The Arroyo Seco

"Fading Light At The Arroyo"

18" X 24" Oil on Canvas

A while back I was shooting reference photos in the Arroyo, the riverbed that runs from Pasadena down into Los Angeles close to Dodger Stadium. One of the scenes I caught was the fading light leaving the arroyo in shadow but the trees high up on the edge of the arroyo walls still lit up. I like that sort of stuff, haha. I decided to paint this one trying to capture that light. I like the lack of direct light and it's effect on the greens and dried grasses in this scene. Some slight bit of light giving the hillside scrub a hazy look...fun stuff to work with.   

California High Desert

"California High Desert"

24" X 36" Oil on Canvas

You know....I've kept from posting this image for about a week. The problem is I just cannot get a decent pic of the painting and it has been driving me crazy. I've used 2 different cameras and tried every setting I could think of. The painting looks pretty good here on the easel but some of the colors here in the photo are just reading a bit too intense. The yellows on the sage bush in the foreground have too much contrast in relation to the rest of the plant. On the easel the contrast of greens/yellows are more subdued and the greens of the sage brush are a bit better milky-green looking. I don't know if it is a Nikon thing or not...yellows come screaming through both of these cameras....and yes, I've tried all of my photoshop tricks to fix it all but I'm tired of messing with it so I'm just going to post what I felt was a bearable photo of the painting. Sometimes some paintings just don't do well in a photo but look fine in a real life setting....this is the king of those types, hahaha.     

BINLADEN DEAD AT LAST!

Just a quick note...we've just heard Binladen has been killed by American Forces.....YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!