Redwood Forest

This is a watercolor of a Redwood forest similar to the ones near Humboldt State University where I attended school.  I have found that it is extremely difficult to capture the size and majesty of the Redwoods while painting or photographing them.   While reading a children's book, "You are Home" by Evan Turk, I came across a painting of Redwoods that was very beautiful.  I used it as a model for my painting. The top portion of the painting is supposed to be washed out as it is trying to show the tops of the trees lost in the mist.

Almost Home

This is the first painting I have ever done for someone who requested it.  A friend of my wife asked her son, "When do you feel like you are almost home?"  He said, "When I see the barn."  She asked me to paint a picture from a photo that she had taken of that barn.  The barn is located near Joseph, Oregon.

This is another attempt of the same barn.  I wanted to try a looser version of the subject.

Dio de los Muertos Skull

This is my attempt at a Dio de los Muertos Skull.  This is a very simplified version.  I had always wanted to try to paint this subject.  The difficulty is that they are supposed to be perfectly symmetrical.  Mine, as you can see, is not.

Yavapai County Safe

On a recent visit to Prescott, Arizona, I was inside the Yavapai County Courthouse.  They had a historic exhibit and this old safe was on display.  It was such an interesting subject that it inspired me to do this.

Cliff Dwelling

2019--50th Anniversary of Fountain Valley-Edison Football Game

FIFTY YEARS AGO

THE FOUNTAIN VALLEY-EDISON FOOTBALL RIVALRY WAS BORN

            Rivalries are born of perceived injustices in sporting events.  The Fountain Valley-Edison rivalry was born for exactly that reason.  While most rivalries revolve strictly around two opponents, the story of this rivalry involves a third school—the Loara Saxons.

            In the spring of 1969, Fountain Valley’s football coach, Bruce Pickford, divided the freshmen in his athletic P.E. class into two groups.  One group of players, the ones that would be staying at Fountain Valley, stayed in the P.E. class.  The other freshmen, the ones who would be moving to the new high school, were removed from the class.  This left a bad taste in their mouth and they never forgot it.

            In the fall of 1969, the still relatively new Fountain Valley was on its way to having the best football team in its young history.  The second to last game of the season was against the Irvine League football power and defending CIF Champion, Loara Saxons.  They entered the game with a 20-game winning streak, and were tied with Fountain Valley for first place.  Whoever won the game would remain in contention for the CIF play-offs.  (This was in the era when only one team from each league went to the play-offs.)

            Late in the fourth quarter, Loara had a 21-13 lead and seemed to have the game won.  But Fountain Valley drove down to the Saxon’s goalline.  With 26 seconds left, quarterback John Svoboda threw a pass to Rick Power for the TD to slice the lead to 21-19.  The stage was set for the most important play of the season. Going for two, Svoboda fired a pass to Brady Moore.  The game ended in a tie, keeping Fountain Valley in a tie for first place in the league standings.  After the game ended, Loara walked off the field with their heads down—their 20-game winning streak ended.  The Barons left the field exuberant.  The only thing standing between Fountain Valley and the league championship and a CIF play-off berth was a struggling, senior-less team from a new school down the road.  The two teams would meet the following week.

            The Sophomore football game between Fountain Valley and Edison was played the afternoon before the first ever varsity game.  The participants on both sides in this game had been freshmen teammates the previous year at FVHS.   In the heated competition of the game, Fountain Valley Head Sophomore Coach, Wayne Michaelian turned to his assistant coach, Ken Friess and said, “This is going to be some kind of rivalry.”  He couldn’t have been more prophetic.  Several hours later at the conclusion of the varsity game the final score was…

EDISON 21

FVHS      20

            The injustice of a young, upstart Edison team defeating the best team in Fountain Valley history was too much to comprehend.  And the long nightmare would continue for three more years.

            Finally, in 1973, Fountain Valley was leading 28-24 late in the fourth quarter in front of a sell-out crowd at Orange Coast College.  (The Costa Mesa Fire Department had closed the gates to the stadium an hour before game time because the stadium was packed with fans and people were sitting in the ivy that surrounded the game field)  Edison had the ball and was moving methodically down the field for the go-ahead touchdown to steal another victory from the Barons.  Fountain Valley cheerleaders were actually crying in anticipation of another heartbreaking loss.  With the Chargers on the Baron’s goalline, their quarterback handed off to runningback Bill Rutherford, who fumbled and Baron linebacker, Dave Mackley pounced on the loose ball to preserve the victory.  Bedlam erupted and the Fountain Valley fans poured onto the field to celebrate with their team.

