...kelp mandala mural concept.

For a wall in the outer Sunset District.

...a brief romp.

My current commission is a 48" x 72" bodegon after familiar paintings of 17th century Spain.
A still life painting cannot be still. It must move and evoke. A stone ledge brimming with bunches of fruit and flowers bathed in chiaroscuro. A reclining melon flanked by a supporting cast of grapes, cherries and peaches. These have the potential to be a battle scene of the plucked and sliced. Or a luscious and brooding bacchanalia. Or perhaps a brief romp of the ripe.
It starts as a scribble on a yellow pad followed by a distillation of pencil sketches. But even with a map to follow, the paint will find its own magic path.

...a surge of transitory bliss.

...tropical triptych.

Luscious flowers, volcanoes and prehistoric hummingbirds....every painting should have them.

...an elaborate set of private rituals.

...sketching.

Several recent random sketches that accompany my journaling...

...more strolling.

Wordless haikus.

...strolling in the hood.

Studio Details

Three Paintings

Past, present and future artwork coexist briefly in my studio.

Kelp Mandala happening.

Mounds of kelp. Sometimes found on Ocean Beach, they are the inspiration behind this artwork in progress. As I paint this third variation I get lost in the labyrinth which, of course, is where I want to be.

...the magic cave.

Pears & Plums...

Two new paintings close to leaving the studio: Taijitu Pears and Two Plums in Tissue.

...fragments from a remembered dream.

...fragments from an unremembered dream.

...doing lines.

...the transmigration of souls.

Usually I get the year wrong not the month.

First Sketch of 2012

I'm beginning to think that sketching is a way for me to express my own contradictions. Ambiguity, contrast and paradox are the names of the wise men who speak to me lately.

Last Sketch of 2011

What a beautiful day today in San Francisco. Both sunrise and sunset were melting layers of an orange sherbet push-up popsicle and a Cherry Garcia ice cream wedge. In between each display people spilled outdoors to embrace the day; a crisp and vibrant year-end gift. The above scribble-fest is this year's last. I titled it there's no here without there.

Holiday Season Hours

With a few days remaining why not consider making artwork a gift? A painting or drawing has the true potential to become a family heirloom. It's a gift born from imagination. Not only that of the artist but also the insight and vision of the gift-giver. Art feeds the soul and stimulates the intangibles within. It's made by hand and grown locally in my case. So give it some thought if you're facing creative block while looking for that unique present.
My studio hours:
Friday 12p-7p
Saturday11a-3p
Actually I'm there all day this week except for Thursday so....