Diablo Canyon

When I teach in Eugene in August, we`re going to sketch on location then paint from those drawings back at the gallery. This is how I always worked until digital photography came into practice. I would carry tiny sketchbooks with me and do quick notations of the landscape which became paintings, sometimes years later. I`m convinced I was able to do this with so much time having elapsed because of the mental imprint made when I drew the scene. The character of the place still came through.


available work in my studio

Flood Stage 1

 Just like it sounds, a study is usually a 'practice' for a larger painting. Theoretically, this is why I do them. Often, I lose the impulse after painting the smaller piece and the big one never gets painted. Here I did it. This is based on a 6x6 panel I did last December.
 I will be teaching a workshop in Landscape Painting from Plein Air Drawings, as part of the Create Eugene extravaganza Aug. 31. The cost is $100 and if you`re interested, please contact The Gallery at the Watershed. In the workshop I`ll harangue everyone, including myself, about the importance of drawing to painting.
 The Gallery at the Watershed has been open since April but the grand opening is June 1, 4-8 pm. Please come by if you are able. The owner, Amy Isler Gibson, is herself a work of art and her passion for painting is infectious. I`m so happy to have her representing my work!
oil on canvas 24"x24"


available work

Late Winter-Minto Brown

Minto Brown Island nature preserve in Salem Oregon has been the source of many of my paintings.  It`s swampy, funky beauty always satisfies, I just wish it were closer.
I bet if I painted in a duck making a water landing, I could sell it.
oil on canvas 18"x36"



updated available work
[new additions on the bottom]

Chimayo Spring

From a long time ago.
Whenever it rained in New Mexico it was special. Occasionally there would be lingering storms with overcast skies for several days. The state is so dry, everyone would  feel relieved and love it. Sort of  like a primal response, rain = survival.
watercolor on paper 14"x11"


available work

Riverlight 2

This is a second version of a plein air painting I did last Oct. on the shore of the Tualatin River. I sure love that river, every view I`ve ever seen of it has been gorgeous. Even in flood stage it`s serene.
In the last two days I have moved my mother [with lots of help] into a retirement home, spent a whole evening in the ER with my partner [he`s OK], been rejected for an artist in residency in Maine, sold a major painting, and I just made a killer mango cucumber salad!
Thailand, they know how to eat!
watermedia on paper 12"x9"


available work

Rainforest Spring

This just came through me, I only had to stay out of the way. I don`t feel successful painting the forest very often. Too much complexity, I get lost! This one seems right.
oil on canvas 30"x24"


available work

Spring Hillside

From a drawing I did in Portland`s Japanese Garden.
This story is off topic but it`s a good one. Believe it or not;
In 2006, when it was still legal, my friend Pam was introduced to online slot machines by her father. She`s not much of a gambler but she gave it a go, depositing a small amount in the 'bank' with her credit card. While waiting for her husband, before going out one evening, she decided to play. In short order, she won over $600,000!! Of course she couldn`t believe it so she called her Dad and after hearing the details, he said it sounded real. There was paperwork, taxes and red tape and it took nine days to get the money into her account. On that day, again waiting for her husband, she returned to the website and played again. Within minutes she won! Also over $600,000! Now, she`s sort of terrified and wondering, what does this mean? But this jackpot too proved to be a reality! This where it gets fun, she`s exactly the kind of person you hope good fortune comes to. With her smarts and good values, those funds were going to do things! She invested some, spent some frivolously such as flying her nephews to DC to see the museums, gave a lot away to worthy causes and she bought art. My art. In the fall of that year, she flew to Portland, rented a car and arrived at my house with a mission. She chose maybe a dozen paintings, some for her family members and she pulled from her purse a huge roll of cash to pay for them. That money allowed me to leave an unhappy job and become a full time painter.
She was just here for a visit last weekend. Since junior high in the 1960`s, I`m happy to call her my friend.
watermedia on paper 21"x 14"