Santa Cruz Lighthouse

A fun piece done from a photo and sketches while stuck at home with repair folks putting in a new heater!  Great excuse to hang out at the easel..........

Montalvo

A struggling plein air piece at Villa Montalvo!  It's as done as it will ever be.....and better than it started out.  Beautiful day there - but alas, SO much green!  Greens can pose such a challenge to the plein air artist.

Another Baylands Experiment!

Today was really fun!  I tried some new techniques and was happy with what I learned.  Pretty abstract and perhaps a bit "fantasyland", but colorful and fun nonetheless.....................I'm enjoying the journey =)

The weather was just glorious, the pickleweed was bright and the mud was shining!!!  Reflections were just amazing.

Experimenting and Learning

 Some 9 x 12 pochades from the Palo Alto Baylands and the Mission San Juan Bautista using a new painting style.  I'm experimenting with different underpainting techniques, color schemes, brush and palette knife methods...............Fun!!

Winter on the Bay

San Francisco Bay, winter 2006, 12 x 24".  Sorry about the glare on the right side of the canvas - window light.  I tried to capture the characteristic bay water of that time of the year, with the swift but sure movement of the boat and the dense, crisp city behind.............

From the Faultline

Wow - lovely warm winter (??) day painting at one of California's beautiful missions!  This piece was done standing on the historic El Camino and only feet away from the San Andreas earthquake fault.

What I Learned................

Things I've learned during my first "walk" through the pastel box:

Gloves would be good.
Gloves only work if they are ON your hands, BOTH hands ;-)
Perhaps finger painting is overrated.
That look and polite laugh from the manicurist only goes so far.
A magic cloth is a good addition to the setup.
Family criticism can hurt (but not too much, heck it's my first time!)

I think I might even try this again!  The self-engineered pastel setup for my guerilla box is working out great.