Monthly Archives: October 2012

Cat Painting for Charity

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Cat Painting for Charity Auction

Cat Painting for Charity Auction

I’m normally pretty uncomfortable about donating paintings to raise money in the wake of major disasters. I hate when people turn those disasters into publicity stunts.

But last night I read a lot of personal stories on Facebook of people trying to deal with the storm and its aftermath. I won’t go into the gory details. I remember after the nuke disaster in Japan, animal charities were pretty strapped.

I would like to help if I can, and I’ll donate the proceeds from this auction to an animal charity in the disaster area, so if you like the painting, please feel free to bid in this charity auction. Bidding starts at $100, and the auction fees are waived.

The proceeds from this auction will go to Empty Cages Collective, a New York-based animal and environmental advocacy organization.

Waves on the Rocks, Cabrillo

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San Diego Seascape Painting

San Diego Seascape Painting- For Sale

Waves crashing on the rocks on Cabrillo point. I’d planned to touch up this plein air painting in the studio, but after living with the painting for a while, decided to leave it as-is. Something about the less polished state appeals to me.

San Diego Beach Cliffs

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San Diego Seascape Painting

San Diego Seascape Painting

With this painting, I was aiming for what Monet did with the cliffs at Etretat:

He did many paintings there, and I’m going to try again with this one at a lower elevation, which I hope will give the cliffs the sense of presence they have in real life.

San Diego Sea Cliffs Plein Air

The Palms- Hillcrest 60s Building

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The Palm, San Diego Painting

The Palm, San Diego Painting- For Sale

I think this apartment building in Hillcrest/U Heights is probably from the 60s, since Modern design from that decade was more delicate. Whenever it’s from, it’s a cool place.

Decayed Modernism is so prevalent in southern California. Modernist architecture, urban planning, and design had mostly utopian ideals, trying to make people’s lives better through design. Did it work? I’m not sure, and there’s something poignant about the irony of those high ideals contrasted with buildings in disrepair.

Virginia Rain Painting 1

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Virginia Rain Painting Landscape

Virginia Rain Painting – For Sale

A rainy day in Virginia, with the trees beginning to burst with autumn color. We just got back from a visit to see friends and family in the area. It didn’t rain every day, but it rained most days. I enjoyed painting outside in the wet and cold.

This is a hill outside Blacksburg, Virginia, in the New River Valley. I lived here for about five years, first working at Virginia Tech and then completing a MFA degree in painting.

It’s a wonderfully scenic place, with farms and forests and old white farmhouses with red tin roofs. This is in the Blue Ridge, which really is blue as the mountains step off into the distance.

You can just walk out the front door and be in a great painting.