Hau'oli Makahiki Hou

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou 2010 Everybody! Mahalo nui loa & Aloha, Timo

Aloha Lana'i

I just recently rephotographed with my digital camera this painting that I added to awhile ago, but never got around to updating for online uses. It's a view of Lana'i at sunset from the beach in front of my friend's house on Moloka'i. Looking at it makes me feel warm and toasty on this crisp night of a bright moon in a cloudy sky. The moonrise earlier was spectacular from my vantage point here on Sonoma Mountain Road. I didn't get a picture of it though...maybe tomorrow night. Hau'oli Makahiki Hou 2010! (Almost) Mahalo nui loa and Aloha, Timo

"River Peace"

The gallery I was being represented by in Petaluma is closing. Actuallythe 24th of December was there last day open to the public. So I went and picked up the paintings they had of mine and brought them back here to the Sonoma Mountain Road house before I take them over to the new place on Bennett Valley Road. This painting titled "River Peace" oil on linen 30" x 40" 2007, was among them. I couldn't recall whether I'd put it up on the blog or not, so here it is for your visual enjoyment. Aloha, Timo

"Allison's Dive"

The finished painting "Allison's Dive" oil on canvas, 20" x 16" 2009. This was a fun one to do. And right on schedule. Mele Kalikimaka everybody! Mahalo & Aloha for now, Timo

Allison's Dive

About another 5 hours of painting have brought "Allison's Dive" to this stage of completion. Very close to being finished. This photo is a bit blurry, but you can get a good idea of where the painting is in it's progress. The dynamics of the composition are good and the contrasts and color harmonies between her body and the waterworn rocks are very interesting. Aloha for now, Timo

Claudette in Sunny Contemplation

This is the painting I did of my friend Claudette from a photo I took on a trip we took to Arizona one time about fifteen years ago.

More on The Dive

After about five more hours of painting last night and another two today I am this far along with the new commission. Definite progress. I have introduced few more pigments to the mix. Alizerine Crimson & Ultramarine Blue for the darkest shadows and cracks. I switched to a #4 hog bristle flat to start defining her body...going both lighter and darker over the warm undertoning. Things are going well, so I should be able to meet the Christmas deadline for it's completion. I like this kind of project...combining figure and landscape together with some action. Well...back to work. Mahalo, Aloha and Mele Kalikimaka all! Timo

Beginning The Dive

I just got a commission to paint a portrait of a friend's daughter diving into a beautiful pool in the Sierra foothills. I started by toning the area where she was going to be in the composition. Then started roughing in the shadows in the water and rocks. I'm doing all of this so far with an old longhandle #12 hog bristle flat and a bit of paint rag to soften the body toning of Napthol Red & Raw Sienna. The other colors I've used so far are, Raw Umber; Dioxazine Purple; Cobalt Blue; Sap Green; Yellow Ochre and Titanium White. This represents about 2 hours painting. Mahalo & Aloha for now, Timo

Warm Springs Gold Final (I think!)

What was it I said about working on a piece until I don't have it here anymore. Just a few more little touches....yeah right. Aloha, Timo

Maui Rainbow - Martin's View

I did this plein air painting from my friend Martin's back porch at his old Waialua beach house on Moloka'i's east end mana'e area beach. Every afternoon it rains on Maui eight miles away, hence the rainbow. I got the piece back yesterday to put a frame on for him. So I thought I give you all a look at it. It's titled "Maui Rainbow - Martin's View" oil on canvas 16" x 20" 2001. Aloha for now, Timo

"Warm Springs Gold"

I decided to work on this one just a bit more(Are they ever really done until they're gone?) So here's the final(I think!) image of this one. I call it "Warm Springs Gold" 24" x 36" oil on canvas 2009. Aloha for now. Mahalo for stopping by, Timo

Completed Portrait of Ana Maria

The finished portrait of Ana Maria the English Bull Terrier. It is oil on canvas, 24" x 30" completed November 30th, 2009. Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Mahalo & Aloha, Timo

Progress on Ana Maria

Almost done with the portrait of Ana Maria. Maybe I'll be able to finish it in a few more hours of painting. It's just about details now. Aloha, Timo

Bob approves

Bob totally agrees!

