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.

Einstein's hood

Yesterday I left late on purpose to capture the evening light. The theme of my painting had to be "Streets of Pasadena" for an upcoming contest. I drove around a while and realized that Pasadena is place ill-suited for the narrative larger-scale landscape. The only big perspectives that haven't been painted to death (say, the Colorado Bridge or City Hall) consist of long rows of trees filtering the light. Heavenly but too abstract a subject. Because even the business district of Pasadena is too "prettyfied" , I am convinced Pasadena's best paintings are to be found in private backyards but I am usually taken by a hobo while I scout around nosily so invitations haven't been forthcoming. ha ha.

In the process of searching I stumbled upon what I thought could have been Einstein's house. A reward for my exploratory ways? The guys at Cal-Tech corrected me. Einstein lived in 707 South Oakland in 1931, not this house. Darn.

Picture from the Einstein's Papers Project website. Reproduced without permission.

I finally settled the corner of Oakdale and Meridith close to Cal Tech. I'll post the results soon. This is Einstein's bungalow:

Donna's garden

Two weeks ago I painted two scenes in one sitting each. Donna Wolff was moving out of her house so she allowed me to paint from inside her very steep property in Mt. Washington. Her garden was somewhat "gaudi-esque" full of nooks and crannies.

This was a quick sketch from the street. Lovely row of trash cans made a good impression.