October 2025

A Brush with the Clouds

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Having spent my adolescent and twenties in East Texas, I am always enchanted by the beautiful skies and clouds when returning for a visit. There’s something timeless and dramatic about those towering thunderheads massive, powerful clouds that roll in with a deep rumble, drench the earth in a quick burst of rain, and then move on as if nothing happened. On calmer days, great billowing cumulus clouds drift lazily across the sky, unhurried and magnificent, like giant ships sailing through an endless blue sea.

In my younger days working outside in the the relentless Texas summer heat, the cloudbursts would bring a short refreshing cool break to the heat, but in an hour or two there would be no evidence of the downpour.

Here at my current home in the Monterey Bay area, the skies are a little less dramatic. Being close to the Pacific, the skies are usually a non-event. The exception is just after a fall/winter storm, when we get a glimpse of that same grandeur I remember from growing up in Texas.

We had a storm front come through the other day, and during our usual walk among the Marina Dunes, the big cumulus clouds were rolling by.  I couldn’t resist snapping a few photos for later study.  One photo in particular was good, so I submitted it to the local newspaper Monterey Weekly.  To my delight, the very next day it appeared in their daily eNewsletter as the “Photo of the Day.”  You can see it here.

Well, I just had to paint the scene.  Here are a few shots showing the painting as it came together. 

Here is the finished piece. I did take some artistic license, heightening the clouds for a bit more drama. As always, I may tweak it here and there in the future, but for now, I’m calling it done.

Marina Dunes Squall, 22×28, oil on canvas

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Painting Sapporo, Japan

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Many of you know I recently traveled to Sapporo, Japan, for the very special occasion of my son’s wedding. I won’t turn this into a full travelogue, but of course, I couldn’t resist packing my acrylic paints. Between family gatherings, wedding festivities, and endless toasts, my paint kit stayed in the hotel until the final days of our visit when most everyone had left and I could finally sneak away to paint.

Our hotel, by design, was adjacent to Nakajima Park, which is one of my favorite spots in Sapporo.  I’ve painted there a number of times over the years.  Usually, we visit in the spring when cherry blossoms turn the park into a pink paradise. This time, though, it was early autumn. Only a few trees were beginning to show a slight color and most of the landscape still a sea of green. Paintings with mostly green are a challenge for artists, as it is difficult to bring out the variations of color to make a pleasing piece.

I set up in the Japanese Garden and started a piece, but after about half an hour, I was tempted to give up. The composition felt flat and dull. Still, I decided to push through. After over an hour or so, the painting started to come together—still unfinished, but promising. I reluctantly packed up and headed back for more family activities. Here are a few photos from that day.

The next day was rainy and blustery, so couldn’t go out to paint, but the day after that was nicer.  After another hour plus session, I finally think I got a keeper.  Below are some photos.

Here is a quick snapshot of the painting.

BTW, in my recent studies on how AI can improve your paintings, I asked ChatGPT for several examples on how it would paint the scene.  I think I like mine better!

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