chuck pyle's art

babies for lunch

2011-12-30T18:05:00.000-08:00

This charming baby stared at me long enough while I was awaiting my lunch at Water Street Bistro that I had to draw him.Need a TERRIFIC lunch in Sonoma County? Go there. the models are pretty darned cute, as well.

another Post cover

2011-12-30T17:55:00.000-08:00

It is now real, another Saturday Evening Post cover. This one was a bit of a tooth puller in the making, and after he sees this, Mike might not talk to me again!

2011-12-24T14:14:00.001-08:00

A Very Merry Christmas to all!

The way of things

2011-12-18T20:23:00.000-08:00

Every year, the Buddha sits, slowly cracking a bit more, and each Fall, the leaves fall around, briefly fierce in their color, blanketing the grey of the hillside before they slip back to soil, before the little Buddha itself finishes its journey back to earth.Some fast, some slow, we all walk the same path.

2011-12-17T15:06:00.000-08:00

View from our temporary pied-a-terre in San Francisco

couple more oil sketches

2011-12-15T14:26:00.000-08:00

Here are two more oil sketches, The lady in the pink blouse, Bilge (pronounced Biel-geh)

being a while back, and the black bustier number, Sarafina, being last Sunday. the artist relaxes by, uh, creating more art.

2011-12-03T10:12:00.000-08:00

Here is a shout out to Victoria Davis and her start up Space Dog Books. December 15, their first ipad book, brilliantly illustrated by Matthew Cruikshank, goes live on the Apple app store. If you thought that Stevenson's tale was not able to be reinterpreted for today's readers, think again. The text is still the same gripping tale, but the interactive illustrations, done in Matthew's midcentury modern style, are a super enhancing delight. I will be downloading my copy on the 15th, and, you can even GIFT them for Christmas if you have young or old reader friends who love pirate stories.

2011-12-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

Why is this man looking this way? You will have to wait for the February issue of the Saturday Evening post

2011-12-03T09:51:00.000-08:00

Acrylagoauche. Who knew. I have switched. I am a convert. What can I say? If you are not painting in Photoshop, and deadlines are short, this is great stuff. I have used gouache, and acrylic (BLECH!), over the years, in fact learned to paint in gouache. My favorite is still oils. That said, acrylagouache has all the virtues of acrylic, as in once dry it is impermeable. None of the YUCKY aspect of acrylic, i.e., looking like plastic. It dries matte. It has the same color range and pigment quality as gouache. It is mostly opaque. It is liftable for a while after it is put down. Mostly it is fast. Great fun.
For acrylics, I am now using the archival brand, it is actually WONDERFUL paint, for acrylic.

2011-12-03T09:40:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas. At the 79 New Montgomery space, you may see a selection of my Holiday Art. Serita Sangimino called and asked if we had any holiday imagery at Powell Street, where I teach, and I suggested she raid my studio as I have done a fair amount of Christmas art over the years. I expected one window with a cluster of old paintings, but to my surprise, they blew them up to five or six times size. WOW! Thanks to Serita, and to Elisa Stephens, the university president,and the Academy for giving something fun to the public, and a second chance for these illustrations to be seen.

2011-11-12T15:04:00.000-08:00

In an unusual closing of the circle, I have now done a 'Saturday Evening Post' cover. I was honored, and more than a bit cognizant of the ghosts that came on the heels of the commission. Yipes! Luckily, I had two very good models, who soldiered on through major wardrobe malfunctions (no, not THAT malfunction!) and curious onlookers wandering by the setup.

In a display of the generational divide, I asked the magazine clerk if she stocked the Post, and she really had to think what that might be. Took her a while. And of course, they were out of it. The Post on your ipad? Maybe some day....

2011-09-19T20:14:00.000-07:00

Now here is a RICH one! From 1939 SanFrancisco. Shows a very wide open SanFrancisco, with all the ways one can sin, brother, in most charmingly illustrated ways! Easy to see how Herb Caen fell in love with the place....

2011-09-05T15:22:00.001-07:00

after seeing the Tim Burton Show at LACMA, we were treated to something even more rare: Rainbows in LA! The burton show was well curated and a delight to wander through. One certainly gets to see all his motifs on display to learn from and appreciate. Thanks to daughter, Lauren, for organizing it.

