Summerhome park

My dad and his lovely wife of 40 years or so,my second mom Charlotte,got tired of renting summer getaways. So in the summer of 1979 or so we made our way to the Russian River for a week,and in 1980, they pulled the trigger on a place of their own. The River or the "Riv" as we called it, was and is where you can find them at least eight weeks a year. A great community,beach and lodge, where we all had lots of fun. This was a Christmas present.


acrylic and wax on canvas.

Airports

I love them, My first choice for breakfast on Sunday mornings,with my grandmother was San Francisco international airport. We would pull into short term parking,take a variety of elevators,escalators and moving walkways to the massive domestic terminal and wind our way past the ticket counters to a little restaurant,where "way cool" pilots,stewardess's and busy travelers would start their days. We would wait sometimes 15 minutes for just the right table,overlooking the busy tarmac and runways. Pan Am,TWA,Branniff! The colors,the Jets.
I still find myself drifting in the lanes of 101 south when I pass that magical place


This piece is 54" tall and 50" wide. Mixed media, Acrylic and wax on canvas.

Happy Birthday Mom!

My mother was born in the city and raised 2 blocks from my current address in the Marina district. At any given time, she could be found climbing on the monuments or playing hide and seek at San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts. Happy Birthday to the most wonderful person I've ever known. XO

The city from above.

I've always loved maps and satellite imagery. Growing up,my father had this book called "Above San Francisco" a pictorial done from aircraft of all types,some images made it easy to distinguish local landmarks,photographed from one to several thousand feet. I found the images from our first Space Station, Skylab. launched in the 1970's to be the most intriguing. This painting is an impression of that memory.




54"x 54" acrylic and oil stencil on canvas with wax. Sold 9/10

An unmistakable profile

How can you mess this one up? Over the years, I've been lucky enough to visit a number amazing cities that sit on or against a body of water from Hong Kong to New York, Sydney and Rio De Janeiro, all with unique and remarkable attributes. The views from the top of Victoria peak of Hong Kong and across the harbour to Kowloon are fantastic. especially at dusk. When approaching Manhattan from JFK, you are immediately blown away by the necessity of a wide angle lens to take in the expanse of the island and its endless silhouette of buildings and bridges. Sydney is best viewed from the Taronga park zoo across the bay,with views of the Opera House and harbour bridge. and Rio from Pau de Acucar or Cristo Redentor,provides aerial views without leaving the ground,stay for the cable car up sugar loaf. All of these cities have left in me indelible memories, though my stays were all to brief. I can picture these skylines,but not at all well enough to attempt to paint them. This place, San Francisco, I've seen thousands of times,from an equal number of view points.

This painting is acrylic on canvas 36" x 36" "City Night"

What I did on my summer vacation.

The excruciating wait for the afternoon school bell on a Friday in some late spring, in some year of my youth, was mercifully over. The evening would see my brother and sister arrive by bus with suitcases and sleeping bags in tow. The small car was packed,trunk filled,passenger compartment equipped with car sickness bags and pillows. The Rambler was ready.
The evening before, we would all, spend the night in the living room,as per and in anticipation of a clean, 6am wake-up ,sans bathing and bed making.
To be up before the sun as an adolescent was rare and welcome,for what lies ahead, in the time before seat belts, was a 5 hour dash up u.s 101, a two lane super highway,that would bisect every town from Novato through Santa Rosa,Ukiah and concluding with great fanfare at our destination,our aunt and uncles Summer home on the Eel river. The Heart of the Redwoods.

This Painting acrylic on canvas 52" x 52"

This bridge I run too...

About 3 days a week, I throw on my shorts and running shoes,and battle the headwinds of the Marina Green and Crissy field in effort to reach one of the 7 wonders of the engineering world(documented,I think) The Golden Gate Bridge. Up until the Building of the Veranzano narrows bridge spanning the entry to the ports of New York City and New Jersey, the GGB had the Longest single suspended span of roadway between two towers. Built in the 1930's, at the cost of extraordinary amounts of money and workers lives. The wonder, still stands today as an incredible testament to mankind's ability to dream up the impossible and carry it through to its completion. The Bridge stands as the most photographed and visited landmark in North America.
And I can throw a rock at it. These paintings represent my impressions thus far of a sight I've never tired of. The smaller(Bridge Dusk) is acrylic on hand stretched canvas 33" x 18"
The Larger (Golden Gate Dawn) is also acrylic on canvas with wax 54"x 54"

Chartres Cathedral and Joseph Campbell

About five years ago,I was sitting around one evening watching the local public t.v station KQED, They were presenting,with occasional pledge breaks,the fascinating interview of the scholar and writer Joseph Campbell. It was hosted by the great journalist Bill Moyers. The interview was conducted at the Lucas ranch in Marin county. the evening was a wonder to say the least. For those of you unfamiliar with J.C's scholarship He was and remains posthumously the preeminent expert on ancient and modern mythology. He has written at least 10 books and edited a number of others surrounding the subject. This interview was titled "The Power of Myth" covering among other things, the "first story tellers". It was in this section,where he goes in to detail using his own fantastic ability to tell a story, his initial visit to the cave network in south central France in the town of Lascaux. He tells of entering these dark places and coming upon these exquisite paintings on the walls and ceilings , paintings of animals and in particular a bull some 20ft long on one wall, It wasn't until his visit to a comparatively modern cathedral in Chartres,that he realized fully the significance of the efforts, that this group of ancients endeavoured to create. This amazing church near Paris, houses some of the most fantastic carved figures of saints covering the walls. he couldn't help,but to be brought back to Lascaux and the walls and the pictorials of the hunt. This was their church. Chartres was his.

signs

I had always wanted to shimmy up a pole or hang out over a busy freeway to confiscate some of my favorite signage. In place of that,thinking better for it, I decided to paint a few.

sold!......

Granted, I blocked the door to the gallery,held the potential customers hostage for several minutes until the checkbooks came out. They seem happy, and so was I.

The Dome of the Palace of Fine arts ,is 20" X 20" acrylic on canvas. 2007

Coit Tower is 30" x 24" ,acrylic on canvas 2009

mosaics

some initial efforts.

A friends easel.

Her name was Maristela , the wife of one of my dearest friends. We had become very close as a result of their relationship, she was family. Not long after their marriage, she sat me down in her living room and told me of the diagnosis she received from her doctor,it was breast cancer. The news was devastating,but through their collective strength and positive state of being,we were all able to remain hopeful. It was an honor to attend a fundraiser, benefitting Maristela's treatment, featuring her wonderful art, and, in donation to the effort, a number of her close friends works, to be auctioned off. The silent auction took place in the foyer of the main stage of the fine arts building at the College of Marin, a place that I had celebrated a number of opening nights as an actor in their program. The evening had a different feel then those nights, it was so heartfelt, their were flowers and wine and guests with a sense of purpose.The evening was a rousing success and we all left with a great feeling , in awe of their courage. They made the long journey overseas, first to their country home in France,then on to a treatment program.

When they made their way back to California,they found it necessary to continue treatment,Maristela's condition, stable for a number of years had regressed, her strength and courage never deterred. In early 2004 her battle came to an end, she was under the constant care of, and surrounded by an extraordinary husband and their extended family. After a wonderful tribute in her honor near a brook in Mill Valley, once again surrounded by her art and music,I was, over the coarse of the next couple of months, presented by her husband, a lovely portrait of Maristela done in oil, and her easel, built with loving care and craftsmanship by her husband,my great friend . These two possessions will never leave my side.

My new venue

Hello all! I'm looking forward to posting my work and thoughts around their creation on this wonderful resource.....pics to follow. Karl:)