Ali on Couch

Here are three, quick step studies from Peggi Kroll-Roberts workshop. The top study is a 2 value painting separating light from shadow and grouping dark masses. The second is a 4 value study And the bottom is a color study that tries to stay to the values of two previous studies.

Orange Slices with Tulips

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I did this 9x12 painting in Peggi Kroll-Roberts workshop this last weekend. She has us do several black and white studies before moving on to the color painting. This was the final painting on Saturday. Tomorrow I'll try to post a couple of the earlier boards that show the process better.

Not the Bearded Iris

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This is an 6x6 painting I did today. Dianne brought these beautiful flowers from home to Carole's class. I couldn't resist trying to capture the rich colors.

Heidi in a Red Shawl

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This is an 8x10 painting I did today in the last hour of my class in between working with the students. Again I was trying to show them the colors I saw on stage and how I mix them.

A Drink of Lemons - in private collection

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Sorry for not posting in a few days. I have been getting a show lined up at American Visions Art Gallery in historic Folsom, California on April 12th. It will be a group show with Carole Gray-Weihman and Nobee Kanayama. Google them if you get a chance.
The still life above started out really well as simple color spots and then became a challenge for me to finish up. I hope you like the results.

Old Ford in Mustard Fields

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My friend took her class out to paint these brilliant mustard fields near Petaluma and invited me to come along and paint. At first I was overwhelmed with the mustard. Didn't know what to paint it was so beautiful. And then of course I found this old Ford and knew I had to place it in the forground with the mustard receeding. Would love to have another seesion to paint on it. This is about a 2 hour, 12"x16" painting.

Trio in Red

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I thought it would be fun to set up a simple still life with three apples, each with a little more green in it then the next one. I wanted a strong shadow pattern as a design element and the greens to accent all the warm colors. Hope you like it.

Don in Profile

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This was a two hour pose and was painted with some friends down at the Marin Art School. They're about 15 minutes south of our l'Atelier.

Spicy

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I was at the store buying groceries when I saw this kit for making guacamole. The items looked like they would be good for a still life. Too bad the avocados never made it in a painting! Maybe next time.

In the Shadow

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I set this still life up in the studio under a small spot light with natural light bounces into the shadows.

Ashley in Tangerine Wrap

This painting is unavailable as it was given to a friend.

This is a little 6" x 8" sketch I did yesterday in about 40 minutes. It started out as a rough sketch to show one of my students in my figure painting class how I see the color that was up there. I set up behind her and put down some spots of color so that at the break she could look at her piece and then look at my piece and see why I chose the colors I did. I think it is a useful exercise that I learned from Ray Roberts when he did a similar thing in one of his landscape classes. It allows the student to compare their choices to what the instructor chooses. I then changed the model into a 90 minute pose and while the students were starting their new pieces I continued to try and make a painting out of a rough sketch without having the model in the same pose. It was a lot of fun!

Glass Color

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This still life was set up out side my studio's barn doors and painted in direct sunlight. There was this really cool (as in I liked it) wavy light coming through the brown bottle and lighting up its shadow.

25 minute head painting demo

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This was a demo I did yesterday in my head painting class. We were talking about designing the shapes in the head into two values to start with. Separating the side lit with the stage light from the shadow side. Keeping all the values in light in the same family of values as not to compete with any of the values in shadow side and visa versa. As you can see I broke that rule in the light side of the hair as I wanted the the hair to hold as one block of value against the skin.

Apple Spritzer

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I felt ambitious when I set this still life up and kept adding objects until I felt it was working. I wanted a transparent object (so I had to add two) and an irregular metal object against the enamel pan. Then I threw in a couple apples for good measure! What do you think?

Angel's Aqua Glass

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I set this up in direct sunlight. I have been buying a bunch of colored glass objects and grabbed this dark aqua, colored glass to paint along with a Porcelain angel. This was a difficult glass to paint because it's pretty opaque and not very transparent which is the effect I was after. Still a fun exercise though.

Cantaloupe with Flower - Sold

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This was a fun piece for me to paint. I set this still life up to try and get some interaction between the melon and the flower. Not sure if that works or helps but I really enjoyed painting it. This was about 2 1/2 hour painting.

Amada with white flower

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This was a new model the folks at the Marin Art School found. She has great posture, could hold a pose, beautiful & great costume. I booked her for my following Head and Figure painting classes I teach on Thursdays. She told me during my class that this painting was the first time she posed for artists. I have been teaching for many years and I assumed she was a pro with years of experience. Some people are just meant to model, at least for a little while. This was a 3 hour pose.

Ali in a lanquid pose

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This was a 20 minute sketch from a model. I liked the abstract quality to it. I might try and do a large painting based on it. It was fun designing the shapes.

The potion

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Another value study. I am pretty happy with this one and think I'll hold on to it until I surpass it.

White pitcher and cup

A value study to keep me honest.

Don with a felt hat

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I painted this with some friends at the Marin Art School. They hire models once in a while when there are no classes going on. This is the time the folks running the school get a chance to paint the model uninterupted. They invite me down once in a while and this was the first time. There are always a good, small group of people painting on these days. This was a 3 hour painting.

Coffee pot with green onions

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Here's a still life I set up and wanted to spend a little more time to refine the values and hues. I spent about 3 hours on this 11" x 14"

Grapefruit and Lemons

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I loved the different hues in the grapefruit. I set up a simple still life with the intense fruit justaposed against a muted background.

Cantaloupe on red plate - 6.25" x 9"

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This is a color version of the previous painting. I really tried to stick to the values I created in the previous painting. Improving the values where I thought it would help.

Cantaloupe on plate - B&W - 5.5" x 7.5"

Here is a value study of a quartered cataloupe on a red plate.

25 min head painting sketch

Here's my friend posing again.