2011-08-13T07:57:00.000-07:00

Friday, I had to put down our last dog, Mudd. For a Lab, 16 years is a good run, that is, until you can't run any more, or do much more than hobble in a tangle of dysfunctional legs. After one final walk to smell the latest news, it was sadly apparent that the time had come. So, now she has earned her angel wings and has become a real Bird Dog after all!

Thanks to Brandner Veterinary Hospital for all their compassionate care and counsel over the years, both for our dogs, and their owners.

2011-07-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

done it at last, we have gone solar! That ought to make for some better paintings, right?

2011-06-02T10:19:00.001-07:00

Fellow artists and friends,

It is with heavy heart that I write to you. Tuesday, May 31, 2011,
Kazu Sano slipped away in his sleep after a long struggle with cancer. Kazu leaves behind Chisako, his wife, and his children, Utaro and Yukio. In the broader context, Kazu leaves a brilliant career as an award winning illustrator and teacher. He was an alum of the Academy of Art University graduating in 1978 with the very first group of MFAs the school gave.His broad career included, but was not limited to, over 450 book covers, over 80 paintings and drawings for gallery shows in Japan, a body of extraordinary work illuminating the pages of 'National Geographic', and a large number of stamp commissions for the US Postal Service, including portraits of Frank Sinatra and other entertainment luminaries, his work has enlivened the visual culture of our time. As teacher at the Academy of Art University, since 1986, he has sought to instill his passion and dedication for illustration as high art to generations of younger artists.

Kazu’s dedication to his craft as artist, and instructor, were second to none. He always insisted on immersing himself in the story more deeply than his client, and that the easy answer, the obvious, was merely a portal to the right answer, the one that caught the humanity of the characters and gave the viewer a sense of story and context far broader than the requirements of the assignment. He believed in Howard Pyle's dictum "Live the story!” He said, "Do not just look at trees, go and touch them, sit under them, smell them, and know them." Kazu believed in stealing their essence, and in fact the essence of everything he drew, before putting it in paintings, yet, he believed that it was essential to sublimate that knowledge, that accuracy of detail, to the core artistic truth of making a painting that tells a great story.

As a painter, starting from his beautiful drawings, he wrestled with the surface and quality of each mark to make it say the most about being the illusion of reality, yet still be a beautiful mark on canvas. Even on his deathbed he came alive talking about breakthroughs in painting technique and his ongoing exploration of making brushstrokes and lines count. All this he invested in each assignment, all this and more, he invested in each student.

He will be much missed by his family friends, students and clients. In his memory, the Sano family has asked that no flowers be sent, rather, send donations to the Kazu Sano Memorial Scholarship Fund c/o Chuck Pyle Studio, 469 Amber Way, petaluma, ca. 94952

Images courtesy of Jim Yang

2011-05-16T21:05:00.000-07:00

American Impressionism is the show theme that fills the Crocker Museum in Sacramento. Works from the Bank Of America Art Collection, including the Southwest Masters, some little gems, and much California coastal impressionism. Definitely worth the trip as the permanent collection is quite tasty, as is the café, and there is much to love in this comprehensive show starting with the end of the Hudson River School painters and going on to the Group of Six. i will go back.

2011-05-13T15:42:00.001-07:00

OOH! Abstract art. Process painting. My palette. I am such a slob on the palette. Think I'd better scrape this down.

2011-05-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

wonderful time had by all, Carmel by the Sea is almost TOO pretty. One so so landscape to get warmed up then the second one included one of my fellow painters, which i think helped. hat is a little off. Grey light, not a lot of contrast, great food and companionship. Terrific sunburn! I'd go back in an instant to paint.

2011-05-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

Another painting day, well, an oil sketch day when you consider that you have 4 hours.One of my Work Scholars, Cody, sat for thsi in Pam Powell's monthly paintshop. Regardless of the quality, it is such a delight to move the brush so much, to analyze the form, and to record it. Could have used a bit more time on the mitts. Next week: Plein air down in Carmel!

