Blog

Follow this Blog

Tell Your Story

4/11/2019 1:08:56 PM

This is an article that I wrote for and was published in American Watercolor Weekly (February 26, 2019). The topic is how we can use composition to effectively tell our story in our painting. To me, the key is knowing what I want to say and deciding where to put focus. Choosing a good composition can be challenging, and it is something that I take it seriously especially when I paint on location. Compositional possibilities are endless, and it can be daunting to choose the right one. I find it helpful to take some time beforehand to do a few thumbnail sketches [...]

Simplifying a Painting

2/25/2019 10:08:46 PM

This is an article that I wrote for Outdoor Painter, the home of PleinAir magazine, about one of the most important topics for plein-air painters, How to Simplify a Painting. This doesn't just happen. We have to make it happen. How does one simplify a complex scene in a painting? My approach to this question starts with having a vision. I want to have a solid idea about what I want to communicate and what I want to achieve in a painting before I begin. I use this as a guide to make some of the important creative decisions including simplification. Whether [...]

Holiday Gift-Giving

12/8/2018 7:06:52 PM

Holidays are a time for giving. A gift I would like to give today is a one-year membership in the San Diego Watercolor Society and a free watercolor lesson/demo/critique with me (value $200). If you are: (1) a San Diego/Tijuana/Orange County resident and (2) young (up to 35), up-and-coming watercolor painter, please email me [email protected] with a photo of your best work (one painting) by Tuesday December the 11th. A winner will be notified. Happy Holidays! - Contact me about the paintings on this blog.- Join me on Facebook.- Follow me on Instagram.- Watch my videos on YouTube.- Follow me on Google+.- Follow [...]

San Diego + Plein Air Painting = A Perfect Match for Me

4/16/2017 8:40:08 PM

Knowing I'm an avid plein-air painter who travels around the world often, many people ask me where my favorite place to paint is. I could name spots in the Mediterranean region, Japan, California, etc... but that's not an easy one to answer, in fact, because, to be honest, it is not really where or what to paint that I consider the most important when it comes to plein-air painting. What grabs me, what inspires me, what excites me can be found anywhere and can happen any time. Then, if I take the time, or seize the moment, I will begin to establish [...]

Beauty is Right Here All Around Us

3/13/2016 11:50:09 PM

"Where's your favorite place to paint (en plein air)?" This is one of the questions I get quite often from people I meet. Behind their curiosity, there are facts that I like painting outdoors and also that I travel frequently for my art and work. When I say "San Diego" (that is where I live), that seems to take some people by surprise. Perhaps they were waiting for me to say something like "Tahiti" or "Corsica"? Not that I don't like these exotic islands or other places I choose to go sometimes, it's obvious they didn't expect me to pick my [...]

A Little Sketch Goes A Long Way

3/2/2016 1:06:16 AM

Winter is over and it's time to get out in the field for plein-air painting. Sounds great? I know it's Yes for some people but for the others it may be one of those things that are easier said than done. Especially if you made your studio too comfortable during harsh winter months, or if you have never painted outside, it may seem a bit daunting to venture out of the studio. Well, you can relax and take a less intimidating approach: make a small sketch outside instead of a full-scale painting. These small sketches, called fieldwork, are something I enjoy immensely. [...]

Don't Paint Everything

1/24/2016 2:19:29 AM

If you have been in my workshop, you probably heard me say this: Don't paint everything that you see but paint what you want to see. These are simple words but so important to me, and I try to demonstrate what I mean to my workshop participants. When painting a landscape, whether en plein air or in the studio with a reference photo, I do not want to paint the scene too faithfully. If I do, I know my work will end up looking too literal, and that’s not what I’m after in the finished result. My goal is to capture the [...]

Announcing A New Workshop in California

7/10/2014 3:20:25 AM

"California has been my home for nearly half of my life, and I have spent the majority of the time in San Diego. California's southernmost city holds a special place in my heart, for it was here that I made a life-giving career change and became a full-time painter. The abundant beauty of my 'adopted' home has been the inspiration for many watercolor scenes since I started painting in 2005. Thanks to San Diego's mild climate, I have become an avid plein-air painter and quite often I can be found traipsing its nooks and crannies on a quest for [...]

