Merry Christmas!

I have been having all kinds of difficulties with my computer and posting from it has been a nightmare.

Madrone Vineyard Trees on Fire

Lake Como Villa

Maybe after the holidays I will get some kind of help and correct some of the problems. I have been posting on facebook from my Ipad or from my phone, but I know that not all of you are facebook people. So, I am going to post a few images all at once. Enjoy!
I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Bodega Bay Mist

Lake Como Oil Painting

I'm dashing out the door and I know that I haven't posted in ages, but I have been painting like crazy too. This is the first painting from Italy and is of Lake Como. It is 36x48, and is on a gallery wrapped canvas. I try to get a photo as close as possible to the actual painting, but the subtle colors of dark purple, soft yellow and pale orange, always seem to be exaggerated in photos. The camera often sees things that excite it and then goes crazy over those spots. The lake is so peaceful and everything seems to be seen through a hazy blue. I posted the photo that I used as a reference a few weeks ago, so if you look back a bit, you can compare.

Post European Adventure

Catching up and catching my breath. After 3 weeks in Germany and Italy, I know a couple of things for sure...1. The Italians are basically nuts. The driving that I saw while we were at Lake Garda and Lake Como was unbelievable! They have a death wish and want to be squashed on the side of some narrow, tricky road.  Passing on curves in blind spots and going WAY over the speed limit is not such a good idea. Other than that, I love the Italians. 2. Europe continues to just become more and more like America in many ways and this is not a good thing. The bill boards that the Italians have allowed to  litter the countryside is just so sad.  The food is becoming more and more like our junk food and in Milan, McDonalds was packed as well as Starbucks with kids gorfing down any number of American treats. Other than those complaints, I had a blast, took >1000 pictures, ate way too much, and just took it all in. I am itching to paint like crazy and went to Jerry's Artarama and bought tons of canvas at their recent sale to satiate my need to squirt some paint out and get going. The pastel above is an old one from when we lived in Heidelberg, but I thought that I would post it for old times sake as an intro to my next paintings which will be all things Euro. Ciao!