Mostly it is gray from the gravel that it picks up and deposits.  I thought the painting had a nice sense of depth.

"Red Pepper with Yellow Stem" SOLD

What a strong color to paint. The body of the pepper is the most intense red, but even the background and shadows are neutralized reds.  The green stem is half warm green and half cool green.  The pepper tilts to the left, creating a dynamic shape.

"Orange Slices on Burgundy" SOLD

Because there is red in both the background (red violet) and the oranges (red orange) the painting is harmonious.  I like the cast shadow falling across the middle orange.

"Maple Buds"

The Big Leaf Maple trees burst into blossom about two weeks ago.  The buds are red-violet and the  flowers are a lovely chartreuse green.  Spring is really here when the maple trees bloom.

"Three Cherry Tomatoes, Green Background" SOLD

The exciting and difficult part of this painting was getting those stiff sharp leaves on the stems just right.  I used a lot of scraping and wiping out to create those lights.

"Red Onion with Roots" SOLD

The onion is a little off center but touches the edges of the panel via the stem & the piece of onion skin.  The roots were painted with a rubber scraping tool which created a sharp line and left just the right amount of paint in the light areas.

"Three Grapefruit Slices" SOLD

This is about as simple as you can go: a big piece of middle value, smaller piece of dark value, just a dash of light value.  A simple composition but with many virtues.

"Three Black Cherries" SOLD

I had more cherries when I started arranging the composition, but I found that fewer cherries made a stronger grouping.  And that way I got to eat the extra cherries!

"Green Grapes on Lavender" SOLD

"Lavender and green love each other.  These green grapes have a lovely translucent quality.  Painting them was definitely a pleasure!

"Five Green Onions" SOLD

Those onion roots are tricky to paint.  The lavender reflections were a fun touch, and I thought the orange tones of the roots really sparkled against the complementary blue green onions and tablecloth.

"Red Grapes Reflection" SOLD

When the lighting is slightly behind the grapes, the translucent quality of the grapes is more apparent.  That and the reflections made this a fun painting to paint.

"Large Red Pepper" SOLD

The dark background allows the saturated color of the red pepper to come forward.  The red of the pepper would seem dark without the dark shadow behind it. 

"Lime Slices on Blue Plate" SOLD

The colors, yellow, chartreuse, mint green, aquamarine, pthalo blue, are all analagous and harmonious.  The strong dark shadow in the background pushes the limes forward and creates a dramatic composition.

"Three Small Red Peppers" SOLD

The bright color of the red peppers makes this painting jump.  The challenge is to make the shadow areas of the peppers look darker but still saturated. If you add white to the light areas you get pink.  Add black to the dark areas and you get gray.

"Pink Wall"

The interior of the Vashon-Fauntleroy ferry.  Sunlight is splashes on the deck from the end windows.  The same sunlight adds a rosy glow to the wall. 

"Pink and Green Artichoke" SOLD

This small artichoke was both pink and green and the leaf tips curled in both directions.  The challenge was to make it look like an artichoke without being too fussy.

"Pear with Leaf" SOLD

I liked the way the colors of the pear and the colors of the background were so similar.   I explored how to mix gold tones from red and yellow and green.  I like it that every now and then a little bit of saturated red breaks out.

"SBC Corner, Contre-Jour"

Contre-Jour means against the light.  This view at Vashon Center faces the south at mid day.  Objects become silhouetted and colors are lost in shadow and light.  The strong contrast almost makes you feel like squinting.  This painting will be at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts in April.

"Red Grapes with Silver Cup" SOLD

The subject was reflections and translucency.  The grapes are reflected on the glass tabletop and in the silver bowl.  The tabletop reflects light back into the grapes and into the underside of the silver bowl.  The grapes are translucent and glow from light passing through them.

"Garlic and Reflections" SOLD

This study is very harmonious because there is so much dominant color -- burnt sienna.  It gets its zip from the strong value pattern-mostly medium value, a small amount of light value, and just a touch of dark value.

"Southworth View" SOLD

An early evening view of the Southworth Ferry Dock, looking up Colvos Passage from Vashon. This painting will be at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Gallery in April.

"Pale Ferry" SOLD

The Vashon - Southworth Ferry. I especially liked the pale color created by hazy sky and intense sun.  This painting will be seen at the Silverwood Gallery on Vashon Island in May.

"Bandon Lighthouse" SOLD

Bright afternoon light silhouettes the lighthouse.  The Bandon light sits on the edge of the dunes & guards the the Coquille River at Bandon, Oregon.  This painting will be at the Silverwood Gallery in Vashon, WA in May.