Saturday, June 30, 2012

Morning At Lanikai Beach


"Morning At Lanikai Beach"
12" x 24" Oil on canvas


Lanikai Beach is located in a suburb of Kailua, on the windward coast of Oahu.   The waters are a beautiful turquoise and this beach has been the winner of many "Best Beaches" awards.   In Hawaiian, Lanikai  means "heavenly sea" and it truly is a bit of paradise on earth.   The sand is a bit more white than this painting indicates.   The two islands offshore are the Mokuluas, which means in Hawaiian "the two islands".   They are state protected bird sanctuaries, although the island on the left (Moku Nui) is allowed visitors in certain areas.   You can reach it by kayak or boat or outrigger canoe.   The outrigger canoes in this painting are pretty much the way they looked in my reference photograph.

I hope to visit this beach again very soon.    

Thank you for visiting my blog today.




Friday, June 29, 2012

Grieving


Callie 

My companion cat, Callie, passed away on Tuesday.  I miss her terribly.  She was a good girl and had so much love in her heart.   She and I were together for 9 years.   

I have not been able to paint since Tuesday; I am just going through the motions of everyday's necessary actions without much interest.   Everywhere I look in the apartment I expect to see Callie, and then I remember that she is gone forever.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

More Recommended Art Books


This photo of mine is of a Hawaiian Black-crowned Night Heron, or 'Auku'u, and has nothing to do with art books other than he seems to be saying "Take a look at that!"   That is what I hope you do by visiting James Gurney's blog about art books he recommends for art students.   Click here to view  As most of you know, James Gurney is widely known for his "Dinotopia" books.

One of the books he recommends is one I highly regard and recommended in a previous post on this blog, and that book is Carlson's Guide To Landscape Painting , by John F. Carlson who was an American Impressionist.   I ran across that book when I was about 15 years old and it was my primary source for learning about perspective, light, and color and so much more.   It is available on Amazon.  

Gurney has also written an excellent book Color And Light: A Guide For The Realist Painter which has received excellent reviews.   It is available through Amazon or you may obtain a signed copy from his blog   http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com   

I took the day off from painting and, as you can tell, been on the Internet some today.   I will begin work tonight on completing the seascape of Lanikai Beach so please return soon.    




  

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Lanikai Beach - Mokulua Islands (work in progress)


"Lanikai Beach And Mokulua Islands"
Work In Progress
12" x 24" oil on canvas

Lanikai Beach on Oahu in Hawaii is a gorgeous beach near Kailua Beach Park....they rather just blend into each other.  This painting is off to a good start and hopefully will continue to flow well.   I will add more figures by the outrigger canoes and tone down that orange canoe some.   There is much detail that needs to be added.   I had a blast with the sky !  

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Tropical Beauty- Singapore Plumeria (Reworked)


"Tropical Beauty - Singapore Plumeria"
9" x 12" oil on gallery wrap canvas 


White plumeria blossoms, or frangipani, are especially elegant although the various pink and yellow varieties are quite lovely as well.   I love them all!  Everywhere you look there are plumeria trees throughout the Hawaiian islands.   Their blossoms are quite popular for making leis.   

I reworked this painting today and am much happier with it now. Basically, I added more violet and blue to the flowers and increased the contrast.  The earlier version may be seen by going here    

Monday, June 18, 2012

Tropical Shores


"Tropical Shores"
5" x 7" oil on canvas on panel

This seascape is totally from my imagination but is very typical of many tropical beaches.   I especially enjoyed painting the colorful cloud; clouds are special to me and to capture them on canvas is sometimes a challenge.   

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Hawaiian Red Jungle Fowl (Photos)



The red jungle fowl in the Hawaiian Islands are to be seen almost everywhere.   Some are more tame than others, but most true red jungle fowl are to be found wild and in secluded rain forests.  The  bottom photo shown above gives a good close-up look at the colorful feathers.


This shot is so typical of Hawaii; the red jungle fowl and the slipper behind him.   I intend to paint another rooster very soon and this photo may be the one I use for reference.   It was taken at a beach on the island of Kauai .    More information on these beautiful birds may be found at my photography blog by going here

Please return soon for more new paintings.  Thank you for visiting !