Amber the Horse

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- SOLD

I love painting horses, especially close up. I was particularly drawn to her expressive eyes. I used palette knife to create texture and blend the horse and background.

Unwind

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches --

This is another portrait of our 11 year-old pet house sparrow, Tobi. Her name, Tobi, is Japanese for flight. She's a great flyer, and loves flying freely around in the house. She often visits me at my computer desk, and perches and relaxes on the big handle of wooden basket on the edge of my desk.

Recently, she injured her left shoulder, and she's disable to fly. She's been hanging on the bathroom counter top in our bedroom all day and night. I pinned a half-size, cubic Kleenex box a few inches above the counter as her nesting box, and lined it with a small soft rug as bedding. Every night she jumps into the box to sleep. Normally, this nesting box is pinned over our bedroom door, but she can't fly up there for a while. I can't wait to see her fly again soon.

Glow in the Old Cabin

Oil on  linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches, $300 -- available

I painted this in Round Valley near Bishop, CA, in the beginning of the fall. I was drawn to the bright red glow in the window of the cabin, as well as the texture on the roof. I enjoy painting old structures like this.

I am pleased to announce that my paintings are featured with the work of Peggy Gray, my mother-in-law and well established watercolor artist, at the Inyo Council for the Arts Gallery in Bishop, CA. Peggy passed away in 1997, and she left many paintings behind. We are honored to showcase over 40 pieces of her original watercolor paintings at this gallery in Bishop where Peggy lived and painted. All the artwork in this show is available for sale. This painting is a part of the show.

Inyo Council for The Arts Gallery
137 South Main St., Bishop, CA
Open M-F 10-5
tel: 760-873-8014
Visit the Gallery website

Avocado in Half

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- Click here to buy

It was interesting to play with the composition before actual painting. I didn't want the avocado to change the color too much in the process. So I rubbed a slice of lime gently across the cross cut to preserve the color. I put the avocado on a brown wooden cutting board to enhance the green.

This piece (framed) is included in the 6" Square Exhibition and Sale at Randy Higbee Gallery for the holiday season. Click here to view my all work in this show.

Prelude to Breakfast

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches

These eggs are from our pet chickens. We eat fresh eggs for breakfast almost everyday. These eggs come in different colors, size and texture, but they all have bright orange-yellow yolk most of the year except winter because our chickens are free ranged and eat grass rich in carotene. These eggs so much better than the store-bought eggs. I was intrigued by the reflected light on the bowl and the eggs. It's subtle, but can you see it?

Lucy the Cow

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- Click here to buy

This is based on a photo of a cow I took at a local cattle field. I've painted her before in a different composition. She has very long white eye lush and fur by the ears. I was drawn to the light and shadow on her face, as well as the organic shapes. I enhanced the texture with a fine brush and small palette knife.

This piece is included in the 6" Square Exhibition and Sale at Randy Higbee Gallery for the holiday season. It opens on December 5. Click here to view my all work in this show.

Red Barns in the Prairies

Oil on linen, 6 x 6 inches -- Click here to buy

This is a plein air painting I did in the country side of Prairie City, OR, this summer. I loved the contrast of red barns and various greens that surrounded the barns. But it all looked unified in the evening sun light.

This piece is included in the 6" Square Exhibition and Sale at Randy Higbee Gallery for the holiday season. It opens on December 5. Click here to view my all work in this show.

After the Storm

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- Click here to buy

I painted this in Murphys, CA,  just after a stormy day and stormy afternoon. I was taking Kathleen Dunphy's advanced plein air workshop during the first week of November. I painted this after the class was dismissed due to the thunderstorm. I almost drove back to my hotel room, but decided to turn back and do another quick painting to capture this amazing light.

This piece is included in the 6" Square Exhibition and Sale at Randy Higbee Gallery for the holiday season. It opens on December 5. Click here to view my all work in this show.

Benji in the Shed

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches --  Sold

This is a commissioned painting of a baby Highland calf. I wanted to emphasize the texture of the fluffy, curly fur in the bright sun light coming through the crack o f the wood wall. I used a palette knife to get the impression of the fur.

