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 Vitruvian man - The Original Here’s a little fun. Let me know if you would be interested in being part of an experiment. I have been thinking of gathering a collection of painted nude self-portraits where DaVinci’s Vitruvian Man drawing is used as the template. I already have some who are interested. This would be your own take on this theme.
Any style would work. Oil, Watercolor, pastel, realist, contemporary. Put your comments in the section below and tell us when you can be ready to be part of a group show. I’m thinking sometime in the Fall of 2010. What do you think?
The other day my son and I changed the shocks on the bus. I drove to the coast for a test drive and a cigar. OMG… what a difference! She corners soooo much better. As I was passing the strawberry and cabbage fields in Camarillo I was thinking… It makes me happy to live 10 minutes away from the ocean 
I have a few trips planned this summer. The first is mid-June to camp out at San Onofre and paint in the “Paint San Clemente” festival for a week. Then the first week of July, to Huntington Lake in the High sierra’s. Camping on the lakeside with a friend and our three boys. He has a sail boat so we’ll do some sailing and fishing. Of course I’ll be painting too.
 So, those who follow me on Facebook may have noticed I have joined the ranks of many who are owners of a VW Bus. Type II, Kombi, Transporter what ever you call it, once you own one, you are automatically in some underground club. I bought it last week so I could have something to haul my art around in and go out on short (and long) painting trips. Having a van affords a self-contained roving art studio and camper.
So, once I got the brakes working correctly, after having the rear cylinders replaced along with new shoes, I wanted to see what she was made of. So… ROADTRIP. I love synchronicity, as I got on the on-ramp and creeped up to 50 miles an hour to merge onto the freeway, KLOS played Foghat’s “Slow Ride.” I was good with that. Great theme song for my new ride. I am thinking of personalized plates… “SLOH RYD” (all other spellings are already on other slow rides…)
 So, I picked up my buddy Gary near Riverside and we headed to the Colorado River. We went Parker, AZ to watch our friend Mark race in the Jet Ski Nationals. The Bus ran great! Right on!!! I was so glad to get there without any hassles. Before getting to camp we stopped to fill-er-up and then went on to find Mark. He was camped right on the river in the “pits.” We were right in the midst of the action. It was an awesome day. We only stayed for the first day of races and then on Sunday morning, we said our goodbyes and got a breakfast burrito and headed on down the lonesome highway.
That gas fill-up on Friday night… cheap gas from “Terrible’s Gas” on the Indian reservation… something made me think better of this, but I was on empty, so I got it. About 30 miles out, I noticed a slight “cough” in the engine. Nothing major, just a gas bubble. Then another… a few in a row… only when I was accelerating, or pushing her up a slight incline. By the time we made it to  Joshua Tree (of course, listening to U2), I had decided that I should probably replace the fuel filter. A stop at a parts store yielded no filter, but I got some gas conditioner and a quart of oil. We pressed on. Slowly, we made it down to 29 Palms and on to Gary’s home. After eating a sandwich, and getting a short charge on my cell phone, I hopped back in and headed to the 10 freeway and onwards to Santa Monica. Not wanting to go up and over the hills that I would if I went any other route, I chose to take PCH for my final leg home. Well, we made it to PCH and at Topanga Canyon, there was a traffic light. I thought to my self… “Self, this does not look so good” because there was a slight incline that led up to the intersection. It was not so much a stall, or even dumping the clutch, it was that when ever I was trying to give her some gas to start rolling up the road, she would cough, whine at me and stop. Rrrrr, Rrrrr, Start again, same thing. Repeat. Again…. Then the battery gave out and no more starting. I just sat there and smiled. I really did. I was all “chill.” I actually expected to need to call AAA sooner than this, but I was glad to make it to PCH.
That underground club I mentioned… another bus came the other way on the highway with two thumbs up, I gave him two thumbs down… he simply stopped and pushed me off the road. He says “When you see another fellow bus owner broke down, the least you can do is help him get safely off the road.” So, I used the last of my charge and called AAA. I waited there while watching some skaters do tricks in an abandoned gas station.
I finally made it home around 8pm. I unloaded a few things and just went to bed. The road trip was an adventure. I am glad we went. I had to get a feel for my new ride. Now the real adventure begins… get her road-worthy so I can REALLY go on some roadtrips!
 The Beach Hat, 12" x 12" Oil on Birch Board. $1200 A hot summer day under the pier in Huntington Beach, CA. I was trying to capture a photo of the beautiful shadows, when this young woman stepped right in front of me. A bit hurried, she grabbed her hat, and then dashed of to her destination. I shot the photo and said to myself, “I can’t wait to paint this scene.” So, here it is.
It was hung tonight at the Galleria, in the Hillcrest Center for the Arts, in Thousand Oaks, CA for the exhibit “New Works, ACCV Board and Friends.” Some of the paint is still wet, so I guess it qualifies for “New Work.” It is joined by 5 other paintings of mine, plus works from a dozen others. Join us for a free Artists’ Reception Saturday, June 12th, from 4-6 pm.
