September 2021

WINDY, FROTHY, BLUSTERY, SUNNY, and GLORIOUS!!

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I haven’t seen Garrapata coastline this frothy in a long time. I went out with the Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters Wednesday to the coastline. It was such a beautiful day with the unusual pounding surf. Only a few artists showed up this time, and some quit because of the wind.

Generally the paintings I do on these paintout events are just for fun, and not to keep. However this one I might keep and touch up in the studio. About two hours of work.

Enjoy this short video of the pounding surf by Soberanes Point along the beautiful California coastline.

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Hear Me Roar!

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From April 2020, for a year, I posted on Facebook a painting each day as a brief diversion from the lockdowns and other bad news this year. Neglecting my weblog, I’ll post in the coming days some of my better posts. Some of these paintings are still available.

“Hear Me Roar”, 24×12, oil on canvas 

Winter storms bring a lot of water action to the California Coastline. The huge swells created many miles out to sea come crashing against the shoreline rocks creating a constant roar, crashing waves, frothy surf, and great painting subjects.

From the “nouvelle prison de studio” is one of the ‘Vertical Water” series I add to from time to time. This scene is from Pacific Grove looking due west out to sea as a storm on the horizon is breaking.

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Tahoe Snow

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From April 2020, for a year, I posted on Facebook a painting each day as a brief diversion from the lockdowns and other bad news this year. Neglecting my weblog, I’ll post in the coming days some of my better posts. Some of these paintings are still available.

[Posted November 11, 2020]

As the Sierra Nevada mountain range starts to settle in for winter, let’s visit Lake Tahoe, at least virtually! As the snow settles on the large boulders which line the lake, interesting abstract patterns start to form which are fun to paint. The lake is too deep to freeze, so the myriad blues and greens of the water contrast against the whiteness of the snow and the dark evergreens. Soon the winter wonderland attracts skiers, snowboarders, and winter enthusiasts from around the world visiting the many ski resorts.

Showing in a gallery (now closed) in Tahoe City for many years, the lake is probably my most often painted subject. Visiting frequently in my car, motorcycle and RV, I painted it in all seasons, both plein air and studio versions. From the “quarantena dello studio”, today’s brief virus diversion is a studio painting of the east shore of the lake deeply blanketed in snow.

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Studio Open House – Save the Date!

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I will be participating in my first ever Artists Studio Tour Open house. Save the date to stop by my new studio in Marina, CA. October 16, 17, 23, & 24.

Besides visiting the studio, I need to clear it out! I’ll have many older but still great paintings on discount, some deep discount, both framed and unframed. I will also have my books “Plein Tahoe”, and “The Creeks and Rivers of Silicon Valley” for sale on discount.

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Endicott Arm

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From April 2020, for a year, I posted on Facebook a painting each day as a brief diversion from the lockdowns and other bad news this year. Neglecting my weblog, I’ll post in the coming days some of my better posts. Some of these paintings are still available.

“Endicott Arm”, 24×12, oil on canvas

The towering cliffs surrounded us effused with waterfalls tumbling down to the glacial carved inlet. Advances and declines of the massive Ice Age glaciers had scoured this area dozens of times. Waterfalls plunged from astonishing heights down steep fjord walls and into the azure water. The fresh air, enhanced by the fizzing and popping of the glacial ice in the salty sea as it slowly melts, was all around. Harbor seals eyed us as our cruise ship made it’s way up Endicott Arm.

We visited Endicott Arm on our 4th cruise to Alaska in 2017, hopping the boat in San Francisco for a 10 day round trip.

Today’s offering from the “Coraintín Stiúideo” is one of my “Vertical Water” series of the azure sea in Endicott Arm. 

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Marina Dunes

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Marina Dunes, 10×30, oil on canvas

Celebrating our beautiful Marina dunes, beaches, and shoreline, enjoy another new painting from the Neff Studio.  Some locals might recognize the scene.  We frequently walk the trails along the beautiful Marina coastline. This scene in Ft Ord Dunes State Park is from the top of the hill near the Divarty St entrance looking across the bay to Monterey.  If you look closely you might see a few of the ubiquitous paragliders in the painting.

For years before moving here, I drove right by the Marina area to paint further south for shows like the Carmel Art Festival, and at the time, showing in galleries in Carmel.  Now, the rainbow of colors in the dunes draw me in.  From dark grays to bright reds and yellows, the patchwork of nature makes a seemingly abstraction of patterns, and I have grown to appreciate the wonderful scenery near my new home.

BTW, this painting and many others will be featured during the Monterey Artists Open Studio Tour.  Save the dates of October 16,17 and 23,24 if you want to stop by to see my studio.  I need to clear out my studio, so will have many pieces from all over California and the western US many on deep discount.

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Along Going to the Sun

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From April 2020, for a year, I posted on Facebook a painting each day as a brief diversion from the lockdowns and other bad news this year. Neglecting my weblog, I’ll post in the coming days some of my better posts. Some of these paintings are still available.

“Along Going to the Sun”, 28×22, oil over acrylic on canvas

[Nov 4, 2020]

While the nation impatiently waits for the results of the national election, how about a brief diversion from all the news! Let’s fly off to Montana…

One of the spectacular drives in the world is Going to the Sun road in Glacier Park Montana, It’s a spectacular 52-mile road that winds over passes, crosses the Continental Divide and travels through incredibly varied terrain—from glacial lakes to jagged cliffs. The views are spectacular at every turn, and for some, the steep terrain and hairpin turns can cause a bit of vertigo! From the “vinnustofu sóttkví” is a painting of one of the landmarks along this amazing road. Right at Logan Pass sits Reynolds Mountain. With an elevation of over 9000 feet, it towers over the pass like a citadel guarding the treasures of the high mountain terrain.

This painting of the iconic peak was actually an experiment. Most of the underpainting is in acrylic, and then finished off with oils. 

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