As I add more touches of color, things start to quickly come into focus.

Ana's Progress..

A bit further along...

Ana's portrait progress

The second and third sessions brought it to this stage as I began to suggest the autumn colors in the vineyard where we decided to place her. With Mount St.Helena standing behind, I think it will be a very striking composition.

Beginning the portrait of Ana

I started a portrait of a friend's English Bull Terrier a few days ago. I drew a rough sketch with paint before I began blocking in the rest of the underpainting. This is the result of the first session.

Trying a Horse

Here"s the final outcome of that idea.
I call it "Warm Springs Gold" oil on canvas 24" x 36" 2009

Adding a Palomino mare to this summer meadow of golden grasses seemed to bring this painting into a new zone for me, but she seemed a bit lonely as I looked at the broader picture, so I decided to give her some company. And so I did.

Bennett Valley Grasses

I decided to change the height of the wooded hill on the right to give it a more dramatic feel. I was also toying with the idea of adding a horse or two. We'll see... I'm starting to like it more as a painting as the layers progress. I'm still working on the sky too. More dramatic...probably some shadows in there anyway. And more highlights in the grasses in the foreground. More paint! Aloha, Timo

Glen Ellen Grasses

A few more hours into this painting brought it to this point.

Grasses near Glen Ellen

A couple sessions into this painting I realized that I hadn't shot a picture of it...so we'll start with this one. I try to get as much into the underpainting as I can when I'm starting a new piece. Working with a large (#12 or#14) long handled bristle brush and laying in thin layers of very warm color under almost everything except the sky which I tend to begin with a very light pink made of Titanium White & Permanent Rose. Then apply the cool blues & purples over and into these warms. The cool in the sky is a mixture of Cobalt Blue & T. White with a touch of Magenta.

Lots of Cadmium Yellow Dark, Raw & Burnt Sienna and Naples Yellow in the near grasses at this stage. Aloha for now, Timo

Clear Vision

I had eye surgery yesterday morning. It was so much easier than I thought it would be and successful I've been told by the surgeon. So...as soon as I've gone through the healing process I should be able to see clearly again through both eyes! I can remember the clear vision of my childhood. When you could get so close to a butterfly that you could see the hairs on their legs and be completely amazed at the tiny rainbows in their wings. I did these two little color experiments

a couple of years ago, but I never showed them to anybody. So for lack of any other idea for a post...Here they are. No titles, No intent of purpose. Just playing with colors My vision is going to be better. I'm excited! Yeee Haaa! Aloha for now, Timo

Birdbath #2

Thunderation! Has it really been almost 2 weeks since I posted anything new on this blog? Well ... I'll try to do better this month. Here are pictures of the second successfull birdbath. I finished the base that I had began for the first bowl, but have started another one since these photos were taken. Someone commented that I should stick to painting, and they're probably right. I will most likely never make a lot of money making stuff out of beachrocks and mortar, but it's a fun diversion. So...I'll keep doing it as a hobby. My camera broke a few days ago so I won't be taking pictures of any new stuff until I get it fixed or get another one. I have lots of pictures I haven't used yet so I'll keep it as interesting as I can. Aloha for now, Timo

Birdbath #1

My first attempt at building a birdbath was a complete disaster. I attempted to remove it from the mold too soon and it fell apart. Number 2 (pictured here) was (is) semi-successful, but it really is too small to really be a good birdbath. And...There was the sort of unfinishedness about the base which I built up using 2 lengths of old terra cotta drain pipe. Well I tried again and the new one is a good size and will hold about 3/4 of a gallon of water. I'll put a picture of that one up as soon as I can. Meanwhile back at the easle...I've been adding the final touches to the painting "Deja View", which will probably be finished today. So that will be coming up soon as well. Aloha for now, Timo

