Thomas O'Brien Art

Thomas O'Brien Art My page is here to engage with those who are interested in my work. If you have any questions about my art then please ask! All of my art is for sale.

If you are interested in commission work, please reach out via direct message.

From the La Jolla and Pacific Beach studies, acrylic gouache on a gesso panel.The painting isolated the meeting point be...
08/24/2026

From the La Jolla and Pacific Beach studies, acrylic gouache on a gesso panel.

The painting isolated the meeting point between surf and rock. Scale stayed small so the design carried the image.

08/23/2026

Distance depends on what changes from one plane to the next. The foreground can carry stronger contrast and firmer edges. The middle distance simplifies. The far plane compresses value and detail.

When every plane gets equal treatment, the space flattens.

Color gives the painter options. Value keeps those options coherent.Establish the planes and hierarchy first. Then move ...
08/21/2026

Color gives the painter options. Value keeps those options coherent.

Establish the planes and hierarchy first. Then move hue, temperature, and chroma as far as the design can support. Speed comes from making the decisions in the right order.

A painting can only carry so many declarations.Hard edges, sharp detail, high contrast, and saturated color all compete ...
08/19/2026

A painting can only carry so many declarations.

Hard edges, sharp detail, high contrast, and saturated color all compete for attention. Decide where the eye should go, quiet the supporting areas, and make every mark earn its place.

The strongest color in a painting should be earned.Pure pigment, clean white, deepest dark, and highest chroma all lose ...
08/17/2026

The strongest color in a painting should be earned.

Pure pigment, clean white, deepest dark, and highest chroma all lose force when they appear everywhere. Build most of the painting with controlled mixtures and save the strongest notes for the areas carrying the idea.

With the Flower, I wanted to encapsulate the intensity of the red by surrounding it with muted greens and grays. I abstracted the world around it to focus your eyes where I wanted them.

Two recent plein air gouache paintings from Southern California.The first is from the Hollywood Hills, painted a few wee...
08/16/2026

Two recent plein air gouache paintings from Southern California.

The first is from the Hollywood Hills, painted a few weeks ago while out with Danny Folkman. The second is from Elfin Forest Reserve, painted yesterday on the trail.

I’ve been paying more attention to the recurring color relationships across Southern California’s temperate landscape: muted and dry greens, ochres, warm earth, relatively cool atmospheric distance, and the violet-blue notes that develop across the farther terrain.

I also deliberately left both paintings alone after the sessions. There are certainly things I could correct or redesign in the studio, but I wanted to preserve the actual field decisions and brushwork rather than turn either into something more resolved after the fact.

Both are gouache.

08/16/2026

The strongest color loses authority when I spread it everywhere. I keep most of the painting inside a controlled range, then reserve the cleanest, highest-chroma notes for the area carrying the idea.

Restraint gives color its force.

Like so many other artists, both contemporary and old, I did alot of my intial art studies on flowers. They are a great ...
08/14/2026

Like so many other artists, both contemporary and old, I did alot of my intial art studies on flowers. They are a great reference! This piece is currently on display at the San Diego Water Color Society exhibition at Liberty Station.

A quick little gouache study of paddle cactuses in a barrell. This moment was captured in the Sandia Foothills, and what...
08/12/2026

A quick little gouache study of paddle cactuses in a barrell. This moment was captured in the Sandia Foothills, and what caught my eye was the arrangement. I liked the manmade rustic elements against the natures prickly champion.

This little guy is still for sale. Message me if interested!

Trees reveal quickly whether a painter understands shape, mass, rhythm, and edge.Before chasing leaves, study the silhou...
08/10/2026

Trees reveal quickly whether a painter understands shape, mass, rhythm, and edge.

Before chasing leaves, study the silhouette. Draw the trunk, branch structure, light mass, and shadow mass until the generic tree symbol disappears. A convincing tree begins with design.

Address

San Diego, CA
92109

Website

,

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Thomas O'Brien Art posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Establishment

Send a message to Thomas O'Brien Art:

Shortcuts

Share

Category