Ram

As a kid, I was a huge fan of the Los Angeles Rams.  I was crushed when they moved to St. Louis.  Any old Ram fan will recognize the ram's head logo of the old L.A. Rams with some different colors added.  This was a fun watercolor project this summer.

Trout on Fabric

 Bridget Boyle, a master-quilter, asked me to do a Trout on muslin fabric so she could incorporate it into a quilt project.  This was the first time I had worked with fabric paint on cloth.  I was surprised that the lighter green paint, which I applied just below the darker green, had sparkles in it.  At first, I didn't like it, but then I realized it kind of looked like fish scales.  It was a very interesting project.  I don't think it would ever be used in a biology book to identify species, but I think 4 out of 5 pre-schoolers would recognize it as a fish.    I invite Bridget to tell us more about her project.

Convict Lake Rainbow Trout

This is a wood-carved piece of pine that I oil painted.  It was my first time ever using oil paints.  I put two coats of lacquer over it to give it a yellowed tint.  I mounted it on a piece of pine.  It reminds me of the fish I try to catch on our fishing trips to the High Sierras each June.  Click on the photo for a larger view.

Spanish Floral Six-Gun Holster

This is a leather holster with a Spanish Floral design on it.   It is not from a kit.  The holster pattern is my design and is cut from one piece of leather.   It is for a medium frame revolver with a 5 1/2 inch barrel.

Delta Queen Riverboat

This is a pen and watercolor painting of the riverboat, Delta Queen.  Her original structure was built in Scotland and assembled in Stockton, California for service between Stockton, Sacramento and San Francisco.  Later, she was purchased by the Greene Line of Cincinnati, Ohio and served up and down the Mississippi River and her tributaries.  An interesting fact is that below the Delta Queen name on her stern, it still says, "Port of Cincinnati, Ohio".  She was later home ported in New Orleans with the Delta Queen Steamboat Company and then American Classic Voyages.  She was then purchased by the American Steamboat Company.  For a time, she served as a floating hotel in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  The Delta Queen is now being refurbished in Louisiana and, with congressional waivers, will once again be cruising on rivers.  (Updated: 4/11/2017 bw)  Click on picture for a larger view.

Native American Indian Mask

 

I have always been interested in Native American art.  I wanted to do an Indian Mask.  This is my attempt at it.  The hair is from the tail of a horse that belonged to my wife's friend, Debbie.  Her horse's name was Patty.  It made the mask seem more spiritual since the hair is from a real horse and added a sense of authenticity to it.  The beautiful, multi-colors of the horse tail bring an added dimension to the piece.

Chase Chambers--Murrieta Mesa Quarterback

I did this watercolor for our Head Coach, Justin Schaeffer.  It is of Murrieta Mesa's first QB and favorite player of Coach Schaeffer.  The text in the painting is a tribute to Art Brewster, an Orange County illustrator who used to do pictures for the Shriner's Orange County All-Star Football Game, which I had the honor to help coach one year.  Art would add similar text to the drawings he did of the All-Star players.

Wine Bottle Cross #2

This is the second of my Wine Bottle Crosses.  It is another
"recycled art" project.  My friend Larry helped with the wine 
bottles--and I thank him for his effort!  My daughter, Caroline 
told me how to "stress" wood, so I tried that finish on it.  I tried 
to show what it looks like with the light coming through it from 
behind.  You can't see it in this photo, but there are five places
on the cross with red paint.  These are supposed to represent
the wounds of Christ. 

Rock Creek Rainbow

"Rock Creek Rainbow" is a watercolor and ink painting I did for Mark, a friend who introduced me to Eastern Sierra fishing.  Mark is a great fisherman and could probably catch fish in the gutter in front of your house.  For the past few years, as soon as school gets out, we go up to Convict Lake and fish there and the surrounding lakes.  One of the most beautiful is Rock Creek Lake.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

This is a watercolor painting of "Our Lady of Guadalupe".  There are many versions of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  This is my, sort of stylized version of her.  I tried to make it very vibrant and colorful.  Her feast day is December 12.  I didn't sign it because I wanted it to be a "visual prayer"--if there is such a thing.

