Leslie Landers

When I think of Filoli, I mostly think of luscious blooms, manicured trees and reflecting ponds amidst the stately grounds of this historic property. In my earlier paintings of Filoli, I’ve been drawn to this organized beauty.

Last week it was a joy to paint a different type of beauty at Filoli. The rural views I painted include a caretakers cottage, a dirt road under oaks and an open field. I was somewhat surprised to learn that the farming heritage continues at Filoli. Apparently land is leased to a local farmer for oat hay production.

The desert has a different kind of beauty. I did a little painting while at Joshua Tree but mostly painted at the Marriott in Desert Springs Resort which was lovely. The views of distant mountains are framed by palms and saguaro cactus. An unexpected bonus … the resident pink Chilean flamingos seemed very healthy and were fun to paint.

When I started the sketch for this watercolor, I budgeted about a half hour break in my hike at Joshua Tree. Turns out, the scant cup of water I brought attracted hundreds of bees with minutes. So, this is a 10 minute view of the Joshua trees near Jumbo Rocks.

We missed the peak of the Joshua blooms though we did see some fading flowers and lots of the fruit that comes after the blooms fade.

The blooms are fleeting. The weather was mixed. Still, such joy to paint in my fragrant backyard.

This time of year there are as many days that are foggy and cold along the pacific coast as there are days in the sun. This day spent painting at Lover’s Point in Pacific Grove was pure magic. Sparkling sunshine. Visiting dolphins. Painting buddies. An expert with advice to offer. Here are three of the day’s gouache sketches.

I haven’t done much painting in gouache and most of what I’ve done has been filling in color charts. This was so much more fun!

I am not sure how much I will incorporate gouache into my plein air painting going forward. After this magical day, I do see it as a great way to capture a moment, a feeling and a hue that is specific to a place and time without a bunch of cleanup and inconvenient drying time.