"Early mourning", watercolor 10"x7".

Belted Kingfishers

I am lucky enough to work at a place where birds are abundant enough to enjoy. Belted kingfishers are fairly common in the south Delta where I work. I often see them during dawn with something moving in their beaks. I can't really figure out what fish species they often get since they're really quick to swallow. I am just assuming it is some type of a minnow or shad. Actually, I don't even know what kind of fish I just painted here. Looks very generic. As long as the bird looks good, I am satisfied. This painting is called "Nice catch", watercolor 8"x10".

Pileated woodpecker

A painting of a pileated woodpecker eyeing a black oak tree titled "Red on black oak", watercolor 9"x10".

Acorn woodpecker

"The park clown", watercolor 9"x12" (Original SOLD)

"Kasey's curlews", pen and ink with watercolor 14"x11".


"Tidings of magpies III", gouache 16"x10, (Original SOLD).

Tidings of magpies

I have been painting endemic birds these past few days but I seem to have an affinity for yellow-billed magpies. I will be posting other natives these next few days. These 2 paintings were fun to create. "Purple haze", 8"x10" gouache (left), "Fence brothers", 10.5"x7.5" gouache (right), Original SOLD (Pacific Classic Wildlife Art Show).

"Lichen perch", gouache 8"x11" (Original SOLD). Prints will be available soon.

Snowy plover

Great blue herons

The ubiquitous great blue heron: one of the most enjoyable bird to paint using simple brush strokes (Original SOLD).

Neotoma spp.

This is a first attempt at a painting of an elusive rodent found in the riparian habitats in San Joaquin County. I had a difficult time finding these guys in the wild. Luckily, I knew someone who has worked with this species. Thanks, Tristan, for letting me use your photo. Gouache on 8"x11" watercolor paper.

line drawings

I have been meditating with my fine point drawing pen. This drawing is of a long-billed curlew. This image was used for an Audubon Society brochure.


On the way to the Heron Festival at Clear Lake this past spring, I came across a herd of about 100 tule elk. That was exhilarating. This is a quick sketch of two of them.

Siamese cats

"Siamese portrait", gouache 8"x11" (Original SOLD).


"Regal Siamese", gouache 8"x11".

Leafy sea dragon

My wife's favorite syngnathid. This painting is more of a practice in illustration and a play with yellow and green. This piece is titled "Aussie dragon", watercolor 9"x12". (Original SOLD at Merced Arts Festival).

"Folsom nap", gouache 9"x12"

Seahorses

For my daughter's 9th birthday, we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and saw this fascinating collection of seahorses. It was truly inspiring. Inspiring enough that I painted one. This one is titled "Equine colors", watercolor 7"x10".  Original SOLD at the 2011 CVBS.

California towhee

I have been identifying all the bird species that frequent my work place at Byron, CA for the past 10 years and I came across a species which I have not seen there before. The California towhee, despite its wide California range, apparently are sedentary in nature (according to a naturalist friend) and rarely venture outside an individual's foraging range. So it was a pleasant surprise seeing this species venture by my work place. This painting is called "A towhee visit", gouache 8"x11" (SOLD at the Heron Festival).

This is the sixth and final design for a notecard set of native Central Valley birds. This painting is titled "Loggerhead lookout", watercolor 7"x9". (Original SOLD)

"Mockingbird of Oak Grove Park", watercolor 7"x9". (Original SOLD)

White-crowned sparrow

White-crowned sparrows are common in winter here in the Valley. I see them often foraging along with juncos and the non-native house sparrows. They are just beautiful to watch. This painting is of a white-crowned sparrow perching on a berry bush that runs along a levee of Old River in Byron, CA. This painting is titled "A thorny perch", gouache 8.5"x11". Original SOLD at CVBS 2010.

"Mama Antoinette" gouache 8''x10''

paintings from journals

After 10 years, it is only now that I have found the time to start painting the sketches that I had done in my travel journals. This is a rough painting of an African woman. More on the way. (SOLD at the Heron Festival)

Madonna and Child

A Fulani family fed me and took care of me for those months I lived in Cameroon. I lived in a compound with 4 other houses, one house for each of my father's 4 wives. It took time getting used to living without privacy, especially with 17 boys and about 4 girls running around the compound. I had to get used to eating from a communal bowl with all my brothers using only fingers. In the Philippines, eating food with hands is normal. However, it was hard to eat slimy gumbo with my hands and watch 17 pairs of hand go for the same bowl of gumbo. I was always given first dibs on the bowl of gumbo along with my father, and then after a few minutes, it was a free for all. My moms always cooked the food but I was never allowed to eat with them during dinner. The separation of the sexes was hard to get used to. This is a painting of one of my invisible "moms" who fed me well in Cameroon. This painting was from the last day of my stay with my adopted family. Acrylic on canvas, 20"x24" (NFS).

playing chess with Maya

When my daughter's friends came over for a few hours, rather than watch TV or play video games, they played chess. It was a beautiful sight. Perhaps it is a sign that we are raising our daughters correctly. Who knows? This painting is of Maya playing a match with me on a late afternoon. She was only four when I painted this. This painting is titled "Daddy's opponent", acrylic on 18"x24" stretched canvas (NFS).

Calling wren

I went to Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego and found this beautiful wren calling. It blended nicely with the brown leafless shrubs. This painting is called "Shades of brown". Watercolor, 8"x10" (original SOLD).

Opossum

"Nocturnal stare", gouache on watercolor paper, 8"x10" (Original SOLD).

Acorn woodpecker

A painting of an acorn woodpecker from the Oak Grove Regional Park, a remnant of Stockton's oak meadow past. (original SOLD, no prints available).

western bluebird

This western bluebird was perching on a sycamore tree in front of our house one cloudy morning. It added color to a gray morning. This painting is called "Blue morning", watercolor 8"x10" (original SOLD, prints available).

White-tailed kites

"Day patrol", gouache 8"x11" (Original $200, no prints available). I work at a place remote enough that several species of raptors are often seen hunting. One of the more entertaining raptors to watch are white-tailed kites. This is a painting of a pair that patrol their hunting range that includes my workplace.

Salmon paintings

"Kings of the West", watercolor 8"x10" (original and print available)


"The dog pound", watercolor 8"x10" (original and print available)

Canine paintings

"The clever one", gouache 15"x20" (left).
"Arctic soul", gouache 15"x20" (right).

Owls and raptors

"A Swainson summer", gouache 7"x10" (left), SOLD
"Byron's hunter", 7"x10" gouache (right)


"The night watchman", 6.5"x10.5" gouache (left)
"Autumn hunter", 7"x11"gouache (right)


"Great horned owl", 7"x10" gouache (left)
"The glance", 7"x9" watercolor (right)


"Red-tailed hawk intermediate", 9"x12" gouache (SOLD)

Sandhill Cranes

"Isenberg twins", watercolor 7"x10" (left)
"The call of the cranes", gouache 7"x10" (SOLD, limited edition print soldout).

Horses

Horses are fun to sketch and to paint. The muscles and their almost human-like faces makes it really challenging. This painting is of a friend's Welsh pony. "Solar", gouache 10"x15" (original SOLD, no prints available).

Turkey vultures

Another one of my favorite local birds. Not quite local since they have quite a range in the US. They are beautiful to watch in flight. This one is called "Beauty queens", gouache on watercolor paper, 7.5"x9.5" (SOLD, $50 print).

"Dynamic duo", watercolor 7"x19" (SOLD)