NEW BOOK: Painting San Diego, 100 Plein-Air Watercolors of San Diego Landscapes

6/2/2014 12:53:21 AM

I am very pleased to announce that my new art book is now available online. PAINTING SAN DIEGO: 100 Plein-Air Watercolors of San Diego Landscapes is a result of my recent 6-month-long outdoor painting journey through San Diego County, California, my adopted home of 20 years. The book contains 100 images of never-before-seen watercolors of mine, all painted en plein air between November 2013 and May 2014, photos and descriptions of most locations, plenty of practical tips and several step-by-step demonstrations. 120 pages. Foreword was written by Michael Campos of Campos Photography, a fine art photographer and a dear friend whom I have [...]

Workshop: Painting Light and Atmosphere of California Landscape

2/24/2014 11:16:53 PM

I love being with other artists. I love sharing my creative passion. I love painting California landscape. In the workshop I just finished in Orange County, California, I got to do all these things for three days. For a full house of 18 students, I did 2 demos each day in a room filled with enthusiasm. Painting light and atmosphere of California landscape being the theme of the workshop, we did a harbor scene, a downtown street , an outdoor café, a mission and a desertscape. Everyone worked so hard and we felt like we had just finished a whirlwind tour of [...]

Chasing the Light in Palm Desert, California Landscape Painting

1/28/2014 12:17:43 PM

I often find myself heading out to paint during the golden hour to capture soft, warm sunlight. The quality of light is what I'm after and it is just fantastic especially for a lovely atmospheric painting. But, if you have ever attempted doing this, you know how rapidly the golden-hour light changes it can make the whole landscape look totally diferent within a matter of minutes. If only we could keep the beautiful light as long as we need to finish our painting! To deal with that elusiveness, I try to remember the first impression and work with it throughout the end. [...]

Plein-Air Demo at the Bernardo Winery, California Landscape Painting

1/25/2014 11:16:47 PM

For plein-air painters, especially those who work in watercolor, the weather is the most crucial factor for a pleasant experience. Too often, it is too hot, too cold, too windy, too dry, too wet, etc... well, we had none of those complaints on the day of the Saturday paint-out because the weather was perfect in every sense. I was happy to be invited as a demonstrator for a plein-air painters' group from the San Diego Watercolor Society. The location chosen for their January get-together was Bernardo Winery. I really liked the rustic feel of the [...]

Mission San Juan Capistrano I, California Landscape Painting

9/8/2013 2:34:15 PM

You don't have to be a fourth grader in California, but just walk around inside one of these missions: you can feel and learn, first-hand, a legacy from the past (the mission study is part of the 4th grade curriculum). Mission San Juan Capistrano was founded in 1775 as the seventh of 21 missions in California. It served as a religious outpost for Spanish padres to spread Christianity among native Americans in what is now southern Orange County. Out of many structures in the town of San Juan Capistano that have the Spanish/Mexican flavor, the mission stands out and looks strikingly beautiful [...]

The Well-Traveled Road - Del Mar, California

9/2/2013 9:59:46 PM

This is a road I take to get to my favorite beach near my home. No, I don't get in the water there as it is too cold for me but to see the beautiful sunset from the cliff or just to walk or think, I like going there. I have taken this road so many times I even feel I could drive with my eyes closed. As you go downhill, you see the Pacific Ocean glisten just before the sunset. It's so beautiful I was tempted to paint it numerous times before but I never actually did. So for the [...]

Demo and Workshop in Fallbrook, California

8/30/2013 4:03:03 AM

We love sunsets. I'm not just saying. It's true, for vacation brochures, postcards sold at gift shops, wall calendars, commercial logos (and, yes, paintings, too), etc. that the ones with a sunset scene seem to be very popular. Listen to what Mr. George Lucas says: "If the boy and girl walk off into the sunset hand-in-hand in the last scene, it adds 10 million to the box office." So we love seeing a sunset, but not just for its beautiful light and colors but for the feelings evoked by it as well. I have painted quite a number of watercolors at [...]

Torrey Pines Beach, San Diego XII, California Landscape Painting

12/5/2012 2:06:06 PM

It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon and I enjoyed strolling along my favorite beach. The natural setting around here is so beautiful and I never get tired of visiting here. In fact every time I come here, it is hard to leave. Off the coast, surfers were getting good waves that day and they were also having a great time. With the sun almost set and the air quickly cooling down, fog rolled in from the ocean, enveloping the craggy cliffs of the Torrey Pines Reserve. It was getting chilly, almost time for me to go home -- but the thought didn't [...]

