This landscape painter got an email a while back from a painter who was curious about what paints I use, or as artists say, "what's your palette?" Have to state that I hardly ever met a tubed color of paint I didn't like and find some use for. Also have admit that I never use colors right from the tube. The urge to mix is great within me... and that's not a bad thing;)

So if you are curious too, below is a list of the paints I'm using at the moment for this romp with sunsets and seascapes. 

Mostly I stick with Rembrandt, M. Graham, and Gamblin brands because I like their consistency and texture. So here goes: ultramarine deep, cobalt, cobalt light, cerulean. Also in the blues I'm trying out Prussian and indigo for the last 3 weeks... like the indigo and might keep it. Manganese, pthalo blue and green, veridian, and sometimes good old sap green are on the palette.
 
Here are my yellow-reds: cad yel light, cad yel med, Indian yel, cad orange, cad red med. Trying out and loving: perm rose, quin rose, quin violet, diox violet. Always present are aliz crimson and yellow ocher. Right now am trying Payne's gray instead of ivory black, and like it.
 
When I paint on location it's the basic 9: ultramarine deep, cobalt light, cad yel light or lemon, cad red med, aliz crimson, yellow ocher, burnt sienna, ivory black, white.

Now I ask you, how could I resist this scene? The sky was wonderful and the three tall palms on the left seems to be a crowd stretching to get a better look at the show;) One can only assume there were plenty of tourists up front blocking their view:)

It's sunny and 60 degrees this Saturday and a good day to paint the coast so that's where I'm going. If the high clouds hold it should be a fantastic sunset too. Ya gotta love So Cal!!

"Happy Hour #3", 18 by 24 inches, oil on canvas.

This landscape painter usually loves to blog about what's going on in my artist's life... but not so much lately. Been too busy painting.

When painting in the studio, I don't waste time when I paint. By the time I sit down at a fresh canvas the scene I'm after is fully formed in my mind's eye so I can get right to it. At the first sitting the basic layout is roughed in. It's at this point anyone who sees it might say, "what's that?" But all of the blobs of paint and brushstrokes mean something very specific to me... my painting shorthand, if you will. (Does anyone remember shorthand?!)

The next time I sit down to work I start at the sky and work my way down the canvas fleshing out all aspects of the image as I go. This is the step that takes the longest to accomplish. When I reach a stopping point and step back to take it all in, I'll then decide how much of a mess or a success I've got going there;) Sometimes it's almost done and sometimes there are corrections to be made!

I don't see corrections and adjustments as "mistakes". Once had a professor who pointed out that so-called mistakes were just another opportunity to figure out yet another way to get where you want to go. I like that!

The final phase of work on the canvas is a meditation in restraint. I can see other opportunities and other solutions in the work before me but I know that I need to save those for another painting... otherwise I'd end up repainting an almost finished work. Just bring it on home as best I can right now. That's the last step. Tomorrow is another day, and another chance to paint.

Here's some recent work and as you can see I'm still playing in the ocean at sunset.

"Sunset and Surf", 16 by 20 inches, oil on canvas.

"Rolling In", 16 by 20 inches, oil on canvas.

"Sunset and Cliffs", 12 by 24 inches, oil on canvas.

Here's a little note for those nasty people in Turkey and Indonesia: will you quit spamming me and trying to attach spam links to this blog?! For Pete's sake!! We don't need any more Viagra over here, honest!

Having a gallery space at a retail outlet is a new experience for me. The thought was that everyone can use some art in their life so whatever I hung there should be reasonably and affordably priced.

I hung the work last Friday and have been fine tuning since. And guess what: the first painting sold yesterday! That was fast!!

I thought that it would take a couple of weeks to get noticed and have the first sale, so I was real surprised. Problem is that I just yesterday took my one back-up painting down and managed to squeeze it in, so now I have no back-up. GRRR!

I gotta paint all weekend at least. Not that I'm complaining. You know me... I love to paint!!

Here's the painting that sold. And if you bought it, enjoy!!

Got my gallery space all set up in Pangaea Outpost on Friday and was there yesterday fine tuning when a couple from Oceanside stopped by to comment generously about all the paintings on display. We got talking about good spots for watching the sunset, happy hour, and how spectacular the evening sky has been lately. I had to say "If I painted that the exact way it is, they'd say it was crazy!" They had to agree. Just to put proof to the point here's a photo from a recent evening!

Now how am I gonna paint THAT?!!

Here's a snapshot of my space at Pangaea Outpost. I hope to have a coordinating gallery page here on this blog so you can see an inventory of what's available there. See post below for more info on Pangaea and a link to their web site:)

I continue to paint the seascapes and sunsets series. Can't get away from it! And why bother when the ocean and sky looks so vibrant this time of year? So here are two new paintings, below, from this landscape painter for your amusement.

Someone tried to scam me recently, but since I read some very informative blogs about this sort of stuff I knew at the first email that something smelled fishy. Here's the text of the last email the guy sent... see if you agree that it stinks. Hahahaha!!!

Thanks alot for the response and i really appreciate for the more information you notify me regarding the work. am OK with the price.Am based here in Den Haag, Netherlands, so in order to make this transaction more convenient , I will take care of the shipping and handling..
. So now this the arrangement, i have a shipping company who am going to refere to you as the shipper who will come for the pickup of the work at your location or in your studio, so now once i send out my payment to you through a check drawn from a U.S bank, i shall email you to notify you.
Also am going to add a little excess funds in which after you receive the check the same day, you will deduct your money from the check and transfer the remaining funds on the check to the shipping company so that they can arrange for the shipment through Western Union Money Transfer. So now in other for me to send out the check to you i will want you to email me back with all this below information in other for me to proceed on sending the payment to you as soon as possible.
Name on Check;
Address on The Check,
Phone Number;.

Once i recieve all this information from you i shall proceeds right away and i will issue out the check to you and i shall notify you as well.
Hope to read from you as soon as possible.