Sitting on the bank among the willows and the reeds listening to the crock of frogs, the buzz of bees, sounds of birds and the grace of the crane repeated in the waters. Just beyond lies the Pacific Ocean ebbing and flowing all with there own rhythm against the California Coast here in Newport Beach. So I sit here if only for a brief moment to feel my own rhythm of life and say "Thank You". This is an oil painting on Birch panel that is mounted on a varnished wooden box. $125+s/h (SOLD)
Funny how you can look at a photo for years and suddenly it yells at you "PAINT ME" I took this photograph way before digital cameras where around. This psychic shop has been in this location for 35 years that I know of, its on Balboa island in Newport Beach next to the ferris-wheel that I just posted. I have walked past this place hundreds of times and with each ,I would stop and stare knowing that one-day, I'm going to paint you.... Well, yesterday I was rummaging around in my studio and underneath this long table I spotted this blue box... Opening it, I find photos of past works, portraits, cars, landscapes and even my time with abstracts.. But! in the back of all this, I come to photos of things I was going to paint someday and long behold, there it was, thus! Here it is. A 6x8 inch oil painting on archival board mounted on a varnished wooden box: (Sold)
Yes its a long title but, it fits and thats all that matters... Painting this made me smile the whole time, sometimes things just work out that way.. Listening to the news or even reading the paper they play us like a yo-yo.. First some good new fallowed by bad news, its come to making me watch cartoons but even those can be a bit violent... How about all those pills we should be taking.. lookout! they can make you sick.... So I remembered this photo. Scrambling though CDs more files then I'll ever need, Ah! there it is "Happy" What a find.. I think I'll just have a Root-beer float and stare at this for a while. It's a 6x6inch original oil on wood, you know the rest. (Sold)
Capturing light is such a wonderful challenge in trying to paint.. Even though I'm looking at a photo, the subtlety's of what is happening just fascinates me to no end. I have to look past what the subject is and look deep into what is really happening within the edges of colors next to another. I have to feel the light not just paint it.. It comes down to what color do I put down first, should I approach it this way or that, so much thinking has to happen.... All this makes me aware of how fantastic this planet is and the need to take care of it... Original 6x8 inch oil painting on Birch panel, mounted on a varnished wooden box: (Sold)
Coffee cup in hand, visor down, morning talk on the AM, I make my way to a meeting. I think of my son and his trips every morning to and fro in traffic... Soon he gets to leave all this as a memory as he gathers his family and heads into a more peaceful way of life... Good for him.. I'm gonna miss him, but, it will give me a really good reason to go back East to give and get a hug.... Original oil painting on Birch panel, mounted on a varnished wooden box: (Sold)
Dark streets, rainy nights, glare, a bit of chill in the air and a touch of mystery... I'm happy... Not sure just what that's about, but never the less ever since I was a kid I loved that look and feel... At an early age when I started to paint, it was that kind of scene that pulled at me, so here I am, many years later and they are still calling to me. My journey is a 6x6 inch original oil painting on Birch panel mounted to a varnished wooden box: $200 includes shipping in USA
I got an email from my good friend and I must say, "One great art" Tom Swimm that took this shot and sent it to me to paint. Tom and his wonderful wife Rosemary make this two month long show that we do extra special at the Laguna festival of arts. This oil painting is 8x6 inch but I will be making it into a 60x36" canvas painting that will be in next years show in Laguna.. So yesterday I painted this and got a feel for what I will do on a bigger scale. Again, this is a 8x6 original oil on Birch panel mounted on a varnished wooden box:$140 (Sold)
While driving around in some back roads one morning like I do, I came upon this one mail box at the end of a dirt road in the middle of farm land.. I look around and in the distance up this road I spot this house who's mail box this must belong to... I stop my car and venture up to this lonely mail box, camera in hand, squat down and fire off one shot.. As I head back to my car, engine still running, the thought crosses my mind, if anyone in the house happened to be looking out there window at that moment had to have scratched there head wondering (what the) even though I waved, holding my camera up, probably added even more to there confusion... I just drove off with thoughts of how I was going to paint this... So here it is.. A 6x6 inch original oil painting on Birch panel, mounted on a varnished wooden box. (Sold)
When I'm out in the back roads of small towns there is a quietness in those early hours that feels wonderful to me, then breaking the stillness is the sound of the morning paper hitting driveways giving the start to a new day.
With the soft clouds filling the sky as the day begins its end, I say good by to the wetlands and all that it will be... With summer coming to an end I leave this place, go back to cars, traffic, cell phones, emails and a-like.... Could be be worse... I count my blessings.. Lots of under-painting in this one, each stage I let dry then build more color on top till I got what I wanted..
