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These acorn woodpeckers live the oak trees that surround our home. They are very active and inquisitive. We put out water for them and they enjoy daily baths too!

Hi I am taking an online course with Birgit O’Connor at the moment and just finished the first exercise which is to paint a Peony in bright Quinacridone Pink and Purple. My arches 3oo pound paper showed some blemishes and the Pebeo mask didn’t completely come off , but in general I learned the main objective which is to have strong values and color and pay attention to petal shapes. I feel my brushwork is improving along with water control.

In Talmage, turn left onto Sanford Ranch Road, turn right onto McClure Road just before the turn and continue down the road and you will find a vineyard on the left side with a view of the canyon behind it. I visited this area in spring when the mustard was in bloom, a very special spring magic.

This picture was taken on a windy and rainy day when the vines were just starting to grow in the Mondavi vineyard. 22 x30 inches original watercolor, framed $400.

This latest watercolor painting is 22 x 30 inches. I went a bit bolder in color of the winery building itself and like how it makes it seem more alive.

This new painting uses a new color, Goethite, by Daniel Smith which granulates and created some nice textures on the surface of Mondavi Winery Building. There are lots of positive and negative shapes in this subject with light giving it further interest and movement.

This is the view from the front deck of our house in Ukiah looking south towards Hopland on a foggy morning. The fog forms over the Russian River and as the morning warms up it lifts up and down in beautiful patterns.

Two things happened; my friend Laura Holmes Peters sent me photos from New York of this Mallard, and an Asian Mallard Duck became an internet sensation. Those two things made me interested in painting a bird for the first time. It seems the spirit of this Asian Mallard strikes something in the human heart. Check out his real photo at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/03/nyregion/hot-duck-mandarin-central-park.html

I am working on orchids and am learning new techniques from Birgit O’Connor in her online course like doing big washes in the background of this painting. It is the negative painting of the background that makes the flower petals take the central interest.