Santa Cruz Boat Harbor

Overcast morning, but very comfortable.  Except for the fact I had real serious trouble honing in on a subject today!!  And, that always makes me get jittery and feeling a little intimidated =( 
But - I dove in and decided to paint this wonderful "schooner" and try to find some rhythm in the distant eucalyptus trees and the docks in the foreground.  It turned out to be fun - although I just can't do any more with this until it dries - if I do indeed decide to go back into it.

Too Much FUN!

Nope, I just couldn't leave it alone, so I "finished" my rose garden plein aire attempts "in studio" (ha - aka kitchen!)  I had to have a little more fun with these and see if I could learn a little more about how to paint roses!  I'll keep trying =)

Rose Garden Beauties!

Second attempt at real-life plein aire painting!  So much to learn - my colors weren't true at all, since a foggy morning changed to one with me looking straight into a bright sun with a shaded canvas.  Alas, I had so much fun painting today I couldn't resist posting my work even if it is really not that good ;-)  I guess what I should say is that these are "studies" for "real" paintings I will do in my studio, uh huh!  Maybe that's true!

Plein Aire Retouched!

Okay, so yes, it is my very first real plein aire painting, with a few touches back here at "the studio" as it were (my kitchen). I consider it a real plein aire because I was on the balcony of our vacation rental condo on Pebbly Beach Rd. in Avalon on Catalina Island, with my guerilla painter's box and the stuff I thought I needed packed carefully from home.

The light was changing, the boats were bobbing in the harbor, and Dan and Michael were calling to me from below on the street on their rental bikes. What could be better?? I completed this in about 2 hours or so, beginning with the challenge of first-ever use of the guerilla box on a tripod in a cramped space! Acrylics as a base coat, then oils to finish. Clearly I need a BIG lesson on landscape - but you can tell my focus was the Casino.

Did you know that the Plein Aire Painters of America was founded on Catalina Island in 1986? If you love Plein Aire painting - please look for the book "Enchanted Isle: A History of Plein Aire Painting in Santa Catalina Island". It is a treasure!