Sick of the wind

I may boycott the weather sketchbook until the wind stops. Someone was passing out roses from the float during farmers market. The tomatoes are "lemon boy" tomatoes that I forgot about and found in the garden while cutting some mint for mojitos. I planted them last spring and they are still on the vine.
They are a beautiful orange color. I recommend them. This garden/farmers market talk may sound great to you colorado people, but I can't go skiing today. Please click on an image, and it will enlarge and you can read notes, see detail, etc., but you know that. Not that there's alot of detail. These are very quick sketches and I still don't like the paper quality of the sketchbook.

women looking left

weather sketchbook. The wind is horrid, and I'm trying to hide out in a coffee shop.

Boy with french bus tickets

Watercolor on Arches HP 36x39". A recent large watercolor with french bus tickets sewn into grass area.

January weather sketchbook

Things gathered from walks

End of December weather sketchbook

Two very different days in so.cal. While cleaning up the garden from the wind and horrid palm tree, the fortnight lily from where the pods are from poked me in the eye, which is basically like getting stabbed with an ice pick. Stabillo aquarellable in 5x5" hand book journal.

Zion National Park

Where I was for the holidays. One needs to paint fast in Utah to catch the light, so I just took a photo. This is a very very quick sketch/watercolor looking out B's kitchen windows in a new sketchbook made by a friend. (What's out of the windows is the view in the photograph - The Watchmen)

Christmas Eve in Carpinteria

A large watercolor from last year. This is Carpinteria State Beach, CA on christmas eve. I love how the lifeguard stations are huddled together, safe from the winter surf. Below is a detail. Watercolor on Arches HP, Image 20 x 44". I did alot of drybrush on this.

Weather sketchbook

Two beautiful days in so.cal.

Farmer's market

A quick study of a cauliflower and another of a fava bean. Grilled fava beans sound edible, but I have a gag reflex at the thought of actually eating a lima bean. They are nice to draw however. Both studies are watercolor in custom made sketchbook. Arches HP.

Two pages from stationery portfolio

Rusted iron chair on old Fairmont paper. I don't know how old this stationery is. It has a zip code, but it was found in a used book store book.
The paper with the eggplant is nice to paint on. It has a watermark shape of Mickey's head. This paper was rescued and is not stolen.

Weather sketchbook

Two new pages from weather sketchbook.

Page from weather sketchbook

This is from the weather sketchbook. The next painting is basically the same image but on better paper. (Arches) The last two pieces are watercolor, 7x7" on Arches. The bigger airplane is actually a converted jumbo jet (DC-10 tanker) which can drop 12,000 gallons in a single load. In this case, it's dropping fire retardant. It has finally rained, so enough of the fire images. There's more fire fighting in my October 2006 file.

Two paintchips

gouache on paintchip, 6.25x5"
Below: Stabillo on paintchip. from one minute quick sketch, 6.25 x5"

sketchbook pages

Two recent pages from my weather sketchbook. (5x5" Hand Book Journal)

Girl with good grades and hose

Watercolor on Arches HP, 23x45". This is a new watercolor that I worked on for three months while holding a full time job at Disney. I was working on a project called "Princess Stories" and although this teenager is very beautiful, I didn't want her to look quite so princess-like.

More from firefighter series

These are the watercolors 7x7" that are still available. The charcoal is smaller 5x5". This series is from last autumn, and I'll be starting a new firefighter series eventually, but have alot of paintings waiting to be made before that. I would love to trade a painting to someone who would organize all my different series into some sort of web site. Meanwhile, the only reason I'm posting these is for the person who inquired.....

Daily newspaper sketch

News from the beloved homeland and a quick sketch of one of my valencia oranges almost ready for marmalade. Watercolor in 9x9" Aquabee sketchbook

thanksgiving day sail

Sailing past Alcatraz on Thanksgiving day. quick sketch in hand book sketchbook, which is my least favorite sketchbook and I wish that I didn't have it with me for the four day sail.
Sailing past coyote point.

two sketchbook pages

I've also been asked to include more sketchbook pages, although my sketchbooks are usually just working out ideas for larger paintings. Here's just a drawing for drawing's sake. from a handmade sketchbook of arches HP. 11x8". watercolor and Tombo 4B pencil.
Again, just a working sketch, to try out some color for a hose which is in a larger painting that I'm almost finished with which will be posted soon. The teabag is nothing. These are from a smaller hand made sketchbook. watercolor and Mars 7B pencil on Arches HP. My smaller sketchbook is 7x5" made out of an old book. I've also been urged to open the comments page, so here it is.

study for larger painting

This is a watercolor study for a larger painting, even though this study is full size 22 x 30". It is a study of buckwheat which is beautiful this time of year along my running path in the Crescenta Valley park. The paper is Strathmore 400 series bristol which lets the watercolor just sit on top of to create the pooling of the paint which I like.
(I've been asked to include all this information about the paper, etc. so here it is)

Two watercolors

watercolor on Aquarelle HP, 30x22"
watercolor on arches HP, 20x30"

drawings

magnolia pod and a jacaranda pod.
aquarellable stabilo
on paint chips.
5x7"

Firefighter series

some small watercolors from the firefighter series. 7 x 7 " on hotpress arches.

Plant studies for next painting

Heloniopsis study. Watercolor on hot press. 15 x 18 "