Why I hate Los Angeles in summer...

The model fell asleep in the 100 degree heat....and my studio is sweltering and lacks ventilation so I can't finish anything until the temperatures fall or I'll die of heat exhaustion and fumes inhalation.

Labeling Cuba 20's style

I am done! I am done! I successfuly finished this long drawn-out commission of a painting: The island of Cuba, yes, the map of Cuba. I consider this more of a "label" than a true painting. It has the national bird, flower, coat of arms and a couple of scenes from Camaguey and Habana. In the last minute I added a poem form Dulce Maria Loynaz in the bottom (not visible in this pic) that reads "Rodeada del mar por todas partes, isla asida al tallo de los vientos..." or "Surrounded by the sea all around , island knotted to the winds' stem..."

Sheesh, it's hot.

I made this painting while escaping from a tumultuous family reunion in Palm Springs. I started it late so as not to be killed by the heat. Light conditions changed fast. A lady called Diana stopped her SUV and commented "Good, I'm glad you are documenting the natural beauty around here before it all starts looking like Los Angeles."

The horror, I made a Kinkade!

So what happens when you overwork the glows and the ambers of late evenings in your painting? You actually get something resembling a Kinkade. I might have been aiming for a Frederick E Church..... but hell no, I got this victorian pastiche with american flag included (It was July 4th). That said, I still like it so here it is. It is definitely time for me to find less bucolic subjects , they reek of bourgeois contentment and melancholic nonsense! Next thing you know I'll be titling this "Walking the Dog" or something cute like that.

"Walking the Dog" 16x20" Oil on canvas.

Et in Arcadia ego.

Well, not quite Poussin's Arcadia, but Pasadena. I returned to the corner of Meridith and OakGlen and spent a good 4 hours hammering at this painting. It still needs 30 more minutes because the right side is lacking definition and , as a result of the long time spent in the street, the shadows seem a little incoherent. This will be my entry for the Playhouse District Artwalk Contest.