Blog

My New Book "Bretagne - Breizh"

9/19/2013 9:44:47 AM

  One way to really understand French culture is to get to know the regions that make up the country.  Each region is so unique with different character, history, climate, cuisine, etc., and visitors need to spend some time within a particular region for an in-depth look.  After numerous visits to France, I'm just beginning to understand myself how deep their rich diversity is.   This past summer, my travel destination was the region of Brittany (Bretagne in French, Breizh in Breton) in the peninsula between the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay.  Tucked away in the northwest corner of France, people there [...]

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Colors and Values

9/13/2013 3:10:29 AM

  "It is wonderful how much depends upon the relations of black and white.  A black and white, if properly balanced, suggests colour."  -- Winslow HomerIn my workshops, one of the things my students may get tired of hearging from me is how important it is to be able to see the correct values.  I do not dwell too much on colors.  I show them my palette but I also tell them that they can use whatever colors they like.  That is not to say that I take colors lightly.  On the contrary.  What I mean is simply that colors, or hues [...]

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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 [...]

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Demo and Workshop in Mission Viejo, California

9/6/2013 9:36:50 PM

  I am honored to have been invited to do a demo and a workshop for the Saddleback Art League located in Mission Viejo, California.   My demo and talk will take place on September 10, and my 2-day workshop will be on the weekend of September 28 and 29.    It is the inspirational light that I look for to capture a certain atmosphere in a painting.  In my workshop, I will also do 2 demos a day and work with you to create watercolor paintings filled with the kind of light and mood that you desire.   For more details and a sign-up form [...]

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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 [...]

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