So much of my work is done in public, sometimes at a restaurant, sometimes on a street corner. Often times I meet very interesting people passing by. Everyone has a story, some have been artists in the past, some are trying to get into art, some are just interesting folks walking by. This evening I had a very interesting idea: What if they could take a little piece of my work with them?

Tonight I started a series of paintings that have an unlimited potential to bring a little happiness to the people I interact with. This series is called "One for the 'keep". As part of this project, I'll give a piece of work to someone who has taken an interest in what I do, this evening I gave a piece to the bartender(s) at Mojo's. I spent about 3 hours, painting 5 pieces and taking up space at the bar, I felt it necessary to share something more than the tips....so I left a small painting. I hope it brings them some joy. Who knows, maybe someday it will be worth something.

The title is a little bit of humor, but a lot of truth! As I am 3/4 of the way through my 16th sketch book I have realized that my persistence and dedication are beginning to pay off. This last week I attended the Yolo Arts / Historic Downtown Woodland Business District Mixer event; I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the First Friday schedule for this year is every bit as robust as it was last year. After the event I went over to Mojo's for a celebratory beer and after some discussion with Christy Hayes (owner of Mojo's) I scheduled my SECOND art show. You heard that correctly, I will have another Show, this one will be solo. I was blow away last year at the support and good comments at my group show at the First Bank building with Ron and Beth Caceres. It really feels like I am taking the next step with my art, going from something that was a hobby to something I can really show to the world and be proud of.

My First Solo art show will open on March 1st (First Friday) and will remain up through most of the month. I will be featuring many new works (painted for the show) and many of my favorite works. I will show both large format, acrylic works and smaller, framed watercolor works.

If you would like to purchase any of the pieces in the show, or would like to book me for a show, please use the contact buttons below! 

Living near the Historic Downtown of Woodland has definite advantages. Often times I try to make it downtown during the day and have a cup of coffee and get a little sketching in. Sunday was one of those days when I had a little time to visit some of my favorite places.

Started at a local coffee house called Common Grounds which has good coffee and a decent layout. I worked on a warm-up sketch which I hoped would never see the light of day, but in the interest of showing all the struggles an artist goes through I'll post a photo here.

My next target was another building that I have sketched a few times. Something keeps drawing me back to it. I have been drawn to the entry of the Porter Building, and specifically the large scroll and bountiful harvest detail above the main door to the stairs.

My first step in sketching is trying to find the right proportions of the overall figure and make sure everything is going to fit on the paper. Unfortunately, most of the time I get stuck in the details and just have to 'hope' it all turns out ok.

Here is a slideshow to show you the progress of the image. Overall I am happy with the results, although I really struggled with it until about the 2 hr mark. Hopefully that is something I can get used to.