Wine Bottle Cross

I have always wanted to do an art project with recycled materials.  My son-in-law, Daniel,  helped me perfect the technique of cutting the bottoms off wine bottles.  He used the top part of the bottle to put over candles.  I used the bottom part to make this cross.  I was amazed that wine bottles have so many different diameters.  I built a base for it so it could stand freely.  I like the way the light shines through it when placed in front of a window.  I gave this cross to my parents.  They put it in front of a window in their dining room.  The symbolism is that Christ's first public miracle was changing the water into wine and his last was that he rose from the dead after his crucifixtion on the cross.

Mission San Luis Rey, Oceanside, California

This is a watercolor of the Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside, California.  The painting is supposed to be what the Mission looked like in the early part of the 1900's.  That is why it looks a little different than it does today.  It is now restored and is a beautiful place to visit.  Click on the picture to see a larger version of it.

I donated this painting to Mission San Luis Rey.  They said that they would keep it in their Mission art collection and it would hang in their office.

Green Bay's Lombardi

This is a recent painting that I completed.  It is special to me on several levels.  First, as someone interested in football, Vince Lombardi is considered one of the all-time great football coaches in the NFL and one of my favorites.  Second, I started doing this one as a pencil sketch, but on June 20, 2012, Leroy Neiman passed away.  I have always admired his work and have mentioned him in the comments of another football painting on this blog.   In a tribute to Neiman, I tried to do this one in my interpretation of Neiman's style.  The title of this one is not "Green Bay's Lombardi".   The title is, "Green Bay's LOMBARDI!" in the voice of NFL Films, John Facenda.  He was the narrator on all the NFL Highlight films that I used to watch growing up.  Many fans called him "The Voice of God" (My friend, Frank Gruber knows exactly what I am talking about.)  So enjoy--"Green Bay's LOMBARDI!"

"My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys"

This was an attempt to do something colorful, like you see in those magazines on Cowboys or Art of the Southwest.  The medium I used on this one was the computer program, Paintbrush. It is supposed to be a "Tom Selleck" sort of cowboy.  I used the original on a Father's Day card for my Dad.

"Louisiana Innocence"

This is a recent watercolor painting of a subject that I have wanted to do for quite some time.  I wasn't able to find a photo to use as a model until Ed Jones, a friend of mine, sent me an email and one of the photos in it was just what I needed.  My wife helped explain the details of the dress to me.  It is supposed to show a little girl enjoying her new dress on a spring day along the Gulf Coast.

"Cowboy"

This watercolor was inspired by an oil painting by Dean St. Clair.  This kind of reminds me of some of the artwork I would see at Knott's Berry Farm when I was a kid.  I'm not happy about how it came out.  The mountains in the background are too sharp and crisp.  The wagon and the cowboy are too soft.  It should have been the other way around.

"Whatsoever You Do..."

"Whatsoever You Do" is inspired by the Gospel quote in Mark 25:40.  Each dot (and I don't know how many there are, I just know there are many) represents a child that goes hungry each day.  Please support charities that fight hunger, both in our communities (like local food banks), the United States, and around the world (like UNICEF).  Thank you.

Japanese Maple Bonsai Tree

This is a Japanese Maple that I "grew down" from a much taller tree.  I think they are so beautiful with their delicate red leaves.  This picture was taken in early spring.  I have always had an interest in Bonsai Trees.  It started with my high school football coach, Bruce Pickford.  As tough and hard-nosed as he was, it amazed me that he was a Bonsai Master and had many beautiful specimens.  He was also an officer in the Orange County Bonsai Society.  He passed away a few years ago.  Every time I work on my Bonsai trees, I think of him.

Derringer Holster

This is a small leather holster I made for a Derringer.   It is not from a kit.  The holster pattern is my design and is cut from one piece of leather. It has a Rose Stamp on it.

