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Summer 2016: Scotland… of Water Fairies and Sea Kelpies

Water is everywhere in Scotland…

Falling from the sky, flowing into the rivers, cascading from the waterfalls, then to the lochs, and returning eventually to the sea.

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The Falls of Arrochar
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Tarbet, Loch Lomond
My many travels as a surfer have taken me to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I never expected the beaches of Scotland to be some of the most impressive.

Continue reading “Summer 2016: Scotland… of Water Fairies and Sea Kelpies”

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Twenty Studio Stories….

I’ve painted outdoors and I’ve painted indoors… on location and in studios all over the world. People often ask me: Which do I prefer? Is one more authentic? Is the other easier? Over the years I’m thinking it is all up to the individual, what gets you stoked as a painter, what inspires your process.

MFA Studio: Oakland, CA
MFA Studio: Oakland, CA
I suppose that when it comes to art studios, I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked in some amazing spaces in the world. Some were corners in a room, others covered patios, basements, cantinas, spare rooms, garages and shared spaces with other artists. Some spaces I have lived and slept in, some had great surf and snowboarding right outside the door. Some studios have been the backdrop for tea parties, holiday parties, and art shows…others transformed into movie sets for numerous film projects. From the ancient olive mill in Tuscany to the the old Del Monte Cannery in San Francisco, all these spaces impart their energy into my work and inspire in their own unique ways.
In this, my 30th year as a professional artist, I’m looking back at those places with many fond recollections. The hundreds if not thousands (!) of paintings I have created over those years!

Continue reading “Twenty Studio Stories….”

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Florentine Treasures

Caroline-Zimmermann-in-Florence

Since the era of the Medici and the Renaissance, Florence has been famous for its artisans, artists and crafts people who have created many of art history’s finest treasures. My numerous visits to the museums of Florence have inspired me over the years as I view the countless masterpieces of Renaissance art, and noting with little exception, the magnificence of their frames.

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It has been one of my greatest pleasures as an artist living and working in Tuscany for the last 20 years to collaborate with several frame makers in Florence that are still creating frames in the fine Florentine tradition. (These paintings will be available at the Lahaina Galleries Holiday Show from November 20 at the Newport Beach gallery.) Continue reading “Florentine Treasures”

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Autumn Reflections from a Tuscan Studio

Molino, Autumn 2014

It has been a wet autumn here in Tuscany, and that following a very wet summer. Italy has been inundated by November’s storms adding to the heaviness of an already disastrous olive harvest. Makes for a slightly maudlin mood for the locals. Rainy weather means more time for me in the studio, happily working away… of course, on my newest water paintings. Continue reading “Autumn Reflections from a Tuscan Studio”