Early Magnolia Blossoms

Dramatic blossoms make a bold statement in the changeable weather of early spring. This is a playful approach, letting the paint do it's watercolor thing.
13 1/2" x 20 1/4"

Grocery Produce

and now for something entirely different... I painted this as a demonstration for my last watercolor class.... fresh produce, still wet from the market. Who could resist?
11" x 15"

Sycamore

The Sycamore Tree -

large version

43 3/4" x 32 1/2"

Sycamore Tree

This Sycamore tree serenely reigns over our unpaved street where I live. In summer the dense foliage makes for deep shade and cools my house, in winter it reveals it's majestic structure, but in autumn it buries my yard in fallen leaves....
I painted this a few years ago and I'm currently painting another version, of course

Olive Trees

This is the finished watercolor of the olive trees twined at their roots. As I paint larger, I see more detail and subtlety and  the paintings become more "physical". I like this visceral portrayal.
  More tree paintings to come.... 
30" x 22"

Old Olive Trees at Knossos

I decided to continue work on some earlier paintings before beginning on my Mexican adventures.
These remarkable old twisted olive trees were once joined at their very complicated base. The deep fissures on the trunk continue in a more superficially stenciled way on the branches.  And then the gnarled roots just dive abruptly into the sandy soil. I had previously painted a small study of these trees, and this is the next step to a large painting.... Step by step....
15" x 11"

Palm Foliage

One of the things that struck me in Mexico is how the strong sunlight on palm foliage makes a patterned netting and colorful shadows - almost flattening the subject. Now I understand Matisse better, the light is very different from Northern California !
11" x 7 1/2"