2011-04-15T14:13:00.000-07:00

Lest my truly amazing stepdaughter, Lauren, think that I forgot her birthday! No way!

2011-04-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

One dog down. Just before we left on vacation, poor Porkey took the final trip to Dr. Santero, who was very compassionate and eased him into Shih Tzu Paradise where no one spends any time on a leash and the dog treats are all hand made.

2011-04-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

finally, well, another portrait sketch, this one of Bob, one of the Academy's stalwart band of models....

2010-12-12T19:10:00.000-08:00

Another Sunday session in San Francisco. 4 hours later and this is what emerged. This is such fun, and the model is so striking. Lucky me. Lucky group of painters!

2010-12-05T16:57:00.000-08:00

Our poor ol' dogs, both in their mid teens. the aches and pains and blind eyes are really telling us that the Big Dog Dish in the sky is calling soon. Had to draw this.

2010-12-05T14:17:00.000-08:00

quick sketch from Pam Powell's painting group. Gotta keep limbered up.

2010-12-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

Bill the fungi expert supreme, and Meghan his expert wife, took us mushroom foraging in a secret spot.Then they fed us a gourmet al fresco meal at Hearts Desire Beach, which was empty save for our foursome. How can people ignore such beauty, even on a grey and drizzly day? Tromping through the piney woods, dodging the rain, the ticks, and the poison oak, we walked through beauty, mostly staring at the duff, looking for the 'hamburger buns' protruding through the pine needles. See that one? It's a bolete! Porcini time! Some were buns big enough to hold the whole cow. Quite a lot of work, and so late in the season, but so worth the effort. As we tramped on, we all marveled at the vivid colors and shapes of the OTHER mushrooms, most of whom were quietly seeking our death. Tina, whose sense of color and design is impeccable, was instantly transported by the deadly, but brightly colored delights. Oh look! A new table display.A mission happily fulfilled. I was focussed on the edible variety. Oh look! A full and happy tummy.
The hunter, having cornered and plucked his prey, returned to share and savor his bounty. It led to an odd thought. I contemplated the fate of the hunter gatherer; act stupidly and the lion eats you from without, with mushrooms, act stupidly, and the mushroom eats you from within. So many diverse ways to die! It serves to remind one of the need for vigilance, and education.

2010-11-28T20:52:00.000-08:00

looks like another holiday card in the making. hmmm, color traditional or photoshop?

2010-11-19T08:33:00.000-08:00

Once in a while you get to actually meet a hero. We were in the crammed auditorium to see and listen to Wayne Thiebaud in conversation with the noted art critic Kenneth Baker at UC Davis, yesterday, ruminating on the artistic process, the amount of habit and dedication needed to continually explore what it is of interest to the artist to stay in process, to live in reference to the thousands of years of art history of which we are all part, and to put down a lot of paint. At 90, he is up and at work (work, as he quoted Matisse, "Is his paradise") at 6:30 until he goes and plays tennis for two hours. He then has lunch with his wife, and after that returns to the studio for a few more hours to produce over 100 paintings a year, of which he says many are disasters and thus DESTROYED, but that disasters fuel the successes. GO TO THE SHOW AT THE CROCKER and see the successes.
Baker teased out many comments on the need for art, that artists have to love making painted worlds, that art is a terrible career choice (great laugh from the audience of artists) but a great privilege at the same time. He paid homage to the world of commercial art from which he came, his love of cartoons, and how caricature, close to his heart, influences how he sees shape in his paintings. Thiebaud expressed how linked he is to looking at art for inspiration, and to drawing, both objective and from memory as a gateway to painting. Baker made the observation, at the end that art "sums up the inexpressible feelings about our lives through the visual compaction of information" Thiebaud said, "I painted cupcakes because I like cupcakes".

AUGH! I could go on, but the primary takeaway is this: Get up, go to the studio, paint!

