"Family Time," another new painting.

A young couple pause to have a leisurely cup of coffee, while their daughter drinks some milk. They lovingly look at their little girl, while enjoying each others company.

This 12 x 24 inch oil painting was derived from a series of photographs I took at an outdoor coffee shop in Palm Springs. The open simplicity and color depicted in the painting is in marked contrast to the chaos of the table clutter and backgrounds of the original photographs.

Rhone In Spring

This 24 x 36 inch oil painting shows the trees lining the Rhone River in southern France. They are just breaking into leaf.

The river is high and the water, fed by the recent rains, is rushing under a nearby bridge. Though cold, the sun is shining and a woman wheels her baby along the river bank, while enjoying the view and the lovely day.

This painting was developed form several photographs taken during our 2008 visit to that area.

New Group Painting - Encounter/Yellow Umbrella

A couple meet on a cold rainy day to talk briefly under a yellow umbrella. From the bright colored bag dangling from her hand, it appears she has been shopping in a nearby store. He carries a portfolio and a small bag over his shoulder. Perhaps he is on his way to a business meeting.

This painting is loosely based upon various photographs I took in Paris, France, last Spring (2008). I wanted the image to induce the feeling of a connection between the two figures. Yet it is only a brief encounter, since each has their own agenda. The yellow umbrella links the two together for these few moments.

I am trying to play down the individuality of the figures. I want the viewer to identify the people from their own imagination. The male figure's face is hidden. The female's face is only sketchy - enough to see she is please with the chance encounter.

The composition has been chosen to use a wide range of values, from the dark coats of the figures to the white of the distant light on this rainy day.

30 x 24 inches. Oil on canvas. Unframed with painted edges.

New Painting Completed.

Just finished this new painting "Friends." As usual these days, this 16 x 20 inch painting is an oil on canvas, unframed, and with painted edges.

Two women, one well dressed, the other – perhaps best described as a bit of a slob – are sitting on a street bench. Both have a paper cup of some drink in their hands – probably picked up at a nearby stall.

They are in a deep discussion of some problem. The woman in yellow looks worried. The other is offering helpful ideas and encouragement. After all, that is what friends are for.

Quite possibly it is about a man, or a relative, or maybe about a health issue. All the usual possibilities. It is left to the viewer to decide.

I wanted to push the images a little, to make them more dramatic. The story is the key element. The result is a rather more styled painting than my more recent work.

Last summer I took some photographs at the Thursday evening Street Fair and Farmer's Market, while visiting Palm Springs, California. In the background of one photograph, very small, I saw these two women sitting on a bench and talking. From that fragment I developed this painting.