William Dunn – William Dunn Studio
A collection of artwork from William Dunn.
Imagekind Gallery williamdunnstudio
Copyright (C) 2008
Jackson Street Crowd
A busy street corner in Chinatown in San Francisco - always energetic and alive.
Spire
I painted this view of Sts. Peter and Paul Church on Filbert St. in San Francisco to evoke the quiet, moody feeling of the late afternoon. It's a bit of a different style for me, more sensitive to subtleties and softer color use than my norm.
It's convinced me to do more like this.
Upper Market
I'm looking East on Market St., at the Castro St. intersection here. The vintage trolley, overhead wires, and style of the buildings felt like earlier times in San Francisco. It's also a re-do of an earlier painting that was stolen from the Art People in SF where I show.
Wharf
Ghirardelli Square was named a San Francisco landmark in 1965. It's a festival marketplace made from renovated old factories and other buildings - the Chocolate Building, the Mustard Building, the Cocoa Building, the Apartment, the Power Plant, and the Clock Tower—are all saved during the early 1960's renovation.
It sits just behind the wharf area and makes for a great combination view of old San Francisco landmarks.
The Palace on Mission
Every city has these gritty old character-laden hotels. Their grandeur has long-since faded over the years, and though they may no longer have the grace and elegance of their heyday, they do maintain a certain flavor and charm that I find compelling.
Night Trolley
This scene is near the end of the cable car line on California Street in San Francisco. Though it was night time, the ambient light gave a nice glow-like quality to the atmosphere.
Rain
It was 3 pm and pouring near downtown San Jose, CA. The wind was blowing and it was cold. The lights of the cars reflecting off the wet streets really caught my attention.
Santa Barbara Pier
Santa Barbara has this great old pier. I don't think there are many left like this anymore. It reminded me of my surfing days as a kid in Santa Cruz.
Scomas
Scoma's is an old family owned and run seafood restaurant right on the pier in in Fisherman's Wharf. I was across the water on a "working" pier in San Francisco and saw this scene. It was kind of gray and cloudy and the water had a muted green quality.
Shodoshima Fishing Village
This place captured my heart. It's a little city on the Inland Sea of Japan on Shodo Island. Known for it's olive growing and 400 year old soy sauce plant. It felt like 1700 as I walked around. This evening scene was just rich with color and culture. I tried but I'm sure I didn't do justice to it's quiet beauty.
Trattoria Pinocchio
This is a busy North Beach, San Francisco "Italian Restaurant", trattoria in Italian. It's busy and hectic, and seems to be a magnet for the locals who hang out there. People were crowding the entrance trying to get in.
Wang Chung Co.
This Chinatown store in San Francisco is an example of this amazing mix of people, color, Chinese culture and tradition. I love the smells, sights and sounds of this fascinating place. time Time stands still here.
Washington Street
My jaw dropped as I took in this ordinary, but beautiful SF Chinatown scene. Just had to to it.
Alviso Harbor Sketch
This Alviso "Yacht Harbor" sits at the south end of SF Bay. It was really a collection of derelict boats sitting in the mud. I wanted to paint it before it was "cleaned up". Unfortunately it no longer exists.
Ameyoko
This painting was done from a very busy downtown Tokyo, Japan scene. It's the "American Section" of Tokyo and was the center of black market trading for American goods after World War II.
Butcher Shop
This is a busy butcher shop in the heart of San Francisco's Chinatown. Chickens are hanging in the window, all sorts of poultry, fowl, and beef cuts are sitting in trays as Chinese women are collecting the evenings fare for dinner.
Cafe Trieste
This busy little corner in North Beach, SF, with the buildings running up in the hills in the distance just had to be painted.
Castro Theater
This theater is one of the "Grand Old Ladies" of San Francisco.
With a live organ playing in the traditional ornate theater, it attracts visitor's worldwide.
Fisherman's Grotto 9
This is the working "backside" of the busy San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf, the part not many people see. It's gritty and "real", the part I really like. My Dad took our family to this restaurant when I was about ten. I've never forgotten it.
Gino & Carlo
This place is a San Francisco tradition. Nothing fancy or "upscale" here. It has a following dating back to the '40s - young and old alike hang out here over basic fare and drinks. I couldn't resist the history and charm of this inaspicious place.
Hotel Potter
The "Tenderloin" is not the pretty side of San Francisco. But is has it's charm too. These two guys were leaning up against the wall doing who knows what. It wasn't a Norman Rockwell scene of Americana, but needed to be stated just the same.
Just off State Street
I saw this scene while taking my son to college for his first year in a Southern California University. It seemed to capture the beauty and ambience of Santa Barbara, California.
Lazzari Fuel Co.
If you've ever bar-b-cued with Lazzari Mesquite Charcoal, this is the place where it all happens - world headquarters for packaging and shipping - this incredibly delicious enhancing cooking product. Out of this broken-down tired old building comes charcoal I can't live without. Just had to paint this place.
Liquor Store
This liquor store is in the neighborhood where I first went to college at San Jose State, not far from Eastside San Jose, CA. It's all small markets, used car lots, taquerias, and of course liquor stores. This place caught my eye and I couldn't get it out of my mind.
Mission Street Produce
You can't walk around the "Mission District" in San Francisco without feeling the energy of the place. The spirit of the area is infectious. Salsa music is coming from every corner. People are smiling. This simple fruit and produce on the corner summed it all up for me.
Morning Star Fishery
Sleepy Half Moon Bay sits on the coast 30 miles or so south of San Francisco. It's often gray and moody and feels like a real fishing port, which it is. It was chilly and damp when this scene was done.