I've been experimenting with a different pallette and brush for several weeks now and it's kept me away from the computer...so I decided I'd better do some catching up on this blog. The new pallette is wave tumbled beach rocks that I've been gathering over the last 20 years or so. I started putting them together with concrete and mortar and making things like stepping stones for the garden and trivots to put hot dishes on. Yesterday I finished my first (semi)successful birdbath complete with base. I have had quite a few failures during this learning process. probably close to one third of all projects so far have been broken for one reason or another...mostly because of my lack of experience with the materials, but also due to a character defect called "impatience". Every time I think I've learned the lessons well enough Great Spirit shows me another angle on all the different ways I can mess it up. At this point I feel extremely grateful for all the successes I have had.

Deja View (amost done)

A Few more hours at the easle have advanced this painting "Deja View"to the state you see here. That is, almost done. Aloha, Timo

Night Work

A view of my nightime work scene on the back deck with "Tomales Morning Light" and the current work in progress that I'm going to call "Deja View" on the easle. I like working larger...it frees me up initially and then gives me the space to add the details as the painting progresses. Aloha, Timo

Along the Way

A bit of painting progress yields this update on the new one in progress. It's not the best photo I ever took, but you should be able to detect a little progress along the way. More later.. Timo

Beginning Anew

Well...I'm finally getting this image up on the blog! I've started doing this at least three times and had to abort each time when something came up or I hit the wrong key, etc. So...this is the first stage of the new large piece (32" x 60") I started a few days ago and was able to work again on yesterday. This reflects about three hours of painting. A large (#12-#14) flat being the primary applicater used. This stage is fun because of the loose, boldness of the early process. I didn't get all of the canvas covered in this session, but it is a large canvas. Aloha, Timo

"Kunde Ranch Spring"

Here's one I forgot to show you that I did a few weeks back on a wood panel that I found covering a cat's grave here in the back yard of the new place. I replaced it with a rock monument and prepared and used the panel for this new piece done from an old photo I took at Kunde Ranch vineyard in Kenwood, California back in the early 90's. The mountain to the left is "Hood"with "Sugarloaf" to the right. Springtime in the vines. The size of this oil painting is 18" x 26 3/8"and it is available for purchase through my agent Vangie Lyndon at Aurora Colors Gallery on Kentucky street in Petaluma, California. I'm preparing to begin a new large version of the painting I donated to Face to Face for the Art for Life auction coming up in August at the Mary Agatha Furth center in Windsor, California here in beautiful Sonoma County. Summer grasses and eucalyptus. Mahalo for stopping by! Aloha, Timo

Art for Life Donation

"Two Rock Morning Light" 18" x 36" oil on canvas is the newest painting completed to date. I've decided to donate it to Face to Face for the Art for Life auction. Someone will surely want this one. Mahalo for checking in. Aloha, Timo

"Kenwood Vineyard Spring"

The finished painting of "Kenwood Vineyard Spring" oil on canvas 12" x 18" 2009

Kenwood Vineyards progress

I just realized after looking back at a previous post that I hadn't ever shown the progress of the Kenwood Vineyard painting That I started before my move. So here's an update on that one and I'll take unother picture today of how it finished out. You can go back a few posts to see the beginning. Anyway, I'll be back! Aloha, T

Marin Fair Plein Air

This was the results of a bit less than three hours painting on location at the Plein Air Painting competition on the first day of the Marin County Fair this year. It got an Award of Merit which consists of a large yellow rosette and ribbon to add to the collection (what am I to do with them anyway?) and my name in next year's exhibitor's handbook(well now that's something!) on the Plein Air page. That's now four paintings of the fair in my collection too. They just started doing this event in 2006 and I've done it consistently since then. It's a fun way to get out of my comfort zone and paint with lots of people around. Aloha for now! Have a great day, Timo

I'm Back!