After Storm in the Prairie

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- Click to Bid

This is the second painting I did on the same day when I painting the sheep farm in Prairie City, OR. It got stormy in the afternoon while three of us, the artists, kept driving around the valley for "site seeing" of plein air possibilities. We pulled over in a wide parking spot by the high way, set up our easels. It got fairy windy with the gust front from the big dark cloud over the Strawberry Mountains, which I was originally going to paint. But the rain shaft and dark cloud made the mountains look too dark and obscured for me to paint. So I turned my easel about 60 degrees to the left, and painting this blue sky hole over the hills. The scene kept changing radically, so I could spend very short time to paint this on site. After I came home, I changed the windy road in the left foreground into a river to reflect the sky on the water surface. I also lightened the hills in the background. I like how this turned out.

Salt for Tomato

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- 

My center of interest in this piece is the highlight in the glass part of the salt shaker, particularly the bottom. I was also intrigued by the reflected lights on each objects, including the glass floor on top of a gray cardboard. So I manipulated the shadow areas with a tall box in front of the spot light, in order to enhance these highlights. I also paid more attention to the lost edges and soft edges, so that it wouldn't look like "ALL CAPS" painting with too contrasty colors and sharp edges. I spent so much time staging this still life, even longer than painting time itself. But I'm happy with the outcome.

Orange Slices

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- 

I originally had a half orange on the plate beside these slices. But I didn't like the overwhelming amount of orange facing into the light. So I removed it, and repainted the plate. I also moved the left wall closer toward the light to increase the shade over the upper portion of canvas. I even used brush strokes to create lost edges because I wanted to obscure the shapes so close to the edge of canvas.

Belle Peppers

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches --

I was intrigued by the translucency of these peppers. So I titled this with "Belle," meaning beautiful peppers. I put a piece of glass on top of blue craft paper to create the reflection, in order to repeat the yellow and orange beneath the peppers. I exaggerated lost edge at the top of yellow pepper which originally calling too much attention with sharp contrast near the edge of canvas. 

Asparagus in Wine Glass

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- Click to Bid

I've been into still life painting of food lately. We got asparagus for dinner, but I wanted to paint it before eating. I was initially drawn to the pinkish tops. So I wanted to design the color them around this pink. I picked a muted magenta paper folder from our office supply, and put it under the wine glass with asparagus. I filled the glass with water to add more highlights in the picture. As a result the upper portion of wine glass became my point of interest.

Sophie in the Evening Light

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- Click to Bid

This is based on a photo of our pet chicken, Sophie. I shot this photo while I was painting at home. It was a few days after the snow. I have a portable easel in the dining room, by the large glass door and window. When I'm painting, I see our chickens on the deck. I usually let them in to hang out with me, especially during freezing winter. So I always keep a camera near me. Sophie, the Delaware hen, was just visiting me in the house, and ready to head back to the chicken coop for the evening. I was drawn to the light on her body, particularly the way it glowed on her tail.

Moe the Chicken No. 2

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches --

This is another portrait of Moe the Chicken. I used a combination of brushes and a palette knife. On the earlier version, I felt like her eye was too detailed. So I experimented with it a quite bit. Simplifying the chicken's eye was a challenge, but I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Puffy the Chicken

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches --

This is Puffy, one of our pet chickens. This is a study for a larger painting, and I wanted to abstract the shapes, including the face.

Pond in the Sierras

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- Click here to buy

I saw this fishing pond on the way to South Lake near Bishop, CA. I was drawn to the contrast of bright yellow-green patches and blue patches of mountains in the background and the sky. All the colors were dancing in the pond as reflections.

This painting is also included in the Randy Higbee Gallery 6 Inches Squared Exhibit & Sale. Click here to view all my paintings in this show.

Horse with Silver Mane

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- Click here to buy

This is a horse I saw at the Mule Day parade in Bishop, CA, last summer. For this piece, I played with different colors and layered them. I took so many photos of animals on that trip. I'm going to do a series of paintings from this.

This piece is one of five paintings accepted into the Randy Higbee Gallery 6 Inches Squared Show.

Homestead in October

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 8 inches  --  

This is what I painted near Robinson Canyon Road in Ellensburg, WA. The morning sun light makes everything so colorful and juicy. But I had to deal with some clouds coming and going in front of the sun for at the beginning. It was also breezy and chilly. I was wearing windbreaker, warm gloves, and fleece hat. There was no shade around me. So I set up my pochad box (potable easel) with the canvas and palette facing the sun. I was also wearing neutral gray sunglasses which also kept my face warm. It was fairy challenging condition, but it was fun.

This painting was juried into the  Holiday Treasures Salon Show at the Debra Huse Gallery for the month of December.