Twilight Creek - Oil Painting

A very Happy Newyear to the blog readers. I am grateful for all your visits and comments.

Here is the first blog painting for 2012 ( though technically it is my last painting of 2011 ). Inspired by the soft autumn twilight sky and it's reflections on a rocky creek. And done with water soluble oil on a 16 X 20 canvas. Hope you like it :)

You are invited..

You are invited for "The More the Merrier: Salon-Style Holiday Art Exhibition & Sale" @ ART ARK GALLERY, San Jose.



This a group show of 45 bay area artists and I am exhibiting as one of them. Opening Art Reception is this Friday, November 4th 6-9pm and there will be two more receptions - on Nov 19th and Dec 2nd. Hope you can make it for one.

Please feel free to pass this invitation to your other art loving friends :)

Avenue of Giants - Oil painting

The 33-mile Avenue of the Giants drive which parallels U.S.101 offers one of the most spectacular views of the Redwoods. Though we have stayed in the cabins and hiked the many redwood groves in the area, this is by far the most outstanding display of these giant trees in the entire 500 mile redwood belt. This breathtaking pillars of redwoods never fails to make our jaws drop everytime we drive this route.

This painting stayed as a work in progress for many months and I finally completed it last week to display in a holiday show. Family is in love with the way this looks on a frame and doesn't want me to take it to the gallery. I am torn between the number of paintings committed for the show and lack of time to produce more. I told them if it doesn't sell, it's theirs :-).

Done on a 11 X 14 Canvas with water soluble oil. Mostly done impasto style with the knife with some brush work here & there. Again, this is one of those painting that I always have trouble photographing the true texture,look & feel. Looks much better in person than what my photo has captured here.



Here is the framed look.

Cypress & Ice plants - Acrylic painting

Cypress and ice plants of Monterey in spring. A big deviation from the reference image. Changed the colors quite a bit to get this unique look. Done on a 16 X 20 canvas with acrylic paint and a combination of knife & brush. Hope you like it :)



Here is a closeup of the iceplants

Colors of Autumn - Acrylic painting

Didn't get a chance to do much of fall photography this year. So I turned to canvas to paint these autumn scenes instead. These two paintings are going as part of the holiday show to a gallery in San Jose, CA. Both done on 12 X 12 wrapped canvas with a brush & knife combo.

Autumn Reds



Autumn Yellows

Two Hydrangeas - Acrylic painting

Getting ready for a holiday show and did these two small hydrangeas. Both paintings are done on a 6 X 6 gallery wrapped canvas with acrylic paint. The flower was done impasto style with knife and the leaves with the brush strokes.

Pink Hydrangea



Nikko Blue Hydrangea

Middle McCloud Falls - Oil Painting

Every now & then, I like to pick challenging subjects to paint and I would consider this as one of them. During my travel to Northern California, I took numerous pics of waterfalls out there. This is a painting of Middle Mccloud falls based on my photograph. This huge falls project three layers of cascade, part of it is always hidden in the shadow. This is an intimidating waterfall to photograph let alone paint.



Done on a 20 X 24 canvas with water soluble oil mostly impasto style using knife & some brush.

After 12 hours in to this, I am happy with the progress so far. I would like to call it done, but like many other artists I also suffer from the tendency to over work on my paintings. I am letting it sit on the easel and staring at it whenever I pass by to catch something that I don't like. Well, can't stare at it too long as I am hoping to enter this for a juried show soon. Hope you like what you see..