Autumn Light, Julian, San Diego I, California Landscape Painting

12/2/2012 4:13:19 PM

Julian is my favorite place to look for signs of changing seasons. At an elevation of over 4,000 feet, this mountain village has a climate that is much cooler during autumn and winter months than the rest of San Diego. A drive into the town on a meandering country road is in and of itself a pure delight as we can admire the beautiful rural setting of San Diego's East County. Almost reaching the village center, I came to visit this vineyard that I had happened on a few years back. Soft light was shining from the hills in the back [...]

Beverly Hills IV, California Landscape Painting

11/28/2012 1:10:18 AM

Sources say (link), Los Angeles gets 18 inches of rain per year (the US average is 37 inches); The number of days with any measurable precipitation is 26. On average, there are 284 sunny days per year in LA. No wonder almost always when I go and paint in Los Angeles, the sky is either sunny or hazy. Once in my workshop, I painted a LA downtown scene on a rainy day for my class. As a demo, the painting turned out the way I had planned. But it was kind of odd to see a wet road in it as it [...]

Beverly Hills III, California Landscape Painting

11/24/2012 5:02:30 PM

The sun just set. Nearby streets were full of people doing holiday shopping or just enjoying strolling when I walked by a luxury hotel near Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. The hotel has an outdoor cafe-bar and it started filling up with their well-dressed clients, perhaps for before-dinner cocktails. What caught my eye first, however, was not their cocktails, but tall palm trees reflected on shiny tables at this sidewalk cafe. For a second I was wondering what these people were ordering, but soon I forgot about it and started drawing in my mind - with these tables first and designing everything [...]

Beverly Hills II, California Landscape Painting

11/23/2012 9:29:40 PM

One of the popular themes taken up in the workshops I teach is how to capture light and atmosphere in watercolor. In those classes, I keep telling my students to always think where the light source is in a painting. Unless you are painting a scene that is pitch-black (then, why you bother to paint it?), there's always the light coming from somewhere - even on a very cloudy day. Natural or artificial, finding the light is the first step and an important one in the process. But sometimes the light is not in an ideal location. Then, I'd say, [...]

Beverly Hills I, California Landscape Painting

11/22/2012 11:42:34 PM

Is it the excitement of knowing that celebrities live just around the corner or the influence of a certain image conjured up by popular movies and TV shows? For whatever reason, Beverly Hills always looks prosperous with brand-name boutiques and restaurants as well as expensive foreign cars and international tourists toting shopping bags. In fact it almost feels like visiting a movie studio when you walk on a tree-lined, posh street here. A stretch limo stopped in front of me while I was waiting for the green light. If there was a famous Hollywood actor behind the tinted window of the limo, [...]

San Diego Watercolor Society Workshop Finished

11/16/2012 6:50:21 PM

I just finished my 4-day workshop at the San Diego Watercolor Society. As with all the painters I met in my previous workshops, everyone who attended my class in San Diego was seriously hard-working and fun-loving people, and we painted furiously for 4 solid days, exhanged art tips, laughed, shared meals, etc. I wouldl like to thank the SDWS for organizing and executing an extremely professional workshop and everyone who spent the last 4 days painting with me. Hope to see you all again. Demo (Balboa Park, San Diego) Media: Original watercolor on paper Image Size: 20 x 14 inches (51 x 36 cm) Frame/Mat: No Purchase: [...]

FASO Featured Artists

5/21/2012 1:15:07 AM

Artists about to launch an art career sometimes ask me what steps they should take to be a professional. Almost always my answer is, create a professional art website first - before a blog, facebook page, twitter, etc. That's what I did. I chose FineArtStudioOnline (FASO) as my website host and I know I will never regret it. If you are serious about art as a profession, the entire team of FASO is there for you in many facets on the business side of art. FASO Featured Artists is their latest feature and I am truly honored to have my work featured [...]

San Pedro Shipyard I, California Landscape Painting

5/18/2012 3:47:56 AM

Soaring high in the gray sky, the Vincent Thomas bridge looks impressive. One of the longest suspension bridges in California, it connects San Pedro and the largely industrial Terminal Island, carrying significant truck traffic for the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Seen from the San Pedro side, Terminal Island doesn't look so inviting as the nearby Catalina Island. While Catalina, known for its pristine landscapes, is a popular vacation spot in Southern California, Terminal Island is... not. Here all we see seems to be colossal cargo vessels, heavy equipment, and lots and lots of containers being loaded and unloaded. To [...]