2010-11-19T08:26:00.000-08:00

We went to the Crocker Museum in Sacramento yesterday as there is a massive retrospective of Wayne Thiebaud's career as a painter. I am an unabashed fan, and at 90 years old he is still hitting them out of the park with new and very abstracted forms that take his vision well past the multiple perspective point mashups of the Sacramento River delta series, which in person are a great delight to the eye. Downtown Sacto. and the new Crocker expansion are well worth the visit as the setting is wonderful and the new wing has a very comprehensive collection of painters, largely west coast, from the 19th to the 21st century.
The below is a quote from Crocker Museum site:
OCTOBER 10 - NOVEMBER 28, 2010

"This exhibition celebrates Sacramento’s most famous artist, Wayne Thiebaud, as he begins his 90th year. It is, for both the artist and the Crocker Art Museum, a homecoming. Nearly 60 years ago, in 1951, Thiebaud held his first one-artist exhibition, Influences on a Young Painter, at the Crocker. This new exhibition, featuring approximately 75 paintings and drawings, spans the entirety of his career, from the artist’s early works to paintings fresh from his easel. Iconic edibles—work that linked high art with popular culture—are included alongside pieces that showcase Thiebaud’s skill in rendering the human figure and the California landscape. Among the latter are river-delta views from the Sacramento area, cityscapes from San Francisco and beach scenes from Southern California. No matter the subject, these works uniformly attest to the artist’s ability to sensuously manipulate pigment and capture clear light and vibrant color. It is this technical virtuosity, along with the artist’s tongue-in-cheek humor and ability to capture the realities of our place in time, that have helped to make Thiebaud a uniquely American painter."

If you paint, you must go see this show!

2010-11-06T16:49:00.000-07:00

Chgeck out the new lower price point. reduced price for recession times.

2010-11-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

At the Academy of Art University we will be hosting Greg Spalenka's "Artist as Brand" 2 1/2 day workshop. It is a great opportunity to revitalize and envigorate your career, and hopefully your wallet! See the newer jpeg FOR REDUCED PRICES!

2010-10-16T09:35:00.000-07:00

Here is the link to the show: http://www.pelicanart.com/current-exhibit/

2010-10-03T17:23:00.001-07:00

Yikes! just dropped 25 paintings off for a show, the opening of which i will miss as I will be away on business. Pelican Art Gallery. Should be fun.

2010-09-12T18:24:00.000-07:00

Venezia, 111 degrees fahreneit, so humid that your glasses fog at noon. Have fan, one's toes in the high water, be young and pretty, life can still be good. After all, one is in Venice.

2010-09-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

Here is a little old lady in Cortona, hauling wood for the winter, while still in summer heat. Planning ahead; Tina and I hope that she sees spring in 2011. From her demeanor, she may outlive us both. Italy is like that.

2010-06-19T12:24:00.000-07:00

here is an old sketchbook page that I liked; that is Francis Livingston making a rare plein air sketching trip, so this must be waaaay old... Such wonderful paper....

2010-05-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

Eddie Bauer wanted me to paint an old gentleman. This is a combo of several of my antecedents, who were evidently a very fun lot.

2010-05-29T11:04:00.000-07:00

more ancient work featuring my stepdaughter Lauren. Gouache, itty bitty art, Viansa was the winery, appeared about 3 inches high on the label. It was a good bottle of Dolceto.

2010-05-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

Here is one featuring my step daughter well before that became a fact. Truth be told, the client wanted to have her be older and stretched. Animals were fun, ad was for bus kiosks and trains in japan. Nisshing Foods. Churros come (came?) to Japan.

2010-05-20T21:04:00.000-07:00

Just to put you into the holiday mood, here is an old weight watchers, no, its an ad for a japanese christmas poster...... Santa has been having at the goodies a bit much and this got him stuck; maybe he forgot to hold his finger upside his nose?

2010-05-19T22:23:00.000-07:00

Here is an old piece done for 'The Boston Globe', in acrylic, in less than a day (COFFEE!), commemorating the last All Stars game at Fenway before it was torn down. Goin' thru the files and scanning some chestnuts, for fun.... They were in a jam and needed something really quick. Great gig, great A.D. More to follow. Image provided from their archive and it is THEIR copyright, the photo, so don't go do something dumb with this....

2010-05-15T07:14:00.000-07:00

One more ancient painting: Tea Smoked Duck. That duck lived in my studio for a number of days as I painted it from life. Had to return the hook to the chinese butcher shop afterwards, and were they ever confused. You want the duck AND the hook ?