Wooden Flutes

This is a 24" wooden flute I just completed.

This is a 12" wooden flute.  They are both made from Poplar Wood.
Before I attempted to do them in wood, I made prototypes out of PVC pipe.

UCLA Football Player - Kenny Easley

This is a pen and ink & watercolor picture

of a UCLA football player, Kenny Easley.

Moses

This is a charcoal crayon and ink sketch of Michelangelo's Moses.  I did this for my Father as a companion piece to the Pieta, which I did for my Mother.  It is rather large and hangs on a wall in their dining room.  I don't know why I made it so large--it is the largest drawing or painting I have done.

St. Emydius Catholic School

A few years ago, my wife got me a Ted Crane print of Humboldt State University as a gift.  Thinking I would do the same for her, I asked her if she wanted one from Cal State Fullerton where she graduated, or one from the several other colleges she attended.  She said her favorite school was St. Emydius which she attended in Lynwood, California for 1st grade thru 8th grade.   This is where she met her life-long friends, Rosalie and Barbara.  I didn't think Ted Crane had done a print of St. Emydius, so one Sunday morning, I made up a story about going somewhere and drove up to Lynwood to take some photos of the school.  I figured I'd try to do something for my wife, but if it didn't turn out, I could frame one of the photos.  The school and church are both still very nice--I can see why this was my wife's favorite school.  Anyway, I did a watercolor of the front of the school and my wife loves it.  It is on the wall next to my print of Humboldt State.

Indian Pueblo

This watercolor was interesting to do, but didn't quite capture the feeling that I had hoped for.  However, I like the way the colors work together.  My wife's good friend Kathy liked the painting, so she gave it to her.  I told Kathy that if people asked her where she got it, she was to say that she got it from her good friend who was, "sleeping with the artist."  It sounds very salacious, but it is just my wife sleeping with me, her husband.  It does make the picture seem more interesting though!

Blanket and Baskets

Following my interest in Native American Indians, I built a primitive loom and wove the blanket seen here.  It was difficult getting the simple red stripe lines in it.  I have no idea how the Indians wove the intricate and interesting patterns and designs into their blankets.   I took a one-day extension class through University of California, Riverside on Indian Basket Weaving.  I made the small basket on the lower right in that class.  It is a two-sided (inside and outside) loop basket.  We dipped the strands in water to make them pliable--thus fulfilling my Father's teasing about the classes I took in college.   I was actually doing "underwater basket weaving".  The basket on the top left is a rope-coil basket that my cousin, Judy Marquez, who is a high school art teacher, explained how to do.   She is a great teacher because I think it came out pretty good.  It is so tightly woven that it might hold water, but I have never tried it.

Madonna Shrine

I tried to loosen up my style with this watercolor.  I used a very wet paper and made the foreground a little abstract

Major Powell's 1873 Expedition through the Canyons of the Colorado River

You have to look closely for the boats on the river in the lower left corner of the picture (click on picture to enlarge).  That gives you some idea of the scale of the canyons.  Interesting note:  I did this watercolor from a watercolor by an artist who was actually on the expedition, documenting what they saw.  I wondered how the artist caught up with the rest of the party as he painted them floating away from him.  Maybe they had a third boat.

Humboldt Coast

I love the northern California coastline.  This was an attempt to capture some of its beauty.  You really need to see it in person to fully appreciate it.

Afternoon Lake Fog

This one looked like the photo I used to paint it, but I am not happy with the water.  Water is very difficult to paint or draw--at least for me it is.

Colt Revolver

I did this sketch for a friend who I've gone hunting with a number of times.  He is very knowledgeable about all kinds of firearms as well as football.  His wife is Bridget, who does the Nickel & Dime Ranch blog.  The difficult part of this sketch was the lettering on the barrel of the gun.  I had to really plan to get it to come out the way I wanted it.

Sitting Bull

Again, a project inspired by my interest in American Indians.  For me, the toughest part were the feathers.