Quick Sketch of Friend

This was a 20 minute sketch of another painter who is a friend of mine. It's 5 1/2" x 7". Sometimes a few of us get together and pose for each other for 20 minutes. Then the next person switches from painting to model for another 20 minutes. And you just keep rotating through. It's a great way to be able to paint the figure from life and not spend a small fortune on models.

Sangha during model break

This is Sangha, Carole's trusted companion. Carole and I share a studio with another talented artist. While the model took a break Sangha hopped onto the stage and posed for us. I have been wanting to try to paint him but I didn't think he would hold still long enough. In this case Wendy, a painting friend, held out a treat for him so he would hold the pose for a few minutes.

Road to Nicasio - afternoon painting - Sold

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Nicasio Hills - morning painting - Sold

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Rocks off Bodega Head

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"Pumpkin Farm" - Sold

This was painted the week before Halloween in Petaluma, California. I tried to suggest pumpkins in a field without having to get too detailed. This painting was also exhibited in November & December 2007 at the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association's "Less is More" miniature show.

Near Shell Beach - Sold

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I started this painting on the last day of the Slo plein Air event but didn't get it finished. I went back out with Mike Rada after we turned in our paintings and finished it. As we were finishing our paintings Walter Porter came out and started a painting.

Mission Park, San Luis Obispo - Sold

This was painted on Saturday's Quickdraw for the SLO Plein AIr event. We had 90 minutes to complete the painting and then it was auctioned off in the park. I had a hard time deciding what to paint and ended up trying to capture the light as it passed through these eucalyptus trees. The refected light on the trunks were all quite different and beautiful. I forgot to shoot a photo until after I framed it. Ed Terpening was kind enough to take the photo as I left my camera in the car.

Rocks by Shell Beach - Sold

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In the afternoon of the third day of the SLO Plein Air event Mark Ruszczycky took me to this scene and we painted in the fading light.

Across from Bishop Peak

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This was painted in the morning on the third day of the SLO Plein Air event. The previous day I saw this scene while painting Bishop Peak so I came back to the same spot.

Glimmer of Morro Rock

This was the evening painting for the second day of the SLO Plein Air event. I got to this view of Morro Rock just as the sun was almost down. I loved how the rock disappear into the atmosphere and tried to capture the light in a 45 minute painting.

Bishop Peak - Sold

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This was painted in the morning on the second day of the SLO Plein Air event. Bishop peak is just outside of San Luis Obispo on the way to Morro Rock.

Hollister Peak

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This was the first painting I did for the 2007 San Luis Obispo Plein Air event. I painting this over two days, 2 - 3 hours per day. I had a blast painting this size and want to do more larger pieces on location.

Girl with basket

The model was next to the Petaluma River on dried grass. The colors in the scene were beautiful and I tried to capture them in a 40 minute pose.

Quick color sketches in sunlight

These are each under 20 minutes. These paintings from the last few days were done at a workshop at l'Atelier aux Couleurs in Petaluma, California where I also teach. The instructor was Peggi Kroll Roberts who is awesome. She focuses the students to see the big shapes, light against shadow, covering the board quickly. If you get a chance to study with her or her husband Ray Roberts I highly recommend them.

Antonia in ballerina outfit

Antonia seated in a ballerina costume. 20 minute pose.

Quick Color Sketch

Another quick sketch working on keeping light and shodaw separate.

Color Sketches

These are quick sketches to warm up. They're 10 -15 minute poses.

William Sitting Bull

This painting is available at The Link Gallery.
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This is my quickdraw portrait of William Sitting Bull, the Great, Great Grandson of Sitting Bull. I was really happy with the way it was going. I had 90 minutes to finish it and I could have used a little more time. William is an excellent artist himself and we are at the same gallery, The Link Gallery. Check the link in My Links to the right to visit the gallery's site. Most of my Estes Park paintings are at the Link Gallery.

Note:
William past away earlier this year and the world is a sadder place for it. He was a unique soul and a talented painter. We had a combined opening and a fund raising auction for him in Cheyenne last October in an effort to raise money for a kidney transplant. You can see some of his work at: http://www.linkgalleryonline.com/williamSittingBull.php I apologize that the site hasn't yet been updated to reflect his passing. Keep William and his wife Bonnie in your thoughts.

Saint Vrain, Lyons

This painting is on display at The Link Gallery.
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The red bluffs in this painting are the same bluffs as the day before in Last Light. My painting location from the day before is to the left of the red bluffs a few hundred yards. I am now across the road and and the Saint Vrain River looking back at the bluffs.

Last Light at Hall Ranch

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After I finished up the Hall Ranch 9x12 I saw the last bit of light on these right bluffs and decided to go for it. I spun my easel around and scrambled to get a 6" x 8" on my easel. I quickly sketched the composition with the light in this position. I put some broad strokes of color down because I knew the light wouldn't last. Within 5 minutes the light was gone from the red bluffs and I had to finish that part from memory. I finished the mid ground and added the blue sage to the forground.

Hall Ranch, Lyons - Sold

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We went out toward Lyons, Colorado and found several scenes we wanted to paint. This is at Hall Ranch looking back toward the road we just came in on. Something about the fields of yellow grass with the red rock and distant mountains made me want to paint it.

Just Around the Bend

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On the second day of the Estes Park Plein Air(PA) we went to one of the parks and I started wondering around. I didn't find anything that really got me going so I turned around to head back and saw this scene. I decided to try to capture the light falling throw the trees even though it wasn't a signature Estes Park scene.

Guardians of Lumpy - in private collection

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This was the first day of painting for me at the Estes Park Plein Air event. I had started another sunny painting looking to the right of this one but the sun kept going in and out. I'd switch back and forth for a while but the coluds finally won out. I liked how these rocks stood out against the ominous sky.