Leslie Landers – Page 47

Vegas Watercolors

Fun, fun, fun weekend in Las Vegas. Great hikes in Red Rocks and near the Hoover Dam. We also really enjoyed the Cirque du Soliel show Michael Jackson ONE.

The only plein air painting I got in was from our room on the 17th floor of the Polo Towers Condo development. Great view from our room of the southern part of the Strip including The Aria, The Cosmopolitan, The Bellagio and Planet Hollywood.

While in Vegas I also painted the guitars hanging in the pawn shop entrance to Beauty and Essex, the wonderful restaurant in The Cosmopolitan Hotel. I may develop this one into a larger painting.

Guglielmo Sketchbook

I have so enjoyed the Los Gatos Plein Air group which I joined recently. The watercolor above includes two members of the group as we painted at Gugliemo Vineyards in Morgan Hill.

I finished a 9″x 12″ oil painting that day. I also completed 16″ x 20″ watercolor of Petite Sirah vines. That piece was developed from the alla prima sketchbook watercolor below.

Happy Thanksgiving

Pretty sure this guy isn’t going to land on anyone’s Thanksgiving table tomorrow … but … he does need look both ways when crossing curvy country roads.

Hope you have a terrific Thanksgiving!

Rose Barn Plein Air

It was so enjoyable spending the morning painting the decaying Rose Barn in Morgan Hill with the Los Gatos Plein Air Painting Group. I’m looking forward to exploring the nearby Rancho Canada del Oro Open Space Preserve on another visit. Those of us who live in Silicon Valley are fortunate to have access to so many wide open spaces. Here’s my painting for the day. Not my favorite but fun to do.

Gamble Garden Oak Eulogy

11″ x 14″ watercolor

The magnificent old oak that anchored the Gamble Garden is gone. This painting is my goodbye.

Fall at Guglielmo Vineyards

9″ x 12″ (private collection)

I could have reached out and touched the vines. Instead I painted them. After which, I enjoyed a lovely estate grown 2015 Grignolino. The vineyard is in Morgan Hill which has retained much of the agricultural feel of long ago pre-tech decades.

Wilder Ranch Sketchbook

I recently visited Wilder Ranch for the first time. This charming California State Park is on the coastline just north of Santa Cruz.

In addition to the farmhouse, a lovely old barn and other farm buildings remain. Sheep and goats are in the pen behind the barn. In addition to preserving the agricultural heritage of the area, the park includes trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding and access to a beach area.

Fortini Road Art Critic

I recently joined a plein air painting group which I’ve really been enjoying. It’s a great group of generous painters and it is wonderful to paint in new locations. It’s also really helpful to get advice on what’s working (and not working) from fellow painters. On this particular day, I also received feedback from a couple of four legged art critics.

Alexander Valley Barn

9″ x 12″ (private collection)

It was my attraction to the shape of the barn and the shadow it cast that pulled me into painting this rural scene. This Alexander Valley barn also had a prominent sign out with a phone number advertising “Lambs for Sale.”

Shoreline Park Plein Air

6″ x 8″ oil on linen panel

October 1 and I was up with the sun the morning to paint at Shoreline Park in Mountain View. It’s close and I’ve painted there many times. This was my first oil painting there though. I love the plein air painting experience. The moment by moment shifting light and the urgency to get on with it.