Willie Nelson - "Red Headed Stranger"

I listen to a lot of Willie Nelson music.  This was a spur of the moment project combining pen & ink and watercolors.

Miami Dolphins Football Player - Larry Czonka

Larry Czonka was one of my favorite players.  I tried to capture his strength and "right at you" style of running the football.  I was never very happy with the way his right leg turned out in this sketch, but that is the way it looked in the photo that I used to draw it.

Cozy Cottage

In my opinion, there is no greater group of artists than those at Disney Studios.  In this watercolor, I tried to capture some of that "Disney-ish" style.  I don't think I got it, but I like the picture anyway.

Rams Football Player

This is an early pen & ink sketch I did of Lance Rentzel.  As a kid, I was a big Los Angeles Rams fan.  I was very disappointed when they moved to St. Louis.

Moss Point, Laguna Beach, California

If you turn off of Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach onto Moss Street, you can park and walk down some stairs to Moss Cove.  It is a beautiful little place to visit.

UCLA Football Player - Matt Stevens

Matt Stevens played quarterback for me when I was the Head Sophomore Coach at Fountain Valley H. S.  He was a star player on the varsity at FVHS,  then went on to be the starting quarterback at UCLA and took them to the 1986 Rose Bowl against the University of Iowa.  I gave the original to him as a gift.

Petroglyph of a Ram

This is a petroglyph I did of a ram.  I'm not sure of what kind of rock I used but it dulled the center-punch I used to make it.  Indians must have had a lot of time on their hands because it took me a long time to make it.

Totem Pole

I have always been interested in Native American Indians.  I wanted to make a totem pole so I found an 8' tall, 10" in diameter piece of Lodgepole Pine from the Bitterroot Mountains in Idaho.  It weighs 100.5 lbs.  The top figure is an eagle holding a fish.  The second is a wolf (notice the sharp teeth).  The third is a man.  The fourth is a beaver (notice the big teeth).  The fifth is a warrior.  The bottom is an Orka (killer whale).  It is all hand-carved, painted, and sealed with marine varnish.

My Grandparents From Back East

   My mother's parents were very different from my father's parents.  My dad's parents immigrated from Italy and had very little formal education.  My mom's father graduated from the University of Pittsburgh.  He also owned, among other cars, a Pontiac convertible.  My father's parents didn't even own a car in their later years.  
     Aside from these major differences, my grandparents on both sides knew each other.  My Great-Grandfather Tata (on my mother's side) was a good friend of my dad's father--both having worked in the Pennsylvania steel mills and both belonging to the Palenese Club (for Italians).  Great-Grandma Tresa (sic) was very close friends with my father's mother--visiting each other often and sipping coffee with fernet or anisette in it.  My dad's mother used to sell candy in front of her house.  My mother's mother used to buy candy from her on her way home from school.  My dad's parents used to buy their medicine from my mother's father's pharmacy in McKeesport.  In fact, one time when both my parents were very young, they played together (my mom was the oldest in her family, my dad was the youngest in his family).  My dad wanted to play cowboys, but my mom was too shy to play.
     I remember the first time my maternal grandparents from back east, came to California to visit us.  They drove across country in their new, red, Pontiac convertible.  Grandpa usually wore a hat and always looked very dapper.  He had a mustache like Grouch Marx.  Grandma also always dressed very fashionably.  When they came to visit us when we lived in Lakewood, California, it was like Bob Hope and Lucille Ball came to town.  All of my father's side of the family came to visit them (they all lived in California by now) because they had all known each other back in Pennsylvania.  I didn't realize how unique it was the both sets of my grandparents were good friends and knew each other long before my parents were married.  I think that even helped allow the marriage to take place because when Dad asked Grandpa if he could marry his daughter, Grandpa asked my dad what his plans were for the future.  Dad said, "I'm not sure."   It was not a great answer, but Grandpa let the wedding take place anyhow.
     When my maternal grandparents came to town, it was like a week-long party.  Relatives visited our house, the stories never ended, and we ate, and ate, and ate.  We went to Knott's Berry Farm.  We went to Disneyland.  We laughed so much.  I remember how my dad would make Grandma and Grandpa laugh until they had tears coming down their faces.  I always thought that it was special how my dad would call his in-laws, "Mom" and "Dad".
     One time, when my grandpa was using the bathroom, I had on my cowboy hat and toy gun and I pushed open the door and yelled, "Stick 'em up, Grandpa!"  Grandpa start shouting for Grandma to come get me out of there!!  Everyone laughed so much.  And we all cried when it was time to say goodbye. 
     My grandparents always treated my sister and me so well.  They visited from back east several times through the years and made it to my sister's wedding as well as my wedding.  Many times, when they would send gifts to us, they would send books because they were sturdy and could be mailed easily from back east.  Many books on our shelves at home right now are inscribed to us from my grandparents.
     Thinking back on it, my Mom made a real sacrifice to move all the way across the country from her parents.  They talked a lot about moving to California when Grandpa retired, but they never did.  I don't know if I can every fully appreciate what my Mom did for us.  I guess that is why she always loved receiving autumn leaves her mom would send her in the mail.
     Because it was always such a festive occasion when they would visit, I have nothing but fond memories of my maternal Grandma and Grandpa.

