My latest commission; my nephew Paolo. Like so many people in his family, he has a presence that cannot be denied. Paolo makes fire. He came to Seattle after weeks of rain, gathered wood, weeds and assorted garden debris, and in a matter of minutes he had a wonderful fire going in our fire pit. He rubs sticks together, produces heat and sparks, and before you know it, he’s got a little tiny ember in his hand that he can then coax into a raging fire. It’s amazing to watch and really hard to do. I am excited about this painting because the reference was small but it came together well.
I have been studying a book on watercolors written by Tom Hoffmann. His book touches on a lot of the issues I have as a watercolor painter. For me, one of the hardest things to paint is a tabby cat. Their fur is marked in specific patterns, composed of individual hairs. I am not the sort of painter to attempt to paint all of those hairs, so instead, I have to make you think you are seeing them. I am pleased with how this one came out.
It measures 6″ x 9″.
SOLD!
In Seattle, where I live, the winter sun is pretty spectacular. It shines from the southern corner of the sky. It is not very warm, but it can be quite bright, and unfortunately, it is rather rare.
My cat Enza was sunbathing in a sunbeam yesterday on our oak floor. The brilliant white of the sunbeam, the darkness of my cat, and the golden brown tones of the floor were so beautiful that I painted the scene. I hope you like it.
The first white settlers of the Oregon Territory discovered that the riches were in wood and salmon. Flocks of hardy men came from all over the world to harvest this wood, some of it 1000 year old trees, many of these trees stood over 300 feet tall and their girths were often over 50 feet. Long before the invention of gas powered chainsaws, they had to saw behemoths like this one by hand. It was a tough dangerous job, and many lumberjacks did not survive or ended up maimed. Sadly, most of these trees are gone since they did their job well.
Luckily for us, there are a few trees left standing that demonstrate the immensity of the trees that are now gone. Here is a link that tells you where some of them are.
This painting is not for sale.
One of the beautiful atmospheric effects I see a lot here in the Pacific Northwest is the very low sky. Everything will be kind of dark except for a splash of light on the horizon. The barn in this photo has since collapsed but I have had the good fortune to own a photo of it, and it has been waiting for me to paint it. The reference photo was taken by Donald Boothby.
This painting is for sale for  $175.00, it is 9″ x 12″ and all proceeds from the sale of this painting go to small wild endangered cats, like the black footed cat and the fishing cat.
Thanks to people buying my paintings, I have been able to donate over $1000.00 to the conservation efforts being made for these animals.