Aloha Everybody! I'm finally back on line! Sorry for the huge pause in my blog, I switched to DSL when I moved and there were complications with the wiring in the new house that were resolved yesterday with a rearrangement of the computer furniture from the dining room to my bedroom. I'm starting to paint a bit since getting set up out on the roofed portion of the deck. This photo shows a little of what the view here is all about. Horse ranches, vineyards and wooded hills. And my bedroom is at least three times as large as the one at the Hacienda cottage. I do miss my neighbors over there though. Mostly very nice folks. I've already met some of my new neighbors here and they seem nice too. Mahalo Akua! Aloha, Timo

Moving is my least favorite thing to do!

Moving day today. This is a picture of the packing stage...somewhere in the middle of things. I was trying to keep working right until the last stages of the actual move, but it almost all went in the big truck today. I'm bushed. Tomorrow's another day. I'm taking Bob with me to the new place tonight. Beany's already been there. Aloha oe, Timo

Smile More!

A friend that was keeping me company at my moving sale Sunday took this photo of me smiling in my doorway. She tells me I don't smile very often when I'm around her. which made me want to try to smile more often at everyone, including myself. I'm smiling as this is being written. This is a good sign. Aloha to all my relations, Timo

Artist's Moving Sale

I'm setting up to have a moving sale this weekend (May 30 & 31) so I had some fun arranging this table full of stuff I've been hanging on to for way too long and it looked so nice I decided to show it to you. It's almost art! Come over and take a look in person if you're in the neighborhood. It's at the old cottage I've been renting here at 10925 Ogburn Lane in Forestville (95436) if you want to mapquest it. Call me for more info @ (707)887-2947 Mahalo & Aloha, Timothy D.

Ala Prima Vineyard

The owners of both galleries I'm showing with currently are asking me to do some new vineyard paintings for them. So I started this one yesterday while I decide on the photo I want to use for reference to paint the background of the portrait of Bob P. I took the photo I'm using to do this one about 15 years ago at Kenwood Vineyards in the Valley of the Moon. I'm doing it Ala Prima with no toning or underpainting on the white gesso ground. This is a fast technique working wet into wet as I would if I were painting en plein air. Except there is a lot more time to make compositional and color decisions working with reference that you can pick from and whose light doesn't keep changing. This is a small canvas (12" x 18") that I made on a stretcher frame that I built to my own specifications. I like more space between the canvas and the wood of the stretcher, so I build my own. More later... Aloha, T

Beginning a new portait

I started a portrait this week of a friend of mine from a snapshot I took of him at an old place on Moloka'i called the Stone House. There wasn't any direct sunlight on him. Only reflected and available light, so the shadows are very dark. I've decided to change the background completely by painting the ocean there instead of a rock wall. Aloha for now, Timo

Fund Raiser Portraits

Setting up to do pencil portraits at a fundraiser yesterday I used a brick wall to display my examples on. I got there late and didn't get to do any, but I had a good time in spite of the lack of sales. Humility is a virtue I'm learning. I'm just glad to be alive these days. Aloha, Timo

Tanaka portrait progress

I've been painting on the portrait of my friends Eddie & Vina Tanaka of Honouli'wai, Moloka'i. So I took a picture this morning to show the progress. It's coming along fairly well, I think. It's a fun project because I love all the elements involved. Mahalo & Aloha, Timo

Monte Rio Bridge

I began this painting on location from the back garden of the Village Inn on the Russian River at Monte Rio, California where I was having a show last summer. There was a band that I'm friends with called Out of the Blue playing that afternoon so I decided to go over early and paint. I got most of the canvas completed before they asked me to play harmonica with them on a set. I had a great time playing music with them, but the light had changed by then and didn't get back to finish it. I did get some pictures before I began painting though. So...Several days ago I went back to it here in the studio with some photos I took that day as reference. I tried to keep the spirit of the painterly plein air beginning and not over work it. I would appreciate any comments anyone would care to make. Mahalo, Timo