2010-05-14T21:43:00.000-07:00

This is an old book cover, done in watercolor, and the story is about Lincoln's cat.

2010-05-14T21:40:00.000-07:00

Here is an old job, done in gouache, advertising fireplace remote controls. My daughter is modeling, though at her age I had to add the curves.

2010-04-05T00:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's Chuckvatar. This should make Emerson happy.

2010-04-04T21:17:00.000-07:00

Quick study of Tony, the chef at Central Market. First step to a bigger full length portrait. Rusty me.

2010-04-04T13:55:00.000-07:00

A little frivolity as I wish you a Happy Easter, from a really bad Easter Punny. Now I need to get serious with the brush, back later...

2010-04-03T14:22:00.000-07:00

every so often you have couple a days like this....

2010-03-07T15:05:00.000-08:00

Birthday card art for my stepdaughter, the Lauren-vatar! With apologies to Mr. Cameron, and crew.... happy birthday, Lauren!

2010-02-13T08:50:00.000-08:00

Tina and Lauren are off at the Olympics working as volunteers. They have a blog: travelgames.wordpress.com

Check it out! I miss them terribly, but they are having a terrific time, and that is what counts. Spectacle on a grand scale matched with intimate exchanges on the human scale with folks from around the world. Oh, and did I mention Timbits?

2010-02-12T16:05:00.000-08:00

uh oh! group show! Seems that I got put into a group show in Petaluma. Pelican Art Gallery.

2010-01-07T14:18:00.000-08:00

I just noticed that the book I illustrated,'No Easy Way' is up on Amazon and available everywhere next month. The title is apt as it was no easy way all the way through what with all the research, the drawing painting, and unexpected life issues.I now have more baseball gear from the 1940s in my propfile and have listened to more vintage baseball broadcasts than anyone save the archivists in Cooperstown!

The Junior Library Guild of Ohio (I got an award, complete with a pin) and the Beverly Hills librarian in charge of children's books really liked it, and I am awaiting some response from Red Sox town.

Lucia Monfried was a terrific art director through all this , as was Irene Vandervoort, the designer. I hope the author Fred Bowen, and Ted Williams' ghost, are happy, too.

2010-01-07T14:12:00.000-08:00

New poster for Kim Nalley's play, 'Ella", about the early years of Ella Fitzgerald's career. Dancers, a band (think ChickWebb), and a tight cast.The premier is at Cinnabar in Petaluma and the previews have been stellar. Kinda weird seeing this ten feet tall in downtown Petaluma. Now it is on to the second play poster!

2009-12-22T07:08:00.000-08:00

New work for 'Creepy', the perfect ANTI-Holiday imagery, a WW II tale having to do with a certain Little Corporal having a little sex change to avoid fate, and thus, live on....

2009-12-12T10:51:00.000-08:00

2009-09-22T22:47:00.000-07:00

Bernie Fuchs has passed away after a struggle with cancer. As an illustrator who grew up with Fuchs work all round me in its many permutations, I feel the loss of his artistic voice. He was a giant of his generation who was also a gentleman of modest presence. He was an artist who drove himself to excel and to invent and reinvent his style, point of view, and sustain an extraordinary level of taste and quality in every illustration and painting that he produced. We are lucky that, through Leif Peng's blog, we can see the highlights of this gentleman genius' career. I encourage you to visit www.todaysinspiration.blogspot.com as a tribute and a source of inspiration. He will be much missed and well remembered for what he contributed to our world.

2009-08-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

Ancient olive trees. The fun part was trying to capture the shimmer and texture of the leaf canopy of this ancient tree near the monastery in Corciano.

2009-08-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

A quick painting of the 'Eta Beta' in Corciano, just around the corner from the piazza. Newspapers, cards, sporting news, etc. Got a great pop up card here. The cat showed as I was wrapping it up and graciously modeled just long enough.

2009-08-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

Close up of the amazing grain rolls, about 5 feet in diameter that were in every field. Some were wrapped in plastic, others bound in wire or string. Textures were fun to get.

