Bay Area Fall Colors

Yesterday painting (9″x12″, acrylic on paper).  Inspired by a little fall color this week after a drive up to the top of Mount Diablo with an afternoon hike around the peak.  80°, golden hills and a bit hazy — waiting for the winter rains.  I love the Bay Area, but October is the one month I still miss New York State and New England —just a little bit.

Painting Calm

There are many positive and appropriate ways to respond to the horrible state of the world.  And in no way do I want to be either dismissive or ignore what is happening.  But, just to maintain my own personal sanity and not be overwhelmed by anger, sometimes I need to paint something calm and quiet like the old barn at Año Nuevo State Park.

Lazy Days of Summer

Well not for me, but it seemed that way for the elephant seals lying around on the beach at Año Nuevo State Park down near Santa Cruz.  Big rocks, or lumpy, molting elephant seals, here is where the fauna is the landscape.  These two paintings (12”x9” each) were inspired by last week’s visit and hike.

Butano State Park

Butano Collagescape, mixed media on board, 8”x10”

This is another collagescape piece based on a place that I love.  The redwood forest at Butano State Park is one of my favorite city escapes.  It’s quiet and off the radar for most tourists and even locals, it often feels like my personal state park.  It’s also prime banana slug habitat.  Note the streaks of yellow added to the palette.  Like the others, this colleagscape began with a review of my earlier paintings based on Butano as well as photos from visits I have made there.  The next step is to paint the fields of color that, when dry, are cut up and reassembled into a collagescape.

Prints and other accessories of some of the images from this new series are available from Society 6.  Contact me directly regarding the originals.