So, my wife walks in with a sheepish grin on her face and at the same time extending her arm holding this bag out to me... I say, smiling back "what's in the bag" as she hands it over ... I slowly undo the folded top just to play the suspense a little longer for myself.... I peek inside and suck in my breath..."Candy Apples"! You must understand... I... LOVE... CANDY... APPLES!... Finding spicy cinnamon candy apples is really difficult or so it seems... Well, I immediately unwrapped the paper, salivating, I prepare carefully to take the first bite.... Fortunately I had the presence of mind to photograph it first... Then the challenge of figuring out how to begin eating this delectable, sweet, scrumptious candy apple.... At 7:14 am I had the second one for breakfast... Just couldn't wait any longer...:) Oil on Birch panel mounted on a varnished wooden box: (Sold)
Back-bay and its wildlife preserve is truly a wonderful place to be. It is very much like a sanctuary not just for migrating birds, but for us humans that also need to stop and take a mental refuge amongst the waters, reeds, trees and flowers.... So much to learn here when one stops..
Closed! I said to myself in disbelief looking at the gas-gage and hoping I'll make it to the next station.... Yes I found another just in time and could lean back and cruse happily into LA...
With the sun glaring on my windshield I head east to Palm Springs on a hot summers late afternoon. My trusty camera in the ready, I click off one shot hoping to capture the subject for my next painting. So here it is in all its glory, painted in sepia colors, I handled this almost as a water color on top of lots of under-painting. The glazed color's gave the richness to the shadows I needed, popping the glare to the setting sun. This oil painting is a 6x8 inch on birch paneling that is mounted to a varnished wood box. $140 +s/h (Sold)
Here is another that was lost in the shuffle of galleries... Thought I would never see it again.. It has been a year so it feels good to put it on the market again... This is a 6x8 inch oil on archival board mounted to a 2 1/2 inch varnished wooden box... I love this piece, but then again... I created it... brings a tear to my eye... Can be yours: (Sold)
Going home in early morning fog I was reminded of the subtlety of shapes and color of all that is around me... The location is incidental, but the mood is unmistakably familiar at first glance... Funny how somethings are like that... Loosely painted and fun for me to do I needed to share.
With a relatively warm muggy morning, the sky giving me challenging colors to work out, I pick my camera up and take one photo as the sun continues to rise obliterating all the colors that first caught my eye... Then download the shot, print it, tape it to my easel, do the painting, take a picture of it.... up-load... And... Now you get to see the finished work two hours later.... I think back on a film and this same process from beginning to end would have been a week or more.... I do love the new ways... So here is a brand new 6x6 oil on Birch paneling, mounted on a wooden box, ready for someones wall.... Hope to have another this week to post. (Sold)
This was the sixth and final in the series on waves on the west coast. This has been a real treat to do and work on. After viewing this I decided to add some clouds in the sky, I needed to feel some movement on the horizon.. Always tweaking.. This is in La Jolla and their beautiful warmer waters. 6x6inch oil on archival board mounted on a 2 1/2" deep finished wooden box so no framing is needed. For availability E-mail:schwartzart@earthlink.net
My continued love for the airstream will never end.. Yes! and the iconic of all "the 57 Chev."... How much more Americana can I get... This was so much fun to paint that its silly... I smiled the whole time, from the sky to pebbles it was happy-time... May I remind all, from now till Jun 25 /09 any painting with a Paypal button can be purchased, after that date all my blog posts will be in my summer show for two months.. Any interest during that period will have to be through emails and based on availability.. The above painting is a 6x6 inch oil on Birch panel mounted on a varnished wooden box ready to hang.. For availability E-mail:schwartzart@earthlink.net
Here is a place for me of much memories, "Balboa Island" in Newport Beach.. This strip of land has water on both sides and it ends at a place called "The Wedge". has some of the best surfing ability's in southern California... Now this relatively small section on Balboa Island is the fun zone, there is a barge that ferries people and cars back and forth, while yachts and Duffy's dodge this constant. I'm in a Duffy just cruising with some good friends, sipping on an ice-cold margaritas when this shot was taken. 12x4 inch oil on Birch panel, mounted on a varnished wooden box. (Sold) 
Here I go again making changes to my work, but I cant help myself.... I really like this better that I completed the peppers, I liked the other but for me... "This one is it"...
Yes this is a repost of this painting, but after a long look like I do of my work I felt it to be a little bar and because its my painting, I can do whatever I want... I added the electric & phone poles with wires and all along with headlights coming down the street... I feel, it made such a difference to the composition and look, it deserves another peek...
