cityscape

Yellow Cranes at the Shipyard, 03/14/11, Oil on panel 11 x 14 inches

Navy Ship with Crane, 03/15/11, Oil on panel 11 x 14 inches

Two new alla prima studies at the shipyard. I’ve been going down there in the morning the past couple of days. The more time I spend there I keep seeing new possibilities for subjects and new ways for putting together a painting. Eventually these may evolve into larger, more ambitious and mult-session paintings of this subject.

Shipyard Study #2, 03/08/11, Oil on panel 11 x 14 inches

Train-yard Study #1, 03/09/11, Oil on panel 11 x 14 inches

Train-yard Study #2, 03/11/11, Oil on panel 11 x 14 inches

I’ve been painting down off Cesar Chavez Parkway in Barrio Logan with the views of the shipyard and train switching yard or train-yard, not sure of the actual name. I’m excited by this place an amazing wealth of subjects worth investigating. I’ve been looking at views further in the distance “zooming in” and giving myself permission to move stuff around more than I usually do. Sometimes when the view is so busy it frees me up to be less literal and more abstract – push the painting more. I want to continue making a number of paintings here at different times of the day and explore how far I might increase simplification and abstraction.

El Cortez, 03/11, Oil on canvas 18 x 18 inches

This is a painting I’ve been working on in the downtown area of San Diego of the El Cortez building. I’m excited by a number of other nearby downtown scenes and also working with this square format. The parking meters here only last for 2 hours so I’m trying to limit myself to only working in 2 hour timeframe (over multiple sitting – maybe limiting it to no more than 4 sittings) This way I’ll get less parking tickets and perhaps enhanced vigor in the paintings.

Mission Hills Homes, 03/11, Oil on linen 16 x 20 inches

Another recent painting, this time where I’ve been working on painting a number of residential homes in the Mission Hills section of San Diego neighborhood in an effort to get more commissioned paintings of people’s homes. I’ve sold a couple recently giving me hope this could be a good way to support myself until gallery sales alone will suffice. As a way to get people aware of my work I try to pick interesting scenes where people can see me painting and hopefully encourage interest. I only want to paint scenes that genuinely interest me visually and not just for the home owner – hopefully this can work. Here is a link to my dedicated website for this venture – I call my new commissioned paintings business Abode Art.

View from 3rd Ave, Downtown, 02/11, Oil on canvas 18 x 18 inches

I’ll be posting a number of more recent paintings now. Hard to believe that I’ve let this much time slip by since my last posting. Have barely touched my website in the past several months as I’ve been busy with painting and working on my other blog Painting Perceptions. Hopefully I can again be more consistent with posting recent work.

This is my most recent painting, done over 4 sittings. I loved the geometry of how these buildings divided the space on this square with the focus on the white building (must find out the name of this building – when I do I’ll change the title).

Baja Produce, 01/11, Oil on canvas 18 x 24 inches

Study for Baja Produce, 01/11, Oil on panel 11 x 14 inches

These two paintings were done from life in the Barrio Logan neighborhood of San Diego, view from Cesar Chavez Parkway of a couple of small homes next to the Baja Produce building.

View of Shipping Terminal from the Pier at Cesar Chavez Park in Barrio Logan, 01/11, Oil on panel 11 x 14 inches

I went painting with Kathryn Law recently down at the Pier at Cesar Chavez Park in Barrio Logan near the Coronado Bridge. An amazing place with awesome views of the harbor. The light was changing and it was a little chillier than we are used to here, although having to wear a sweater in January isn’t too much to ask I suppose!