Laura in the Morning Light

Oil on linen on panel, 8x10 inches --Sold

This is a portrait of a horse, Laura. I saw her at my friend's place. It was in a sunny morning, and she was galloping in the pasture. I was so drawn to the back lighting on her head. I made the background more abstract by repeating the same color palette from Laura's body over the dark space, instead of rendering the details of the things in her background. 

Cat on the Counter

Oil on linen on panel, 10 x 8 inches -- SOLD

I painted this cat based on a photo I took at our friend's house. The cat was climbing everywhere, the table, counter, and chairs. I also liked the juxtaposition of those items on the counter: wine bottles, supplements, newspaper of the day, miscellaneous paperwork to be processed, and the coffee mug. I think many of us can relate to this type of scene, and the cat.

Rabbitbrush at June Lake

Oil on linen on panel, 8 x 10 inches --

We visited our friends in the Eastern Sierras last week. I painted at around the June Lake Loop for a few days. The weather was very nice. Although it was smoky due to fires especially near the mountains in most of that area, it was not too bad around June Lake when I was there. I painted this at the look out spot of June Lake. I was drawn to the light hitting on the rabbitbrush and the orange tree. I couldn't quite finish this in one morning session, and I went back there on the second morning to finish it up.

Summer Afternoon in Roslyn

Oil on linen on panel, 8 x 10 inches -- Available at the Carpenter House Museum (Cle Elum, WA) through September 27, 2015

This is a plein air painting I did a while ago in Roslyn, WA. The horses were actually further back in the fence. But I brought them out to the open field where they can graze all they want.

White Boat at the Harbor

Oil on linen on panel, 8 x 10 inches --

This is another piece I started in a plein air workshop with Terry Miura in Bainbridge Island, WA, and finished in the studio. I refined the details of the main white boat. I also reworked on the reflections of the boats and background on the water to break up the big blue shape of water surface. I like how the warm color of undertone is showing through here and there. 

Walking in the Park

Oil on linen on panel, 10 x 8

This is a plein air painting I did in Bainbridge Island, WA, a couple of weeks ago during a workshop with Terry Miura. It was Sunday, and there were a quite few people walking their dogs. So I had no shortage of live models. It took me several attempts to settle down with the color of dog.

Windrows No. 3

Oil on linen on panel, 8 x 10 inches -- $350 (framed)

This is another piece I painted as plein air near Peoh Point in Cle Elum, WA. But I reworked the background. I used a palette knife for the texture, and a brush to soften the edges along the horizon which looked too sharp.

Red Barn and Country Road

Oil on linen on panel, 8 x 10 inches  --

This is a makeover of a plein air study. I painted the original version in the field a few years ago in the eastern Washington. I incubated it in my studio for a while, but I finally decided to play with a palette knife.

This piece will be a part of my two-person show at the Clymer Museum & Gallery in Ellensburg, WA.

Leo the Rooster No. 4

Oil on panel, 8 x 10 inches --

Here's my rooster, Leo. I was drawn to the vivid color of his plumage in the afternoon light. After painting the whole composition, I used a palette knife to add texture in the grass.

Blondie the Horse No. 2

Oil on linen on panel, 10 x 8 inches

This is my first painting of this year. This is the second version of this horse, "Blondie." For this time, I used a palette knife to add texture, after painting the foundation.

Calf in the Morning Light

Oil on linen on panel, 10 x 8 inches, SOLD

This is the piece I painted as a demo during the Celebration of Western and Wildlife Art Show and Auction in Puyallup, WA, during the first weekend of this month. I painted from a photo I took in Bishop, CA last fall. I painted the same calf in a different photo during the quick draw at Ellensburg National Art Show in May. She is my favorite model. I love the nice contrast of light and dark, as well as the contrast of yellow and purple in this scene. I did painted the first layer with brushes, then I painted over some areas with a small palette knife to add more paint and interesting texture.