San Pedro II, California Landscape Painting

5/15/2012 10:23:11 AM

I like visiting the waterfront area in San Pedro. A seaside promenade walk while admiring beautiful boats and cruise ships is always nice, but, for me, to see a gigantic industrial zone of the Port of Los Angeles in the background adds a sense of excitement to an otherwise tranquil scene. There's also a working harbor for fishing vessels that I love to paint. Here's one of my attempts showing some of the hard-working fishing boats anchored for the night. The sun had just set behind the hills in the back while the fog was rolling in.... it was a golden opportunity [...]

San Pedro III, California Landscape Painting

5/8/2012 11:59:56 PM

A panoramic view from a hilltop that overlooks the Bay of San Pedro was marvelous. I was there recently and made this quick sketch. From there, one can grasp the sheer size of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach instantly. Both ports are located within the bay and together handle cargo traffic that is perhaps the busiest in the U.S. Reading some history of this seaside community, I learned that the bay was once called "Bahia de los Fumos (Bay of Smokes)." I was intrigued to find out that the name was chosen by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese explorer [...]

Los Angeles Workshop Update

5/6/2012 10:36:35 PM

The first session of my workshop with the South Bay Watercolor Society (SBWS) just ended. I was very pleased to see a workshop room at the NWS Gallery in San Pedro (Los Angeles) filled with so much enthusiasm in the last three days. I would like to say thank-you to my students who willingly traded the Cinco de Mayo celebrations and fun at the beach for three days of painting with me. Also my sincere thank-you goes to the workshop director of the SBWS for her tireless efforts to organize and run my workshop so smoothly. The second session will take place, with [...]

Los Angeles Workshop This Weekend

5/1/2012 3:09:52 AM

South Bay Watercolor Society sponsors a 3-day watercolor workshop with me this weekend on "Capturing Light and Atmosphere in Watercolor." It will be held in the NWS (National Watercolor Society) Building in San Pedro, California, 9 am to 4 pm, May 4-6. A few spots have opened up. If you're interested in joining us or have any questions, please contact me. There will be plenty of one-on-one instruction and demonstrations. I will have another weekend workshop, at the same place, May 11-13. San Pedro is 20 miles south of the Los Angeles International Airport. $250 for SBWS members, $275 for non-members. These paintings [...]

Have You Googled Your Name Lately?

3/31/2012 5:43:40 AM

A recent conversation with my student revolved around names artists use. He said he was thinking about adopting a more English-sounding name. This talented young man recently came from Europe and he thinks his name is rather long and not easy for Americans to remember and pronounce. I said having a unique name was to his advantage. I'm not sure if he was completely convinced but I said it wouldn't be an issue and even going by initials might be just enough for him if he became well established. He then asked whether I ever thought about changing my name in America. [...]

Refugio State Beach I, California Landscape Painting

2/11/2012 5:58:53 AM

No matter what the results, painting outdoors is always a rewarding experience because we learn so much that may be too hard to learn in the studio. After painting all day in a couple of different locations, I came to this beach. The sun was about to set and the light was just irresistible. I knew there wouldn't be enough time to finish a painting but I did as much as I could anyway (I completed it in my studio the next day). Today I will do a demo in Lakeside, near San Diego, California, for a plein-air painters group from the [...]

California Artist of the Year by Twin Cities TOSCA

2/2/2012 3:17:47 AM

Exploring TOSCA is a beautiful quarterly arts and culture magazine and the most comprehensive guide for art events in the Twin Cities region (Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota). Last year they launched the American Artist Series where one artist was chosen by the editor-in-chief to represent each state. In their current issue (winter), I am extremely honored that I am being featured with the title of "California Artist of the Year." (click to open pdf file to see TOSCA winter issue) Arts and culture thrive in this part of America's Heartland. I didn't know this but many sources point out that the Twin [...]

More Paintings of Palm Springs, California Landscape

1/29/2012 1:37:04 PM

In a land that was once called Agua Caliente ("hot water"), the sun first awakens sleeping mountains that surround the town of Palm Springs. It is so amazing to see colors of the mountainside change virtually every second as the day breaks. Then the nearby desert begins to show colors as if it was breathing again. And streetlights in the glitzy downtown Palm Springs go off, one by one... Here one can embrace the magnificent natural beauty and the sophisticated glamour and style that make the town a magnet for celebrities - life in Palm Springs is unlike any other. Palm Springs, [...]