2009-08-29T14:14:00.000-07:00

A very quick sketch at the gate of Montepulciano, even painted in some townies. Traffic all round and two solicitors hitting up everyone for donation and signatures to "fight the drugs". Oh sure.....

2009-08-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

Oh, this was a beastly hot morning near Corciano. The building is an abandoned fattoria, which was just in front of a pig farming operation. The hot wind was blowing the right way, most of the time. Drenched in sweat by the time it was necessary to quit.

2009-08-29T14:09:00.000-07:00

if one was ok, two was certainly better, painted while braced on a steep hillside of olive tree orchards. a little later in the day, early afternoon.

2009-08-29T14:08:00.001-07:00

quick sketch done 'al aperto' just outside Cortona

2009-08-29T14:05:00.000-07:00

here is a painting form the ramparts of Corciano, in Umbria. A hot morning

2009-08-12T15:26:00.000-07:00

Italy! Just stepped OFF the plane and will post a few images shortly. 4 weeks in Umbria teaching for the University, and an extra week in Rome. Stay tuned. Now I know that I SHOULD Facebook this, but hey, I am a little old school....

2009-07-02T23:47:00.001-07:00

This just arrived fedex. "No Easy Way" describes the book and the process of getting there, but the results are really quite pleasing. 32 pages. Period costumes! Human drama! Baseball! History with a great moral. Lucia Monfried and Irene Vandervoort get the design kudos, and the award of the century for patience. Solid story and if you have kids who like baseball, especially TED WILLIAMS, then this is a great book about perseverence, drive, and Ted's amazing .406 1941 season. Coming out this Fall.

2009-07-02T23:44:00.000-07:00

The paperback version of this showed up today. This was a fun cover to paint, and a good manuscript to read. Got 1o year olds who care about baseball or history? Got Redsox fans in the family?The art director did a good job on this one, I thought, especially with the warmer surround of the image.

2009-06-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

Philip Nix, a dear friend, just retired from Sonoma Country Day School, the remarkable institution that he founded on a dream and a promise 26 years ago. Many children, ours included, and their parents, have been propelled forward by that promise. I was inspired by Gilbert Stuart's portrait of George Washington to paint Philip as "Father to his Country - Day School" after seeing Stuart's rendition of our founding father that is on display in the Phoenix Art Museum. He was amused. It was good.

2009-06-10T21:31:00.000-07:00

Having suddenly forgotten how to link my blog, i am, instead, gonna recommend that you go to: lisaberrett.blogspot.com if you want to see great design and drawing all at the same time.

2009-06-10T21:21:00.000-07:00

Sketches in airports, or why America needs to diet...

2009-06-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple paintings in descending order. First day, it was really overcast and grey. WOW! Nearly rained. Great flat light. So quiet and green! First looks west to Laguna de Santa Rosa, the dry one. Second, in the afternoon when the sun peaked through. Craig Nelson complained that I made him look a bit too, ugh, round..... That was a really fast effort on a too smooth panel. A little loosey goosey as a result. Time to do a little studio clean up!

2009-06-04T11:43:00.001-07:00

DeLoach Vineyards is west of Santa Rosa. One forgets how quickly one drives out of a city and into a thriving agricultural paradise. It is this way all over Sonoma County, and the transition is most acute west out of SR. DeLoach owned by a french wine conglomerate, JCB, is a beautiful, biodynamically farmed vineyard in the rolling hills and swales of the Russian River watershed. Beautiful vineyards and most delightfully generous hosts who plied us with excellent wine (their pinots are all quite distinct, one from the other, and delicious), food, and the presence of their attentive staff and very dynamic boss Jean Charles Boisset.
Jean Charles is in the white shirt. Susan Toland is addressing the group after lunch. Susan is the organizational whiz from the Academy who managed this whole event. Also seen are painters and sculptors all doing their thing.
Hats off and big thanks you to Susan, Jean Charles, Elisa, and all the staff at DeLoach.

2009-05-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

Monday and Tuesday, a number of us Academy of Art University faculty and alums get a chance to paint at De Loach Vineyards, courtesy of the University and DeLoach Vineyards. Summer greens should be upon us in the wine country, and I have augmented my palette to match wits with Mother Nature. The colors and shapes promise the possibility of some good plein air work. Works from the event get juried into a show at their vineyard. I am looking forward to this for sure!

