Happy Halloween

Painting of the Day: Pumpkin's Ready for their Close-up.

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I have been honored to be commissioned each year by the Weiss Family to paint their family in costume to celebrate Halloween. Here are a few of the past portraits. Enjoy! 

The Outdoors

Painting of the Day: Fields of Lavender
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I'd love to go on a road trip right about now.

Sketchbook Envy II

Painting of the Day: View of Mount Tamalpias from College of Marin
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My Mother's significant other, J.R. McCabe, is a great sketch artist. He keeps a small sketchpad with him when he travels and captures the small details of his surroundings. Back home he copies and binds his sketches into a book. When I receive my copy in the mail, I always take some time, brew a pot of tea, sit down and savor the drawings. Here are some of his sketches. Enjoy!

Sketchbook Envy

Painting for the Day: Mountain Blue Bird.

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Sketchbooks:

There are a lot of sketchbooks here because I had an editing problem. They are all so great! I promise upcoming posts will not be this long.

#1 Jordan Kay

#2 Steve Huston

#3

#4

#5 

#6

#7

#8 Joao Paulo Alvares Ruas

#9 Paris sketchbook by Fabrice Moireau

Lavender

Painting of the Day: Lavender Fields near Lourmarin

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One summer I traveled to Provence for the purpose of painting the lavender fields. It turned out that there was a major heat wave and drought which ruined the crops of lavender that year. So I took photos anyway and enhanced the lavender in these paintings.

The Abbey of Senanque with Lavender.
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More lavender fields on rolling hills.

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An old farmhouse near the village of Banon, Provence.

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This was the big news in the local paper. Catastrophe! I thought so.

Fun Art Around Town

Painting of the Day: Monhegan Living

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At some point I will coordinate the painting of the day with the subject of my post. Meanwhile, here are some paintings I found while wandering around Paris.

Script & Type

Painting of the Day: "Evening Calm" Oil Oil on canvas 36 x 36 inches

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I found this lettering artist on Stumble Upon. Her name is Dana Tanamachi. 

Click the link to see her lettering. It's great. 

Twenty Five Year logo for Penguin Books.

Lettering on the side of an old sun-bleached building in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Provence.

I loved this lettering on the board outside of the "Au Lapin Agile" in Montmartre, Paris. Click on the link which takes you to their official website to hear Edith Piaf. It's a nice Paris momment. Oui.

This is some lettering found on Jim Morrison's Grave at Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

Life Drawing

Painting of the Day: Just me and my shadow. Sold

While in New York last May, I wanted to take a life drawing class and found a great art studio in Soho called Spring Studio. For Angie and I it was like going to the Art Gym. What a workout. You can look at their schedule of classes and drawing sessions online, find the one you want, and drop in. No reservations. 

Below are my quick (20 seconds) sketches of our model. 

Below is the drawing Angie did for the long pose (2 hours). Beautiful.

One of my favorite artists who really knows how to draw and paint the human form. Steve Huston.

My Favorite Painters

Painting of the Day: After the Beach Sold


Throughout the years of buying and selling on ebay I've gotten to know some really great painters. Some artists I've become friends with like Eugene Wang, while others I stalk, like Carol Marine. Here are examples of their work and links to their blogs. Enjoy!


Brian Burt
I bid on this painting but didn't win it. Someday I will own one of his paintings. I love the contrast and colors as well as his loose style. See his figurative work on his blog.
Brian Burt http://art4diapers.blogspot.com/

Aaron Lifferth
I like Aaron's work. So simple yet dynamic.
Aaron Lifferth http://aaronlifferth.blogspot.com/

Oriana Kacicek
This is a painting! It really is. My friend Angie commissioned this painting from Oriana. It's absolutely beautiful and so real I could eat it.
Oriana Kacicek http://orianakacicek.blogspot.com/

Carol Marine
I Love Carol Marine's work. Her paintings are beautiful. At some point I will take one of her workshops. I hear she's a real task master and occasionally drinks wine ... Meanwhile, I'll keep enjoying her blog and participating as a member artist on the DailyPaintworks.com website that she and her husband created. Check it out. dailypaintworks.com  Carol Marine http://carolmarine.blogspot.com/

Dean Haven
I loved this painting, especially the way the light comes through the paper.

David Lloyd
David is a great painter. I found him on DailyPaintworks.com. He has a bunch of vintage car paintings he's done that are beautiful. They're painted in a loose style like the airstream below. David Lloyd http://lloydart.blogspot.com/

Yonqing "Eugene" Wang
I love Eugene's work. So far I've collected four of his paintings and can't wait to add more to my growing collection. It's tough to decide which of his paintings to buy. They are all exquisite. Not only is he a great artist, he's also the nicest guy. Make sure you check out his blog. http://wangfineart.blogspot.com/

Fred Kepler
Fred paints a lot of people contemplating art in museums around the world. It's always fun to see the combination of painting and viewer. Fred Kepler http://seasidegalleryonline.com/

Kora Fried
Kora is an architect in Berlin, Germany. She paints wonderful small still lifes. You can see her work on the dailypaintworks.com website. Kora Fried http://korafried.blogspot.com/ 

Kimberly Applegate

Kimberly paints wonderful paintings dipicting a chair and a painting in the corner of a room. Not sure whether the chair inspires the choice of art or vice versa. Either way they are fun. Check her other work out on her blog. Kimberly Applegate http://kimberlyapplegate.blogspot.com/

inspired by Verner Panton's S-chair and artwork by Henri Matisse

inspired by Saarinen's Womb Chair and artwork by Keith Haring

inspired by German architect Mies Van Der Rohe's Barcelona Chair 

and artwork by German painter August Macke