Painting how it feels

Grazing on California, pastel, 11" x 14"

Subtle effects of light on my disposition are a big part of what drives me as a painter, particularly a landscape painter. I am in my element trying to express those feelings visually. It is in the subtle mix of muted colors and shadowy shapes that my imagination comes most alive, tickling my sense of mystery, reminding me of the etheral and changing contours of this mortal world.

(detail)

Life on the raildroad

For years I have painted railroad subjects: trains and the people who work on the rails. Steam engines are such dramatic subjects, but then so are the people involved in that industry. Here are a couple samples. More drawings and paintings can be found on my website, including selected prints.

Expressive possibilies

These two small paintings were created on different colored pastel boards: one brick-red and the other black. As you can see in this comparison, each offers its own dramatic possibilities. The earth-hue of the one (top) is a natural for describing the warm mood of a desert afternoon, while the black board adds a contrast-bump to all of the colors applied to it, in its case to convey the chill of a desert morning after a dusting of snow.