2009-05-10T21:59:00.000-07:00

Cathy had a significant birthday, and, as I couldn't hire Remy from 'Ratatouille' to make a cameo for her ( she is in the cooking world) his cousin had to stand in... You have to wait for the punch line.

2009-05-10T21:51:00.000-07:00

Irises. In my front yard, a warmup for the rest of SPA. Quite the challenge for me, as I don't normally paint flowers. Spring is just so beautiful.

2009-05-10T21:46:00.001-07:00

more sonoma plein air. These four were painted on last friday. I so loved painting the combine in the hay field. I see it sitting there amongst the half shorn fields, awaiting the farmer's return. The contrast of shapes and colors just knocks me out. The cows were just fun to sketch as they walked, and the barn was a shot at making noon time look interesting. Shapes are the driver at that time of day.

2009-05-10T21:38:00.000-07:00

Sonoma Plein Air 2009 has come and gone. I got two and a half whole days to paint, for which I am deeply grateful. These show some of the work. Beauty of it is that it raises money for arts funding in Sonoma schools, k-12. In seven years, over 258,000 has been raised for art supplies, a boon to the schools as we found out the entire art supply budget for one school was $200, and the other school, where the teacher also taught, had ZERO. A travesty.
The barn painting I named 'Darth Vader's Barn' as it looks, in silhouette, like you know who's helmet. It sold at the gala auction

2009-04-18T06:52:00.001-07:00

yeah yeah, another one...

2009-04-18T06:36:00.000-07:00

Ernest Blumenschein, a great illustrator, an astonishing painter. Today I am in Phoenix and going back a second day to the Phoenix Art Museum ( a darned nice museum) looking at over fifty paintings by a genius of the twentieth century.If you are a painter, go to the link, check the dates, GET ON A PLANE AND GO see the masterworks. He has absorbed the colors of the southwest, the design influences of early 20th century modernism, and melded them with classically trained drawing, composition and narrative to such a degree as to simply blow your mind with the power of the paint. The tiny jpeg does no justice.

http://www.phxart.org/exhibition/exhibitionrhythm.aspx

2009-04-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

THIS is as much as I can show of Tina's birthday card. I leave the rest to your imagination. Happy Birthday to my beloved!

2009-04-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

Another "What do you do with an old illustrator" cartoon...

2009-04-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

"Ed's Pants" because , well, they are Ed's pants.

2009-04-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

another chapter in old illustrators...

2009-03-22T22:11:00.000-07:00

Just what do you do with an old illustrator? One of a random series......

2009-03-05T12:47:00.000-08:00

I ran across this, done when BB was still with us. It started as a phone doodle and kinda took off. It's the Academy of Art Illustration Troika, and I will let you guess as to who is whom.

2009-03-05T12:43:00.000-08:00

This little sketch of pastries is from a morning visit to the Water Street Bistro. It was done to raise funds for the Bistro which is, here in Petaluma, the extended kitchen and family room for many of us. Stephanie's food is to die for and with prices that makes one wonder if she will die from undercharging us all!

2009-02-08T18:24:00.000-08:00

Don Baumhefner, master winemaker, passed on to me the art of sabering one's champagne to remove the cork. It is so much more fun that untwisting the wire cage. Sabering is a time honored art, one not to be missed, nor taken lightly, and especially not done indoors unless a window is nearby. Don is in the beret; it is his incredible '99 cuvee, 100% petit meunier, being distributed after the successful savage slice. I am doing the saber rattling, and sober prattling, so as to dedicate the new studio. Video shot by Ray and Donny Salmon, my first post high school art teachers ('71), who was there with tiny Nikon camera in hand. Thank you Ray and Donny. Thank you to everyone there, it was a great event.

2009-02-08T18:19:00.000-08:00

Suddenly, people showed up to celebrate the return of Chuck to his home and studio! Look! There's Lauren, Tina, Andrea and Sandra in the one shot. Food, drink, fun, and a celebration of the embargo anniversary all merged together.