Sunset Wheat Field

Oil on linen on panel, 8 x 10 inches -- SOLD

I painted this one a while ago, but finally finished it for my next show. I was driving with my friends after a day trip of plein air painting in the country side back toward their home in Spokane, WA, and we saw this sunset scene in the middle of wheat field. So we pulled over to the shoulder of an empty road to set up our easels. I had less than a half hour, or maybe 20 minutes to do a basic sketch and cover the entire canvas with oil colors. I wanted to record at least the colors based on my observation. Then, in my studio, I painted it over with my imagination.

Sunset Peoh Point

Oil on panel, 8 x 10 inches -- $295 (framed) -- Click here to buy

This was a brief scene I saw in Cle Elum, WA, and painted it very quickly. I painted this right at sunset from the other side of valley. I drove up on top of a hill, and set up my easel with plenty of time before sunset, and start sketching the composition. By the time the sun light was getting low, and colors started to warm up, with pink-ish glow on the rocky face of the peak, I was ready to put the right colors on canvas. I didn't have much time to put a lot paint, but managed to cover the canvas. Later, I finished this painting at home. So it is technically "semi-plein-air," but that's O.K. I'm still happy with how it came out.

Leo the Rooster No. 3

Oil on linen on panel, 10 x 8 inches -- SOLD 

This is the piece I painted as a demo during the 42nd National Art Show & Auction in Ellensburg, WA. I used a photo of my rooster Leo as a reference. After painting the entire canvas with brushes, I used a palette knife to enhance texture on the feathers and grass.

Calf in the Brush

Oil on linen on panel, 8 x 10 inches -- SOLD

This is a painting I did during the Quick Draw at the National Art Show & Auction in Ellensburg, WA, last Friday. I saw this calf by the road in Bishop, CA, last fall. I was intrigued by the morning light on the face of calf, in the golden rabbitbrush. I painted it in an hour. I took this photo just before framing it. It was auctioned and sold right after the Quick Draw.

Here is the finished painting with a frame.

Coco & Leo

Oil on linen on panel, 8 x 10 -- Click Here to Buy

Coco and Leo are our Welsummer chickens. We got them as baby chicks from a hatchery. They hang out together a lot. They make a great pair. This painting is based on a photo I took in a shade. There is no strong highlight. The red comb and face of the rooster is the main point of interest, echoed by the head of the hen. The iridescent green on the rooster is more noticeable in this type of lighting. I love the complimentary red on his back. Since it looks pretty busy in the upper part of this composition, I tried to minimize the details and value contrast in the lower half, including their feet.

Mule Train of Two

Oil on linen on panel, 8 x 10 inches -- Click Here to Buy

This is based on my plein air studies I did in Bishop, CA, this fall. I took Michele Usibelli's workshop last week, and started working on this piece. Then, this is what I ended up today. I tried to keep the whole scene in high key, while maintaining intense darks around the mules and figure. I love the dusty effect on the right of the mules. I kept adjusting the shades of the brushes, and finally settle with this. I love the red bright bandana as a point of interest. The legs of the mules were complicated in the reference photo, but I made the edges as soft as possible, just like the background. My goal was to keep the scene as abstract as possible, and I'm happy with the result.

North Lake Pack Station

Oil on linen on panel, 8 x 10 inches --

I took a workshop with Michele Usibelli last week. This is one of the exercises I did there. I used dark brown to paint this landscape from my photo, directly on a blank canvas. Then I added a few colors as accents. I'm happy with the composition.

Summer Afternoon in Roslyn

Oil on linen on panel, 10 x 8 inches -- Click Here to Buy


I painted this piece en plein aire this summer. Then I edited it in my studio. I mainly worked on the edges of the barns. The edges of the roofs were too sharp before, and I softened them. I also moved the tiny shed in front of the large barn away from the edge of canvas, and painted it with mpre desaturated and dark color. So you can see that it's there, but not too distracting. Now the weathered, yellow face of the building looks more like the center of interest which I intended. I used a palette knife to add texture toward the end.

Old Barn in Cattle Field

Oil on linen on panel, 8 x 10 inches -- SOLD

I painted this old barn in the cattle field by Highway 97 in central Washington. There were a bunch of cows in the field, looking at me. I was temped to paint close-ups of some cows in the painting. But instead I ended up putting them as dots in the distance to suggest their presence. I might do some closeups of those cows in separate paintings later.