 

Pup's Garden

     Al Pacino's character in the movie, "Serpico" told the girl next door to "Love my garden."  When she asked him why, he replied, "If you love a man's garden, you love the man."
     "Pup" is what his children called him; I always called him Grandpa.  He was an Italian immigrant who came to this country as a teenager in the early part of the 1900's.  He knew a time before computers, cell phones, television, radios, telephones, space travel, jet planes, airplanes, refrigerators, and cars.  He went to school for only a few years.  He worked most of his life as a laborer.  He raised seven children.  He was never on welfare.  He helped build the New York subways, toiled in the Pennsylvania steel mills, and worked for the city maintenance crew in Hawthorne, California.
     I was a baby-boomer who grew up in the "golden age" of television, the space program, the "new" math, and the 60's.  As a child, when we would go to visit my Grandparents, many times I would not know what to talk to him about.  After a short period of silence, I'd ask to see his garden.
     He and Grandma lived in a nice house in Hawthorne, California that had a huge front yard and a small backyard.  On one side of the house was Grandpa's vegetable garden, or "Pup's Garden."
     That garden proved to be the bridge between his generation and mine.  It literally gave us common ground on which to stand.  In this garden, he became the teacher and philosopher.  In his broken English, he would show me the plants that he had planted.  I would ask a million time what this plant was, and what that plant was.  He would, ever patiently, point out, "This is garlic, this is onion, this is parsley."  I would ask him why he had a "dead" plant in the garden.  He would laugh and explain to me that it was a grape vine and that right now it was "asleep"  but that in a few months it would be full of green leaves and grapes.  It only looked dead.  I'd tell him that it was a beautiful garden and he would humbly accept my compliment, they would explain the problems he would encounter each season--from bugs to cats to diseases.  Then he would tell me how he would use simple logic and common sense to overcome each obstacle.  After awhile, he would say it was time to go in and have some of Grandma's soup.  Some of the vegetable ingredients came from his garden.
     I think he enjoyed showing me his garden as much as I enjoyed seeing it.  When he would latch the gate to the garden behind us, I felt that I had just experienced something very special.
     Little did Grandpa know how I would follow his teachings, not only in my own garden, but also in my life.  When he passed away, I thought of the grape vines that seemed dead, but still had life within them.  It reassured me to know that things are not always what the seem, and I'm sure that I'd see him again in heaven.
     I always loved my Grandpa's garden, and as they say, "If you love a man's garden, you love the man." 