2009-02-08T18:17:00.001-08:00

Here are a few views of the new studio, not yet as messy as the old... Shots courtesy of Ray Salmon.

2009-02-08T18:10:00.000-08:00

I am in and working... The new studio is really quite nice, and many thanks to my friends, Sandrah, Andrea and Kirkham, Keith and Terry, Tina, Clarke and Lauren, and Alex! Sopecial thanks to Mischa and peregrine Construction for their hard work and to recycletown for some cool doors

2008-12-19T15:36:00.000-08:00

Good Bye Old Paint, so long to an old friend.... After twelve years , I am moving my studio. I am up to my armpits in moving boxes and am swamped till New year, but, will return to active blogging then. Photos of the move shortly.

2008-11-09T10:20:00.000-08:00

Well, we did it! For once, the Democrats didn't defeat themselves. What a new day, and a new hope.

2008-10-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

Just a random political thought, as it seems that the Democrats might actually win this one. But, being Democrats.....

2008-07-21T11:19:00.000-07:00

"The Horse Quartet". Near Sonoma, California, a rancher keeps Clydesdales. Though they have the run of the ranch, they congregate where the most entertainment possibilities (watching us hurry by), and treat opportunities (suckering us in with our apples in hand), reside, which is right by the highway. This composition is the result of my frequent trips passing by, and was at the Petaluma Arts and Equestrian Festival, yesterday. Polo ponies, barrel racers, and more. There, the horses exulted in doing what they are designed to do: Run like hell while looking as fluid and graceful as ballerinas. The patrons, and the artists, were in awe of the spectacle and the accompanying barbequed chicken. Not many gave a fig about the artwork on display, as the real attraction was in the ring. It reminded me of the old theater adage: Never share the stage with animals, as they always steal the scene.

2008-07-14T16:56:00.000-07:00

Another chicken painting! Almost a trend, here. Another chicken, another show. The textures of the feathers can be so intriguing.....Greenstring Farms' chickens here in Sonoma County. It's somebody else's chicken house. because I liked the boards better.

2008-06-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

Tina went to New York and saw "A Catered Affair", for which I did the poster. Well, she also saw "South Pacific" and had a really great time at both while tearing up the town in between plays. She was amazed that my illustration was used in a surprising number of ways. She took these photos and sent them. I did one image and it got chopped up into many different applications, from theater posters,and the playbill, to in store promotional placards at all the Duane Reed pharmacies in Manhattan. Viva Photoshop and a smart Art Director.
As a result, we even watched the Tony awards to see Faith Prince and Tom Wopat get their Tony nominations. Go see the play as it is really good!

2008-06-01T14:55:00.000-07:00

These are a few of the paintings, and not all. Chickens and truck sold, grapes (reworked, so when is a painting done? when it sells..) got bunches of attention (bad joke) but remained at the end of the day. I thought the onions would find a home, they didn't, yet...

2008-06-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple views of my paintings from the Napa Valley Art Festival, which I was part of yesterday. 40% of the proceeds went to Napa Valley Open Space Fund, which has managed to sequester more acres for open space than there are acres of grapes in Napa County, according to Bob Pallas. That is amazing. Thanks to friends and ex students who came! Morning started off quite chilly under the tents, warming up in the afternoon to a decent point. Crowd was good, and I sold two images. COPIA, the food and wine museum was next door to us and I fear we siphoned away the crowd, despite the lack of food or wine. 40 or so hot shot painters who had all sorts of landscape work up in many different styles. I was lucky and happy to be in their midst.

2008-05-12T20:57:00.000-07:00

I have spent several days with fellow alums and Barbara Bradley's daughters slowly going through the contents of her studio. In stark contrast to the two alums' studios featured earlier, here is her palette, and taboret, which followed her out from her days at Cooper Studios! Her last rinse of the watercolor brush was still in the jar and was awaiting her return. So silent and sad. So amazing and miraculous, though, was opening drawers full of drawings, paintings, and watercolors on par with the best anywhere. I hope that there will be exhibitions and books out as she was a prodigious producer and the work must be seen. I imagine her, arriving upstairs, and having Al Parker take off his hat to her!