Jay Raymond Art

2007, 5"x7" Acrylic on Masonite

2007, Acrylic on Masonite This is another view of fields near the Artessa Winery in Napa, California. SOLD

Near our favorite winery in the Napa Valley, there are some beautiful fields hidden on lonely gravel roads. The Artessa Winery is a unique winery with beautiful views, and the wine is good, too! This scene is one of many like it that you can find if you wander past the winery a short distance. I don't think many people leave the main loop in the valley unless they have a strong curiosity and appreciation of the landscape. The wine is the main attraction for most, but for me it is the land from which the wine comes. I can't help but leave the busy valley highways and wander into the quiet hills to see what I might find. 2007, 5"x7" Acrylic on Masonite SOLD

California wine country is full of amazing landscapes. There's probably barely an acre that hasn't been captured by some artist's brush, but my wife and I found some quiet little corners near Napa where it seemed only the vineyard farmers wandered. The typical Napa painting usually includes rows of grape vines, but we found a lot of other interesting features, too. This golden hillside was one of those. 2007, 5"x7" Acrylic on Masonite SOLD

During a business trip to Southern California I had a chance to go hiking in the Torrey Pines State Reserve. The pine trees are full of character, and are irresistible as subjects. Here is a gnarly character standing proudly on the red bluffs. Torrey Pines, 2007, 5"x7" Acrylic on Masonite

This past February my wife and I spent almost two weeks in Maui. When we first arrived and checked into our hotel, it was cold and rainy. In fact, after the first few days we thought we were going to be in for some cool wet weather for our entire stay. It turned out to be a beautiful tropical vacation with lots of sun and warm weather. The whales made their presence known frequently to everyone on the beach with some dramatic tale slapping and an occasional breach. If you've ever visited Maui, you know there are plenty of activities to enjoy, but my wife and I couldn't seem to get off the beach. We discovered the palm trees depicted in this painting when we went for a long walk on Ka'anapali Beach. This particular section of the beach is for me the ideal image of a tropical Pacific setting. I don't know how the trees can remain planted when their trunks sweep out in long arcs as they do, but they're strong enough to support brave tourists perching on them for photog...

8"x10" Acrylic on Masonite When I travel with my family from Brainerd to Alexandria to visit my parents, we drive through some beautiful farm country. There's one section in particular where the land buckles into rolling plains. There are winding streams that carve pastures with narrow slivers of water. Trees frame the fields, and when the sky is cast with large drifting clouds, the light moves slowly across everything and illuminates the land to gold and green hues.

Summer Field ,2007, 5"x7" Acrylic on Masonite Welcome to my first posting and my very first visit into the world of blogging. You might not find a lot of writing here (or maybe you will), but I look forward to sharing some of my work. I'm a former art teacher and a lifelong artist with a love for every type of visual expression and medium. My interests in art include painting, photography, sculpture, printmaking, pottery, and drawing. Due to the fact I haven't had a space to use as a studio for several years, I've been focusing mostly on photography and just recently I've been getting back to painting. The paintings I've been producing are small and are explorations of one of my favorite subjects...the landscape. The small size of these paintings works well with my mode of painting which is to use a "portable studio" in my kitchen. The portable studio amounts to a used laundry basket full of jars and tubes of acrylic paint and a good set of paint...