Featured One
“Artaud Studio View” – This painting is the view from my home and studio, the artist co-op where I have lived in since 1974. I think the painting captures the feel of both the studio and the city of San Francisco as it flows out to Buena Vista Park and beyond. I have done several views from my window, but this painting is one of my favorites both in color and in form as it captures the detail of the changing experience of glass and how it creates a boundary between us and the elements.
— Oil on Canvas, 41” x 40, 1994
“Wisconsin Sunset Drive” - I have done a few paintings of highways in different weather conditions from different parts of the country. This painting is from a rainy summer day in Wisconsin as the sun sets in the West. The atmosphere in the paintings reminded me of the paintings of J. M. W. Turner, known for his expressive colorization, imaginative landscapes, and turbulent marine paintings. The cars update the painting and put it in the 20th century. I love the drama in this painting.
— Oil on Canvas, 46” x 35”, 2018
“Bernard Catching Final Portrait” - I have done many paintings of my dear friend Bernard Catching. We had lived down the hall from each other in Project Artaud for over 50 years. Together we grew up as young adult artists, the stories we have, and inspired each other through mentorship and friendship. Bernard’s smile and door were always open and his passing in 2023 saw him leave this planet but never my heart. This portrait hung at his memorial and I am honored to call him my friend and part of my family at Project Artaud.
— Oil on Canvas, 40” x 50”, 2023
“Hats, Hats, & More Hats” I normally only paint from my own images and l don’t know the story of this image. I believe it has an enigma of its own. I believe the photograph was taken in Spain perhaps during the Spanish Civil War. What attracted me to the subject is the hats floating and the enigma of the subject. To describe the literal meaning of the painting would l believe subtract from the mystery of the subject matter.
— Oil on Canvas, 54” x 42”, 2023
“Homage to Piero Della Francesca Piero” – I have always been inspired by the Renaissance painters, and Piero Della Francesca Piero is one of my favorite painters from the early Renaissance. The paintings in the book are from his cycle “The Story of the True Cross” located in a church in Arezzo Italy. The cool collective painting style is in the manner if Della Francesca. The tilting of the palette is pushed up against the picture plane of the painting. It is moving into the viewers space but is contained in place by the black margin of the painting.
— Oil on Canvas, 51” x 42”, 2018
“South Van Ness Grocery, SF ” - Capturing the spirit of San Francisco’s Mission district, this quintessential corner grocery embodies the feeling and vibrancy of color on the corner of 17th and South Van Ness Ave. This large scale oil painting provides the in-person viewer a chance to experience the Mission in 1994 and as one stands to the left the painting leads you down the street and the shop becomes less prominate. As you stand to the right, the store features and the street’s gravity lessens. Project Artaud is just beyond the view of this painting and it is very special to me.
— Oil on Canvas, 66” x 54”, 1994 - SOLD
“The Blue Door, LA” - This painting was done from a street in Los Angeles near Japan Town. The location was important to me because I wanted to capture the lonely feeling of a Los Angeles street. The painting is much like a stage set in its formal frontal composition. The blue door, against a muted surrounding, creates a sense of drama and mystery.
— Oil on Canvas, 60” x 48”, 2018
“Agnus Dei” - The space in this painting is very shallow and flat. Basically, it is painted to look like it is made up of a series of torn pieces of paper which interact as planes overlapping one another. The only perspective in the painting involves the wood siding on the right of the painting which pull the viewer into the space. This is a very unique painting in my collection in its style and composition and captures the Mission in San Francisco.
— Oil on Canvas, 26” x 20”, 2018
"Bowler On The Table" - My friend made this beautiful table and was also the owner of the hat. I borrowed the hat and table from him and painted this still-life. I always liked the form of the hat and have used it in several of my paintings. The painting can be experienced in two planes, with the top plane of the hat and cloth, rich in texture. The bottom plane is the table, presenting a flat cubism experience which creates the contrast in experience and story. This hat is one of my favorites still life objects, and I wanted the painting to feel like somebody just took it off their head, set it on the table and then walked out of the scene.
— Oil on Canvas, 33” x 25”, 2018 - SOLD
“Arizona Hats” - This painting was painted after a visit to a hat shop in Tucson, Arizona. The different textures and shades of grey in each hat is what inspired me to do the painting. The space in the painting is to be read across the painting much like a musical score and not in the traditional perspective manner. Arizona is a frequent subject in my paintings as it is where I visit my extended family and love the feeling of the desert Southwest with it endless skies and colorful characters.
— Oil on Canvas, 14” x 18”, 2023
“Apples In Glass” – A few years ago I picked up a couple of French table cloths that I thought would be a good inspiration. They reminded me of the paintings of Matisse in their very colorful patterns. It was an excuse for me to use bright colors and a full palette in these paintings. I always like the three-quarter views of the composition, as it brings the picture space up and into the viewers space. My main goal in this still-life painting was to combine color and form into one unit. Unlike Matisse, I was also interested in the texture of the fruit and cloth. In that sense these paintings go back to the Dutch still-life tradition of the 16th century.
— Oil on Canvas, 22” x 28”, 2018
“Bay Area Bindery” – This painting hung in the de Young Museum in 2020 as part of The de Young Open. Capturing this long passed time in San Francisco’s Mission District very near Project Artaud. As the painting captures the old buildings, the car, and train tracks that disappear around the corner and into history. Many of my works capture scenes as they were, with a quite stillness with objects without people.
— Oil on Canvas, 42” x 36”, 2020
“Bernard Reads The Sunday Paper To Josh” – This painting captures Bernard, my fellow artist at Project Artaud as he sits and reads the paper in the sun in the studio. He was a multi-disciplined artist and the creator of most of my wooden frames with adorn most of my oil paintings. This painting was orginally entiled “The Master Crafsman” but I retiled it to honor my friend, when he suddenly lost his beloved dog Josh to cancer. Josh was not part of the painting and never imagined that one day it would sit quietly and forever comforting and being a companion as it baths in light and detail.
— Oil on Canvas, 52 x 36”, 1992 - SOLD
“Summer Bed” & “Winter Bed – These two large-scale paintings, (7 feet across), in the series “A Mother’s Life” were painted to honor and capture Dale’s mother and his experience of her passing. The first “Summer Bed” with its warmer outdoor light captures the balance of a vibrant life with the austere depiction of his mother’s expression looking out the window. “Winter Bed,” with its snowy landscape and unmade bed, portrays a room where time has stood still, while inevitably marching forward through life and loss. These paintings are an emotional tribute to the passing of loved ones in our lives.
— Oil on Canvas, 48 x 84”, 1996 & 1998 - Not for Sale
“Wooden Chair In Light” – This painting captures an austere room with a wooden chair, against a wooden wall bathed in sunlight. This chair echoes back to my childhood in Michigan when life was simple and straightforward. This painting is both simple and complex, as the light creates lines and patterns to explore and enjoy. The sunlight, through the levered windows passes through the wooden slats landing on the wall to dance and play with the viewer's eye.
— Oil on Canvas, 36 x 42”, 2012
"Loraine's Chair" This brightly colored painting allows the viewer to see the depth of experience and texture within this painting. The perspective invites the viewer to sit and enjoy the comfort and the sunlight. The light streams in and forms straight lines across the diagonal chair. The rug with its bright color pattern and geometric pattern of flowers compliments the subdued chair with its pattern of flowers. This painting was stolen and featured on The CBS Evening News.
— Oil on Canvas, 36 x 42”, 2012