Saturday, December 10, 2011

Fog Over San Francisco

I'm fascinated with the fog and how to capture it with my watercolor painting. The fog gathers on the California Pacific coast and builds up so that it pours over the hills of Marin, over and under the Golden Gate Bridge and finally into the city. There are areas on the Bay known as 'banana belts' where the fog only reaches as a last resort. The sun continues to shine and the sail boats are out. Tiburon California is a 'banana belt' and sailing continues as the fog moves across the Bay.
I tried to put such a scene together in this painting with the boats and houses in the foreground in sunlight and the fog just starting to roll over the headlands of Marin.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Brrr

Got home from a week with friends in warm Palm Desert and got a bug, virus or something. Shaking chills for a couple of days. Maybe it influenced my subject matter but this is a cold snowy scene. It is the kind of place I avoid because I hate being cold. Spent many winters in the cold northeast, so I've paid my dues and crave warm.
This painting is a total mind picture with the light staged 3/4 left. It reminds me of skiing in Colorado or Austria. I used to love those snow fields and broad trails but have not done it for awhile. When I think back now, I really liked getting out of my ski boots and getting warm; orgasmic.