Carmel Valley Village I, California Landscape Painting

1/26/2012 12:22:10 PM

Panoramic views of the river valley, misty mountains, enticing vineyards… meandering through idyllic scenery like these, I found driving into this small village to be a pure delight. Carmel Valley Village can be reached from the mountains or from the coast. Either way, watching what unfolded outside my car windows made me want to stop many times for quick sketches. However, this village and the surrounding area is a popular travel destination, so traffic can be heavy and people drive pretty fast (You really have to keep your eyes on the road). In this painting is a restaurant near the village center [...]

Palm Springs III, California Landscape Painting

1/19/2012 11:26:28 AM

There's nothing like painting outdoors in the middle of natural surroundings - even if it means toting an entire plein air painting equipment in the wilderness, worrying about overexposure to the sun or difficulty of finding decent facilities. So, when I was offered a day in the pristine desert with easy access to all the comforts of modern civilization, it sounded almost too good to be true. I painted this and many more recently in Palm Springs, California, with a few other artists. Daytime weather felt like warm spring; birds were singing and desert shrubs and cacti shimmered in the incredible light... [...]

Balboa Park Sunset II, California Landscape Painting

12/20/2011 1:58:33 AM

I would like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who took the time to attend my demo & lecture in Brea, California last Sunday. Thanks to the kind invitation of the Watercolor West, I had the pleasure of demonstrating and speaking about my creative process to the room full of people at the Brea Gallery. At the end of a four-hour session, I had three paintings, 15"x22" each, completed. I was happy to be able to show three different types of work that I do - landscapes, interiors and waterscapes. My landscape demo was based on this small study [...]

Malibu I, California Landscape Painting

12/14/2011 2:47:52 AM

Shopping, wrapping, decorating, sending out holiday cards, entertaining... Is your to-do list too long, and you're feeling a little stressed-out? If you find yourself not really enjoying this special time of the year, then it's time to do something just for yourself. If you are a watercolor painter or love the medium, I may have a suggestion. Next Sunday I will be doing a painting demonstration and lecture in Los Angeles. Please come and enjoy as I finish off the 2011 watercolor seminar series organized by the Watercolor West. Sunday, December 18, 1-5pm Brea Civic Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California For more information and registration, [...]

National Watercolor Society 91st Annual Exhibition

11/20/2011 1:57:36 AM

I am extremely honored that my entry has been included in the National Watercolor Society 91st Annual Exhibition. The show will run in the NWS Gallery (San Pedro, California) until December 3rd. Santa Monica Blvd. IV Media: Original watercolor on paperImage Size: 14.25 x 21.5 inches (36 x 54.5 cm) Frame/Mat: No - Join me on Facebook and follow my blog on NetworkedBlogs.- Visit my gallery at Daily Paintworks.- Follow me on Twitter- FASO Artist Websites - Easy, Professional Art Websites for Artists who Sell [...]

Workshop in San Diego - Next Weekend

9/12/2011 4:04:18 AM

My next workshop will be in San Diego, California on 17 and 18 September at the San Diego Watercolor Society. We will talk about how to capture light and atmosphere in a painting and try a few different approaches. Please check with the SDWS/workshops to see if there's any space left if you're interested in joining me. After this at the SDWS, I will teach a week-long workshop in November, 2012. I was invited to do a demonstration this past weekend by a plein-air painters' group of the San Diego Watercolor Society. Among them were some of my students who will come [...]

Monterey and Carmel Beach Paintings

9/3/2011 4:28:39 AM

"What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness." -- John Steinbeck (From Travels with Charley: In Search of America) In the U.S., when Labor Day comes around, we feel summer is coming to an end. Or at least some of us seem to be mentally programmed to believe so. At a day's end on this small beach near Cannery Row in Monterey, shadows thrown by the setting sun were getting longer every minute, looking as if they were playing with waves. Who said summer never ends in California? As days get shorter, we do feel [...]

June 2011 Bold Brush Painting Competition

7/20/2011 5:30:58 PM

My watercolor painting "Oceanside Habor, San Diego I" has been awarded Outstanding Watercolor in the recent Bold Brush Painting Competition. I would like to thank FineArtStudioOnline for this special recognition! I am also happy to announce that this painting has been donated to the San Diego Watercolor Society for the Opportunity Drawing to be held at the opening reception of our 31st International Exhibition on October 7, 2011. The funds raised will be used to help cover the expenses of the exhibit. Oceanside Harbor, San Diego I Click here for an enlarged view of this painting. Media: Original watercolor on paperImage Size: 14.25 x 21.5 [...]