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.
 

A Start - for the Virtual Paintout - What FUN??!!

TOOOO much fun, if not talent!  This is an image taken from google maps street view as inspired by the Virtual Paintout website for plein aire painters willing to work from google maps images. 

September's site is Manhattan Island and I chose this fairly monochrome image for it's composition of darks and lights and as my son said "it's all about the white van!!!!"

I think it's just plain fun and this ultramarine underpainting was just a kick to do.  Forgive me if I'm a bit off in my drawing or value - sometimes... "good enough is perfect "  WINK!!  Stay tuned for where this one goes!

Picchetti Winery

Very pedestrian painting - awful, really - but a fun and beautiful day at the Picchetti Winery!  So - I experimented with some fun underpainting colors and techniques.  It was all about the colors today - and no, I didn't achieve anything terrific for which I strived. 

Family noted that the barn roof looked like "snow", ugh.  What color is tin in fall light, anyway???  So - later I added some warmth to settle it down.  Not worth showing you, really, trust  me.

The Fourth in Avalon - last post!

Color touch ups, added the folks, and of course - the flags - which are everywhere during the Fourth of July week on Catalina Island!

One of my most favorite places, and definitely the best for a patriotic fourth and some of the best fireworks anyplace!!

(Not saying the painting is finished, but it was time to post it and "watch" it for a few days before deciding or adding further touches).

The Fourth in Avalon - post three of four

Last night's progress (late night!)  Time to leave it for morning.

The Fourth in Avalon - post two of four

Tinting the canvas for an underpainting and sketching in the basic composition, darks and lights

The Fourth in Avalon - post one of four

So late last night I figured out a new way to sketch a composition!  Black sharpie on the plastic wrapping of a canvas works great!  Then I had to figure out how to carefully cut it off to preserve it and mount it on cardboard so I could see it ;-)

Oldies - not sure about "goodies"

Just a walk down memory lane because a friend asked me about these.  When I was in college studying engineering, we were required to sketch at least an hour a week with pencil on a big newsprint pad (oh, torture me ;-)

These are the only two that survived all the years, tattered and faded and wrinkled (gee, like me?) but like old friends reminding me of some good times gone by and some good friends I still hold dear.

Farm Girls

A sister painting to my last post!  I will call the tower Old Sentinel, but to me these are the Farm Girls.  Which? The barns, the palms?  You decide.  I love the way the morning sun was warming the barn sides and making the palms absolutely glisten!

McClellan Ranch Barn Tower

This is what is on my easel today!  True confessions, though - I've already changed it since this photo.  Now I'm not sure I like my changes!  I liked my distant trees on the upper left (which I wiped out =( but I do like the fact I have added indistinct foliage in the left foreground to obscure the left side of the fence.  It now draws the viewer in better..........stay tuned!  We'll see where it is when I pronounce it "done".

La Maison Cinque

And so, la maison cinque (at least that is what I think it is called) in Los Gatos is finally finished.  I did this plein aire piece many many months ago on site - what a beautiful home!  But I wasn't happy with the trees or the shadows, and so have just tonight finally had the opportunity to finish it and I am so pleased!

Dominic

Last fall in a weekly workshop, I was one day presented with a cow skull to sketch on the spot in vine charcoal.  A bit intimidating at first, I found him to be the most amazing, intricate, and inspiring piece of still life!  I got the proportions of his face correct and called it done.  "Dominic", as I named him, came home with me for the week.  I had never worked in pastel before (and not much since) but I dared to try him again - this time on a piece of grocery bag turned inside out.  That's him on the right.  I also took a lot of photos and started a life sized oil painting of him hanging on my back fence - yet to finish another time!  If anyone out there knows where to get a cow skull to keep, let me know  ;-)  They are great subjects!

Three Back Home

Three pieces back home now from a month at the Main Street Cafe Plein Aire show!  It was a great show, with many works to be admired and I was happy to be a participant!  First is the Kennedy Gold Mine, second is Ed Levin Park, and third is Sailing on the Bay. 

Workshop magic!

Always a WONDERFUL two day workshop with Buck Paulson!  He is such a caring and focused teacher, making sure everyone is understanding his concepts - every time I look at the paintings I have done with Buck, I SEE what I have learned, and I see the beauty of Buck's composition.

I will work on this one a bit - just to add a little more "pop" to the crashing waves, glaze the darks in the water to blend a bit, and perhaps touch the rocks.  But it is ALMOST there!!!!!

We will call it Breakers on the Forest!

Sold!

"Bursting in Bloom" is happily off to a new owner for whom it brings back memories of an orchard from long ago.  Happy trails, beautiful tree! 

What's on my Easel??

I am loving my new easel!  It's a Richeson metal Maestro studio easel, which I have equipped with an old bulletin board that was kicking around the garage, such that I can have all my reference material right in front of me!  I call this piece "Rick's Barn" and I think it's close to being finished.  Photo reference is with a 7.2 megapixel Casio Exilim, value study done with four tones of charcoal, painting is oil on 8 x 10" canvas.
 Any suggestions?  Should I put in the American Flag?

Ed Levin's Eucalyptus

Enjoyed a beautiful fall day painting these magnificent Eucalyptus trees with their grand shadows in Ed Levin park.  Just gave it a few touches in the studio.

Glenridge Pochade

One of my recent small studies of a beautiful period home on Glenridge Avenue.  I'm hoping to do a studio piece from this 6x8" pochade in a larger size.