 So, I had a very nice week to paint in and around San Luis Obispo with a few artists from the California Art Club. The weather was nice, but scattered showers caused the fair weather artists to stay indoors. I did a total of 5 plein air studies and a still life. I stayed with Mom for the week. When I called her a few weeks ago to see if she was going to be around during this week, she asked me if I could come up there because she had a one week vacation scheduled. Perfect timing. I love it when that happens… synchronicity. So, I got some painting in, did some chores around the house for her, and visited with family. All in all, it was a very wonderfully relaxing week for me. I pushed off a lot of business until this coming week, so I will be working full-bore to catch up, but it was def worth it.
 So, what I got here now, is the still life I did for my sister. She has been asking to paint her a “flower painting” for many years. Well, I don’t do flowers, but her birthday is next week, and outdoor painting was rainy, so… I did this for her. I added a cup and saucer that was painted by great-grandma Dee around 1900. Click HERE for a large close-up of the tea cup.
 I think I might be on to something new for me. Still life paintings from heirlooms. I brought home some trinkets from around Mom’s house that I will be painting in the weeks and months ahead. I have not done many still lifes. This intrigues me. So, since I did a lot of duck hunting with my Dad growing up, I have some things that will do nicely as a memento to this; A set of duck calls, shot gun shells, his favorite hunting hat which still has some tail feathers from a drake mallard, and a wooden duck decoy. I also from my mom, I have an old candy dish from her grandmother, a small metal metal bank in the shape of an elephant and some old marbles. Then there is an old deep-sea fishing reel, some old fishing lures and a fillet knife. Some great raw-material for summer studies in the studio.
 Today was a perfectly beautiful day in Camarillo, CA, my hometown. I joined about 15 other artists who shared their works of art in many downtown merchants who were hosting wine tastings. Lots of people came to join us drink wine and enjoy art. I also enjoyed getting started on a new painting “Beach Hat” on a freshly gessoed 12″ x 12″ birch panel. I still have a ways to go, as I was quite distracted today with the crowds asking questions along the way. {Note to self: get new iPod}
Although it was a challenge, I enjoyed the outdoors, painting with the northern light of the sky on my painting. It makes me think about keeping this in mind when I build my studio in the future… to make sure that there is a north facing wall that can have large windows to slurp in the natural light during our long Southern California sunny days.
Tomorrow morning I am off to a special paint-out for a week with the California Art Club. In a special arrangement with the Land Conservancy of SLO County, we have been given access to some private land that includes the Dana Adobe in Nipomo, Black Lake Ecological Area & Filipponi Wetland Preserve. It will be nice to finally paint along the Central Coast. I will post photos on my return next weekend.
On Saturday, April 17, Studio Channel Islands Art Center, in kahoots with the Camarillo Old Town Association, the Chamber and the Camarillo Fiesta Association to bring some fun to Ventura Blvd, in Old Town Camarillo. Many Old Town merchants will be hosting wine tasting and art exhibits from local artists. I will be one of the artists participating. My location will be at Lumar Jewelry with wine samples provided by Custom Crush. I will be doing a panting demo on the streets for anyone to see. Come on by anytime from 1-4 on Saturday for a wine and art walk. If you have a blank spot on a wall, lots of art will be for sale as well. 
Hope to see you there…
So, I took an old plein air painting I did at Leo Carillo a couple years ago, and redid it. I was not happy the first time anyway, so it was a good opportunity to try some new paint out. You can see the change from the first go, to the new version below.
 So, I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to do an experiment today. An experiment in pure color. No black and only a small bit of white. Lots of cleaning and wiping the brush. No purple tainted with cad yellow. Bright pure color. I went to a government owned overlook near Point Mugu, with this nice meandering waterway in the midst of the slough. I started painting the scene with about 70 minutes of sunlight left. So, away I went. Here is what I came up with in that short time.
I have been painting again. This weekend I was with a fantastic colorist and impressionistic painter David Gallup. It was a wonderful time of conversation, philosophy and most of all COLOR. It was a real eye opener for me about using paint that I have never had on my palate. He is really one of the modern masters of color. More on that to come…
Below is a small closeup that shows the interesting color that can happen with wet sand. The first image is the closeup of a plein air study that I did using close to actual color of wet sand. (full original) Below that, is a close-up of a second painting, using all of the same colors, but separated out. With a few steps back, the colors blend, but the overall “color” is mixed and becomes the same as the original study. Dave tells me “Why paint gray wet sand color when you can have FUN painting sand with color?” {Things that make you say “hmmmm”…. }
I left knowing that I had taken a first big step into an unknown journey up the mountain. We have to take bold steps and make intentional brush strokes with color… with confidence… with intention, but none of it can happen without first taking a step. I am reminded of an old Goethe quote that I have used before on my BLOG about starting a thing and moving forward… He says “What you can do, or dream you can do, begin it; Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” Paint your future with boldness. Make the first steps and start the journey.
I will work out the painting for a few weeks (or longer) and will eventually post the final painting, but know this… some new things are on the horizon. I have started to climb the mountain.
… Tell me, which looks more fun!?!
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A quote I would love to live like a river flows
Carried by the surprise of its own unfolding
~ John O’Donohue
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