            Finally, vengeance was won and the greatest rivalry in Orange County was galvanized into sports history.  The Rivalry or the Bell Game (The victor claims the Bell Trophy presented to the winner of the game) proved too much for almost any venue in the county and for many years the game was played at Anaheim Stadium.

            For both schools, no victory is sweeter and no defeat is more heartbreaking.  But no matter the outcome, the Fountain Valley-Edison game touches players from both sides as no other game.

By Guy A. Carrozzo (FVHS ’72)

Go Barons!  Beat Edison!

Saddleback Mountain from San Juan Capistrano

This is another watercolor of Saddleback Mountain looking at it from San Juan Capistrano.  The photo below was taken from the back deck of my old coach and life mentor, Ken.

The Porrazzo Inn

I painted this one for my sister who loves Christmas.  I tried to make it look a little like a Thomas Kinkade painting.

Derek Jeter

This is a pen and watercolor of Derek Jeter that I did for one of my nephews.  I tried to capture the power of his swing.

Alex Rodriguez

This is a pen and watercolor of Alex Rodriguez that I did for one of my nephews. I tried to give the picture some movement with some blurred lines and wet streaks.

Bart Starr 1934-2019

This was a drawing of Bart Starr of the Green Bay Packers.  I did it in when I was in school many years ago.  He was one of the greatest quarterbacks of his time.  I post it today (May 26, 2019) to honor him because he passed away today.

Colt Single-Action Army Revolver

My inspiration for this project came from watching a 60 Minutes segment on Mark Bradford, a highly sought after artist who makes paper collages, some of which sell for millions of dollars.  A few of the works they showed are huge and cover entire walls.  It was very interesting.  This effort on my part is a MUCH scaled down and simplified  version.  It was interesting to work with a new and different medium.

Flowers in a Glass Jar

Deacon Jones

I am disappointed with how this one turned out.  It looks like a football player, but it does not look like Deacon Jones.  I can not tell why or how I missed capturing his likeness.  When I was a kid, David Deacon Jones was my favorite L.A. Rams football player.  He played Left Defensive End and was a member of the Ram's "Fearsome Foursome".  Below the picture in the early stages, and at the bottom is the photo I used as a model.

Sandhill Cranes

This is a pencil drawing of Sandhill Cranes taking flight in the Tule fog at the Merced National Wildlife Preserve.  It was inspired by the hauntingly beautiful photo (shown below) by photographer, Steve Corey.  I like how the cranes form abstract shapes in the fog.

Photo by Steve Corey

Creede, Colorado Landscape Watercolor

This is a watercolor of a landscape set in Creede, Colorado.  Recently, while I was in Prescott, Arizona, I saw a beautiful painting by artist Diane Scholar.  I took a quick photo of it and used it as my model.  Diane has a blog at dianescholarartist@blogspot.com and I encourage you to visit and see her beautiful work.

Toy Airplane - Fairchild PT-19

I made this wooden toy airplane for my grandson.  The inspiration for it was a little different--I had a dream that I was building a wooden toy airplane for my grandson.  In the dream, it looked more like a Ford Tri-Motor plane.  When I woke up, I thought to myself, "I have to build a plane for him."  I ended up making it look like a PT-19 Trainer.  I had a string-controlled PT-19 with a .049 engine when I was a kid.  The plane itself is very simple--there are only 3 pieces of wood.  The vinyl Army-Air Corp stickers really finish it off nicely.  I will give it to my grandson on his upcoming 2nd Birthday!

English Cottage

This is a watercolor that I had done for my wife in 1996.  She likes English cottages and I tried to make one for her.

Saddleback Mountain, California

This is a watercolor painting of Saddleback Mountain on the border between Orange and Riverside Counties in Southern California.  As a model, I used a William Wendt painting, "A Clear Day."  Saddleback Mountain is formed by the two highest peaks in the Santa Ana Mountains, Santiago Peak (5,689') and Modjeska Peak (5,496').  Click on photo for larger view.

Adios Pablo

This is a tribute to Paul, a good friend and fellow coach who past away in 2017.  For a model, I used the opening scene of the movie, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.  At the 1:10 mark, they open an old book and a similar picture is on the first page of the book.  (Paul J.  1952-2017   Rest in Peace)

Sitting Bull

This is a watercolor and gouache painting of Sitting Bull.  I was experimenting with the gouache paint which I think is more intense than regular watercolor paint.  Sitting Bull was a Lakota Medicine Man.  He had a vision of what many interpret to have been the defeat of Custer at the Little Big Horn, three weeks before the actual battle took place.  He was later killed by Indian agency police as they attempted to arrest him when it was feared that he would join the Ghost Dance movement.

Mohican

This is a black watercolor and ink of a Mohican warrior.  My model was a beautiful painting/sketch (not sure which medium) by artist Nancy Tokos.