Mum's Soup

     Grandma lived with Grandpa in Hawthorne, California for many years.  Her children always called her "Mum".  I'm not sure why, but that is what they called her.  I called her Grandma.  Grandma was loving and generous and I'm told, used to be quite a funny person.  After her oldest daughter, Anna passed away, Grandma wasn't quite as humorous as she used to be.  Still, I always enjoyed going to visit them.
        On almost every visit, Grandma would take me into the hallway and open her linen closet and reach way in the back.  She'd pull out an envelope and take out a crisp five-dollar bill.  She would look around to make sure we were all alone and then discreetly tell me not to tell Grandpa.  I really didn't think Grandpa would mind, but I kept our little secret.  One time, Grandma did this, and a little while later, Grandpa did the same thing, giving me a five-dollar bill and telling me not to tell Grandma.  They really were hilarious in their own way, and I used to leave their house with pockets full of money.
     Sometimes my Dad and I would go see them for a quick visit on a Saturday afternoon.  Dad would tell Grandma that we had just finished eating and that we weren't hungry.  He didn't want her going out of her way preparing a meal for us.  He just wanted to sit and chat.  We'd sit at her kitchen table talking about this and that; all the while she'd be nodding and commenting, but she'd also be taking things out of the refrigerator and putting them on the table or heating stuff up on the stove.  My Dad would say, "Mum, I said not to get anything for us to eat."  She'd say, "I'm not."  But she would continue to put food on the table until it looked like a feast for a king.  She still was pretty funny to me.
     She would always have so much good food to eat, but the absolute highlight of going to Grandma's was her beef noodle soup.  I don't know how she would make it, but she always seemed to be making some, or she'd have some in the refrigerator or in the freezer.  When we would visit, in no time at all, she'd have a huge  pot of that soup warming up on the stove.   She would serve it in a large soup bowl with a little pepper and graded Romano cheese on it.  I would be enjoying my second or third bowl of soup, and Grandma would say, "Have some chicken or something else to eat."  I'd tell her, "Grandma, I can have chicken anytime.  I can't always get your soup, so I'm just going to stick with that."  She loved that.  She and Grandpa would tell everyone else what I said and then she'd lovingly serve me another bowl of soup.
     I was very lucky that my mother asked Grandma for her recipe and soon mastered the finer points of making that soup.  Many years later when I had married, my wife asked for that recipe.  Both my mother and my wife can make beef noodle soup that would make my Grandma proud.
     When my Grandparents had both passed away, I did not ask for anything of their estate as the family went through their things.  The one thing that I did receive was one of my Grandma's soup bowls and to me, that's all I need.  (That soup bowl is in the picture to the right of the stove.)

MUM'S SOUP RECIPE (SERVES MANY)
3 to 4 lbs. Beef cut into chunks (chuck roast or stewing beef chunks)
3 to 4 quarts water (or at least enough water to cover all the meat)
2 teaspoons of salt (add more at the end if needed)
1/8 teaspoon of pepper

Place above in a large pot.  Bring to a boil.  Cover pot and lower heat to simmer for at least two hours--until meat is almost tender.

NOW ADD:
2 stalks of Celery (peel, clean, slice)
2 carrots (peel, clean, slice)
16 ounce can of tomato sauce
1 teaspoon of Parsley Flakes


Simmer with pot covered one more hour.  Remove any large chunks of meat and cut into bite-size pieces.  Return meat to soup.  Separately, cook 1 cup of the small macaroni salad noodles or elbow macaroni and add to soup.  Serve soup with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.

The Pieta

This is a drawing that I did many years ago as a gift for my Mother.  My model was a photo of Michelangelo's Pieta.  I should have stopped after this one because I think it came out exactly as I envisioned it--which most artists will tell you never happens.  Click on photo to enlarge.

Oliver Reed in "The Three Musketeers"

This a sketch of actor Oliver Reed in his role in the movie, "The Three Musketeers".  It is a loose-line drawing.  I always feel my art is "stiff" and I think I need to do more projects like this one.

Flowers

This is a watercolor of flowers--a different subject for me.