Outlandish

My partner in crime, Jon McNeal, has had some photographs selected for a show at the Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek. Juried by the assistant curator for painting and sculpture at the SF MoMA, the show had over six hundred entries. About sixty artists were selected. Stop by if you are in the neighborhood. More info below.

Outlandish: Contemporary Depictions of Nature

July 7 - September 4

Bedford Gallery

1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, CA

Gallery Hours:

Tuesday-Sunday, noon - 5PM

Opening Reception :

Thursday, July 7, 6-8PM

Beginnings

Just started these four paintings. They range in size from 28"x46" to 36"x48". I hope to have them finished in a few weeks.

*

More progress on the seascape and house. Also, an orchard.

New work in progress

Just started these paintings a few days ago, and I'm having so much fun with the new subject matter. The top one came from a flip video shot through binoculars at Yosemite (it's Bridalveil Fall). Lots of foamy detail will be added to the ocean. And the house pretty much got going this morning. It will have some scrubby trees and more freeway detail.

New work on the website

Thanks to everyone who made it to open studios!

I have nine new paintings up on the website and lots of new work underway in the studio. Progress shots coming soon.

Spring Open Studios

Please join me this weekend for Spring Open Studios in the Mission. I have a studio full of new paintings of landscapes and industrial scenes, and I'll be showing prints from the new press. Also on view will be beautiful photographs by Jon McNeal. Details below.

Hope to see you there!

1890 Bryant (btwn 17th and Mariposa), Studio 212

Friday, April 15, 6-9PM

Saturday, April 16, 11AM-6PM

Sunday, April 17, 11AM-6PM

more info on participating studios

Slow progress

In case you think I've given up painting for full time printmaking... I have been working on these four pieces quite a bit. Unfortunately, they are quite big, and any progress is best seen close up. Top to bottom, approximate dimensions are 28"x50", 35"x60", 40"x52", and 35"x60". I hope to have them finished for open studios in April.

Variations

Land and sea monotypes

Portraits

The bottom image is my grandmother. All monotypes.

Yellow

These two prints grew from the same yellow plate. They both involve experiments using paper stencils to mask off portions of the plate so that the brayer can be used to roll ink on in specific shapes.

Landscape experiments

Ghost prints and dry paper

Here are some experiments with printing on dry paper and then, without inking the plate again, printing on wet paper. Reprinting the plate without re-inking results in a "ghost" print, a faint copy of the original. Since it is so faint, I have been printing the ghost image, putting more ink on the plate to add detail, and printing that on top of the ghost. This results in the softer background tones with darker accents. The first image is a ghost print with a few added details. The next print was made on dry paper. The one following is its ghost. The two horse prints started as ghosts. The bottom print was done on dry paper.

Some figures

Lots of experimentation with the press. Every print is a learning experience at this point, and it is so much fun. The leopard is silver and went through the press many times. In fact, it seemed like a failed experiment until the very last layer. The bottom image is my mom. I made it by inking the whole plate and using turpenoid to subtract the areas of the figure. This print led to the top two. This is an image of my friend Ursula's grandmother, who travelled with and performed in the circus. All are monotypes, as are the sea and landscapes below.