This was a labor of love to do and accomplish.. after painting this I need to re-do my prescription for glasses... Oh! it was fun painting and working it all out... Also good burgers at "Big Bills".. This along with my other blog paintings will be going into the Laguna show in the summer. I mentioned before that on Jun 25 all paypal buttons are removed from my blog site and there will be a price increase as of that date do to the nature of the show. I hope to post more blogs between now and then at present prices unless otherwise indicated. During the summer I will accept emails if there is any interest on a painting, all emails will be checked every evening for two months... Just as a thought, this painting , as much as I would have loved doing it in one day, wasn't gonna happen... This is a 6x8 inch oil on Birch panel, mounted on a varnished wooden box. E-mail schwartzart@earthlink.net
Traveling through the heartland a couple of years back, the small town feel of time standing still captured my mind. In pulling off the road for food or gas, I just stare and feel the wonder that these places still exist.. Those buttermilk skies made me want to stay and never comeback to the speed that I live in.. This is an oil on Birch panel, mounted on a 6x8 inch varnished wooden box. For availability E-mail:schwartzart@earthlink.net
The painting is from the Laguna Canyon, one of many trips up & down I'll be doing this summer. The canyon runs from east & west, west ends at the ocean and just a few block up is the Festival of Arts... In this painting I wanted to capture the glare at this time of day so I needed to paint wet into wet to get the distortion of color in the trees and light racing over the land.. This is an oil on Birch panel, mounted on a varnished wooden box. For availability E-mail:schwartzart@earthlink.net
Caught this at 5:45 in the morning this last weekend and had to stop and take this shot. it was already 79 degrees in the Springs ( Palm Springs that is) and was going to really heat-up, so time was of the essence to get home and out of the sun. The layering of the hills and pushing of colors and shadows is what I wanted to convey, I just might do a canvas of it for the up-coming Laguna Festival of the Arts that I'm in.. This is a 6x8 inch oil on Birch panel, mounted on a varnished wooden box ready to hang. (Sold)
I love playing with the abstraction clouds give me, not just shapes but also the mottling of color within... The colors in the hill, the negative space around the clouds all form designs and add elements to explore and vital to this mix, the linear foreground of green supporting it all. Oil on Birch panel, mounted on a 6x8 inch varnished wooden box$130 (Sold)
From the beginning stage to the finish line. The process of moving through and thinking of what is painted first, how the colors would feel and just what I wanted this to look like at the end is such a wonderful stimulating experience .. Oh! there where many steps, but not to bore anyone, I'm just showing three, like with any of our paintings, the stages are numerous, I'm lucky to have photographed these, I get so into it, I forget to take pictures.. I indeed had fun playing with all the geometric shapes, then to accentuate them a bit further, the pebble effect came into play... I then looked at this for sometime before deciding on the sign post in the foreground and where to place it... A little to the left, a little to the right, here, there???... I walked in & out of my studio half a dozen times before committing, I did not want to feel.."Oh No!" why there... Yes one can change it, but what a hassle.. "Enough on this" .. Look and enjoy.. 6x8 inch oil on Birch panel, mounted on a varnished wooden box. (Sold)
My continuation on the them of trains. These giant that crisscross the lands of this spinning ball has had an attraction for me since childhood... The sheer power in what they are is what gets to me... I used to take my kids to a place and we would wait at the entrance of this tunnel. We would stand on the tracks and when we felt the vibration we new... then wait again..., hearts beating a little faster staring into the giants black cave, then we would see the light beam swaying back & forth against the walls, we could feel and hear its deep throaty rumble, it is at this point we jumped back as this monster of steel shows itself, a blast of an air-horn, fallowed by the warm wind created by this magnificent machine as it rolls past. Great stuff... I can still feel the excitement talking about it....A memory forever... I have to go paint another, talk soon.... Oil on archival panel mounted on a 6x6 inch varnished wooden box. (Sold)
My love of these giants that crisscross the lands never ceases to enthrall me time and time again..
In early winter coming through Bakersfield here in California, you can run into "tule fog" a very heavy low to the ground kind of fog that makes driving a bet tricky, sometimes it will open up and and within seconds your looking at a gray wall that your headlights cant penetrate so you come to a crawl.. It felt good to pull off, get gas and take a breather before heading back on the I-5 to LA and then Orange county... I have made this run so many times that its silly... As a side note.. If your ever on this run, you must stop at a place called "Harris Ranch" it is the best place to stop and eat or stay the night... Its the only place I have been that has eggs that taste like eggs.. An oil on Birch panel mounted on a 6x8 inch varnished wooden box.For availability E-mail:schwartzart@earthlink.net (SOLD)
Along the California coast heading up to Big Sur on I-1 about 6:40 in the morning, I took the chance of finding a place to pull off and take some shots.. This place is named "And rightly so" "Ragged Point" I used to live in Pismo Beach and made numerouse runs up this coastline some time back, "Still wondering why I left", but like the tide in this painting moving back and forth always there, always changing so goes my life.. This was a challenge I wanted to paint of this angle. I was inspired by fellow artist and good friend Mark Kerckhoff from the festival that we both are in during the summer. He did such an angle in a painting last year and nailed it, I was next to him and threatened to cover the painting for it was getting too much attention..:) So I in turn just finished this one, I hope you enjoy. 6x8 inch oil on Birch panel, mounted on a varnished wooden box.For availability E-mail:schwartzart@earthlink.net
