Ninilchik Church with Gold Fireweed SOLD

A view of the Russian Orthodox church in Ninilchik Alaska with autumn fireweed turning reddish gold.  This painting will be in a show in the Artique Ltd gallery in Anchorage in June. 

Near Slana

A view of the Copper River drainage along the Alaska Highway, somewhere between Slana and Tok.  Fall colors turn the hills red and purple and gold.   This painting will be in my show at the Artique Ltd. Gallery in Anchorage, Alaska in June.

Near Eklutna

Late afternoon of a day's fishing near Eklutna.   This painting will be in my June show at the Artique Ltd. Gallery in Anchorage.

Nabesna Road View

A view of the mountains seen from the Nabesna Road in the interior of Alaska.  The area is part of the Wrangell - St. Elias National Park. This painting will be part of a show at the Artique Ltd. Gallery in Anchorage Alaska in June.

Near Island Meadow SOLD

Near Island is next to the town of Kodiak, where we used to live, and is connected to the town by a tall bridge.  It's a perfect place to picnic and stroll on a sunny day.  This painting will be in my June show at the ArtiqueLtd gallery in Anchorage AK.

Columbia River Sunset

This is a view of the Columbia River somewhere near Kalama, Washington - just a quick glimpse seen from the highway late in the day.  This painting will be in my June show at the ArtiqueLtd. gallery in Anchorage Alaska. 

One Red Apple on Gray

This was painted in a workshop taught by Carol Marine.  The object was to paint a very quick study.  The beauty of painting quickly is that it forces you to abandon detail and see the larger shapes and values, and to loosen your brushstrokes.   Even with time constraints, I still managed to get some lovely reflected lights into the underside of the apple.  I like the colors, too. 

Three Cherries on White SOLD

This is another painting that I reworked.  The background was crowding the cherries so I simplified it and pushed it back.  It's fun to look back and "correct" unsuccessful images.  It gives me a feeling of accomplishment - one of those UFP's resolved.

Red Pepper on Black and White SOLD

I've worked on this painting several times.  It's really a very simple painting but I just couldn't get it right.  I finally decided to completely neutralize the background - I've made it black and white and shades of gray. That contrast made the red pepper much more dramatic and important.  The background was originally reddish - I like how the red tone breaks through the newly painted whites and grays in several places. 

Silver Bowl Tangerines on Lavender and Pink SOLD

The light is coming from the side and creating interesting shadows and reflections on the tangerines.  But the reflection in the bowl is simplified by being just one thing instead of three separate objects.  I like the little touches of blue in the reflection- they add excitement.

Window in the Green Room SOLD

This is an interior view of the Green Room in the White House, painted for the Daily Paintworks Challenge.  The subject was taken from a Google tour of the White House.    Click here to see other entries in the Daily Paint Works White House challenge.  The challenges are a fun way to share and to learn from other artists across the country.

Silver Bowl Tangerines on Blue

The colors in this paintings are complementary - orange and blue.  And the neutralized greenish tones on the wall are a mix of the two colors, which adds harmony. There is a lot of medium value, a small amount of dark and the smallest amount of light value. The main subject of the painting is  two and a half tangerines -  divided into two unequal groups.  The reflection is subordinated to the tangerines,  The reflection is simplified as one shape, reduced in value and reduced in saturation. I like the shape of the metal bowl - it makes good reflections.

Window in the Red Room SOLD

This is an interior view of the Red Room in the White House, painted for the Daily Paintworks Challenge.  The subject was taken from a Google tour of the White House.   Click here to see other submissions for the White House Challenge.    The challenges are a fun way to share and to learn from other artists across the country.

Silver Bowl Tangerines on Magenta

This feels luscious - lots of saturated colors, all reflected in a shiny silver bowl.  The areas of gray and charcoal make the colors more interesting by adding contrast.  I like the shadow in the foreground that is magenta on the pink table cover and turns to blue on the gray table cover. 

Single Daffodil Orange Strip SOLD

Another daffodil, this time in a vertical format.  I like how the silhouette of the daffodil breaks up the background into interesting shapes.

Orange Centered Jonquil on Gold SOLD

Another spring jonquil with a gold background and a dark diagonal stripe.  A mostly neutral palette with just touches of saturated color - orange. green, rusty red.  Those neutrals give the saturated colors lots of contrast and make them important.   The jonquils have been blooming for weeks, they're almost over.  Maybe just one or two more paintings.

