Sketchbook

It’s been quite of a winter where I live so for the first day of spring here are a couple of watercolors featuring early blooming quince.

Hang in there … we’ll be drying out soon!

I lived in Colorado for six years and return to enjoy the beauty of the mountains and good friends as often as I can. This visit offered up a chance to paint aspen trees. The two views on the left are painted in oil. The one on the right is a watercolor.

When the California Art Club’s San Francisco Chapter announced a plein air painting event in Yosemite a few friends and I quickly signed up. As it turned out there were 60 participants and it was so much fun. Here are 4 of my paintings from this trip to Yosemite.

The last painting is my favorite from this trip to Yosemite and it was later purchased. Here’s a photo one of my painting friends took of me as I was just beginning this piece.

One of the great joys in outdoor painting is getting to know an area in a way that is personal and deeply experienced. This painting trip was especially delightful in that I was able to share it with some amazing painter friends. We set off for a morning spot and an afternoon spot each day. In the evenings we returned to a large ocean front house we rented to share dinner and look at that day’s work. I am, bit by bit, becoming a better painter. Painting immersion with a group like this is as valuable as a class with a master painter to generate growth.

The six paintings above were hung at a lovely art gallery for a show that included about two dozen participating artists. I was so happy that my painting “Ready to Go” received an award for “Best representational Painting.” It’s the one first painting in the gallery above. I so appreciate the Redwood Art Association for hosting this terrific event. See you next year.

I hadn’t explored the Whitehouse Trail area of Ano Nuevo before the pandemic but it became a treasured spot for fresh air, coastal views and painting.

A collector who appreciated an 8″ x 10″ plein air piece I completed onsite asked me if I could paint a similar view in a 18″ x 24″ format.

What a fun project and great to learn that “Ano Nuevo Bluffs” was so happily received and displayed in the collector’s new San Francisco home.

Until the Covid shutdown hit, I’d been plein air painting somewhere beautiful once or twice a week or more. These days, the plein air action has been at home and in my backyard. Thankfully the lilacs are blooming.

In these pieces, I’m painting on oil primed linen that I purchase in large rolls. I can later mount the paintings to panels for archival framing. Somehow, this keeps me from thinking too much about whether or not the painting is going to work out and instead enjoy the time painting as practice and a way to improve my skills.

Update … I ended up really happy with the painting on the right and when I posted it to Facebook one of my friends wanted to buy it. Instead, it became a birthday present for this friend of 30+ years.