New Studio in Jenner

I've been in the new studio for just over a month now and it's fantastic.  I still have to get a few things (mainly a door to separate the workshop from the main studio area so I don't coat everything in sawdust again) but it's very comfortable and funtional.  I'm excited about the work I've been doing here and will be posting it soon but for now here are some images of the space and the view.

Leaving Windy Lane

I left my studio on Windy Lane about a month and a half ago.  I loved the space and was sad to leave as I worked hard putting it together and spent countless hours painting there.  But as sad as I was to move, Clare and I found a place just up the coast in Jenner with detached studios for both of us.  I have insulation in my studio now, old wood floors and a view of the Russian River and Pacific, I feel very lucky to be here.  Since I can remember one of my biggest goals in life was to end up living and painting near the ocean and now I can hear the waves crashing while sitting at my easel.

Here are a few images from just before the move and some from after the space was cleared out.

 

A shot of inspiration and a painting in the works

the title says it all...

Back to the easel, this time with wax

I've been out of the studio for the past week or so and before that i was working on other projects and hadn't been painting much.  yesterday i got back to it and used a cold wax medium for the first time. so far so good.  it builds the texture and exposes the brush strokes nicely, i like it.  more to come soon.

two finished

two unfinished

3 small paintings

2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches each.
no titles yet, just paintings.

Against the Gray Wall, continued...

Against the Gray Wall

I've been working on some new paintings for a show at The Cold Store in Norwich, England coming up in a few months.  Here are a few.  The individual paintings don't have names yet but the title for the group is Against the gray wall. 

It was a little tough getting started since the pieces had to be small (for shipping purposes) and I've been mostly working on much larger paintings lately.  After a while though the scale allowed me to loosen up and experiment a bit.  Yesterday the paintings took on a slightly new approach and aesthetic, using more paint, broader strokes and less detail. It's not perfect yet but I'm excited about the direction, it leaves more room for interpretation and discovery. 

One person in the works

almost there... one more sitting and i think i'll have it.

Untitled and unfinished, 36 x 48 inches, oil on raised wood panel

Two places finished

Sunrise across the road, Sunset from the roof.

Bodega bay sunrise, 36 x 60 inches, Oil on raised wood panel

Bodega bay sunset, 36 x 60 inches, Oil on raised wood panel

Landscape in progress

been working on a few new landscapes lately. one is finished. this one is not.

Moving paint forward

I haven't posted anything in a while because i've been struggling with the ten or so unfinished paintings i'm working on right now. i keep starting paintings but can't figure out how to finish them. i feel like whatever the next step is that i take with my work will be a big one and i want all my current paintings to take that step together. it's felt as though i've been standing at a crossroads for some time now. there are a million ideas and directions floating around in my head (fighting would probably be a more accurate word though) and i've been having a hard time for some reason making sense of it all.

Today was a big step in the right direction. this painting feels like it's moving towards where i would like my work to go. both with color, composition and subject. it's not finished but i think i'm going to stick with all the major decisions. i'm not sure if it looks much different from other paintings of mine but to me it feels like it's worlds away for some reason.

36 x 48 inches, oil on wood panel

Two unfinished

Back to class

Clare and i went to a figure drawing class in sebastopol last night. first time i've drawn from a model in about 6 years (even longer for her), had a good time and the drawings came out alright. we'd arrived early so before the class started we walked around the corner and had a shot and a beer at a bar on main st which i'm sure helped with the drawings (and with tolerating the slightly out of place intense new age music that was playing! next time headphones will be worn). here are a few of my sketches.