Sunset Ferry Crossing Blake Island SOLD

This large painting is an evening view of one of the Washington State ferries passing in front of Blake Island on its way between Southworth and Seattle.  This painting will be in the spring Barnworks Show during the Vashon Spring Arts Tour on May 5th & 6th and May 12th & 13th.  The Barnworks has been hosting Spring and Fall Arts shows since the 1970's and this is the Last Year, and the Last Spring Show!  Barnworks is located at 12122 Cove Road SW on Vashon Island. 

Jonquil with Diagonal Orange Stripe

The same white jonquil slightly different composition.  I really like the blue background.  Again the painting is mostly blue for dominance.  The orange stripe in the background adds a nice bit of conflict and repeats the orange of the jonquil cup and the warm tones in the stem.

Jonquil on Blue and Turqouoise

The white jonquils with orange centers have opened in the garden.  I was eager for a new color after all the gold daffodils on gold backgrounds so I decided to try blue.  I find my compositions are better when I have color dominance; here, it's a very large piece of blue with just a bit of gold and green black and white.  And I like the turquoise contrasted with cobalt blue. 

Two daffodils Purple tabletop

The gold background is essentially a dark yellow, so this painting is a study in complementary colors - purple and yellow.  I enjoy that the lightest parts of the painting are the highlights in the glass jar. 

Pink and Yellow Apples

These are Pink Lady apples.  I love the color of these apples, they're red and yellow and green.  I simplified some of the streaky detail because it's hard to add light and dark pattern and not have it look like shadow.  The apple in the back IS in shadow so I darkened the yellow and reduced the contrast to push it back.  

Single Daffodil Gold and Green

Another daffodil, and a very limited palette.  Because the colors are analogous,  the painting is very harmonious.  The background is a gradation from medium to dark.  Dark value pushes the pale flower forward while medium value enables lost edges, and keeps the flower from feeling like it's cut out and pasted down on top of the painting

Two Purple Crocuses SOLD

We've had a cold late spring so I got to paint crocuses in April.  These crocuses were moving the whole time I was painting.  Even outdoors they only last a couple of days.   Most of this painting is purple and lavender.  This creates color dominance.  It also makes the gold sing (complement of purple) even though it is not a huge leap in value from the purple.

Daffodil with Dark Background SOLD

It's been a late spring so we've still got daffodils.  I like how crisp and sculptural they are and I like what an interesting and recognizable silhouette they have.   I think the jar worked well and I enjoy the orange stripe.

Piner Point SOLD

Low tide at Piner Point at the south end of Vashon Island.  This painting was originally 9" x 12" and it just wasn't working. The foreground just wasn't very interesting- it was all sand and gravel.  I didn't want to paint every speck of sand, but I didn't know how to create interest while at the same time subordinating the foreground.    I solved the problem by simply cropping off the foreground. When in doubt, leave it out.

Barometer in Brown SOLD

Barometer Mountain sits at the end of the airport runway on Kodiak Island where we used to live.  I like this composition--mostly middle values with a small amount of dark and just a touch of light in the sky.  It's very Kodiak weather- mostly overcast with just a small cloud break.   Spring green shows in the foreground, but the top of Barometer is still brown from the long winter.

Woody Island Lagoon

A scene from Kodiak Island where I used to live.  I like the composition of this painting.  There's a nice placement of the horizon line.  The colors are harmonious (ultramarine blue and burnt sienna make a wonderful gray).   I've divided the page up in a dramatic and interesting way, because I have a large piece of medium value a small piece of light value and a smaller piece of dark value.  Not a sunny day, but still some interesting light in the horizon. 

Daffodil on Gold

The daffodils are blooming like crazy even though we've had rainy cool weather.  I like how sculptural these flowers are and how lovely and translucent the light struck areas.  This was painted with lots of juicy medium - I wiped out a lot of the lights so the whites are thinly painted.  I try to put each color down once, but I always wind up going back into areas, wiping out  and repainting.

Yellow Cup and Yellow Peppers on Yellow

I was kind of carried away with the intense yellow theme.  But yellows are fun to paint - how do you make a dark yellow? If you add black pigment, yellow turns green.  You can add the complement, purple, and that makes a warm brown.  So somewhere between the two is where I aimed.  I may try this one again only using less saturated color.

Single Camellia

This painting  is from last year when the camellias were blooming.  (We've had a late cold spring so no spring camellias so far).  I like the stiff leaves and the waxy petals, and I enjoy the odd stiff composition created by those stiff leaves.  I also enjoyed the flower color; dark enough to suggest the deep center, but light enough to show translucency.  

Yellow Cup, Red Peppers on Red

This painting is full of saturated color.  The sweet red peppers on top of a red tabletop threw a lot of red tone into the yellow cup.  It was a lot of fun going for strong colors.  The painting to look at when you need a cheery color to wake you up.