Playing with Fog

One would think that fog and watercolor would be a natural. There are many ways to do it. Whitney tried putting the paint down and rubbing it out and later turned to misting the shapes to show fog. After all, fog is just rain drops causing loss of the sharpness and color of what is in the fog. In a painting with fog the value scale is at the lower end, perhaps 3-5. In order to show fog you put color and definition into the foreground shapes. Others make up a color for fog. There is paint on the market that is labeled fog. Mixing a grey and doing a graded wash is what was done in this painting. A little color and definition starts to appear and then the rock shapes are definite and colored. In the past I created fog by using a graded wash of sky color and then washing it away. I watched the fog over the Golden Gate come in and leave blue sky above, so I washed the fogged in areas with clear water. I'll bet there are more ways to do it.

Mendocino Grazing

. This composition evolved from a house that I sketched in Mendocino, CA. The result was just a house so I decided to add. Eventually, the house was reduced to nothing special and I added the landscape. Finally, I put the cows in front. I'm not sure any of this fits with the lovely little town of Mendocino except for the cottage. This is fun making up scenes with no pressure to do anything. I'm ready to start abstraction. I have always felt that abstract art was on a different level. A good friend just died. Her gallery published an obituary with pictures of her abstract work. Their interpretations were wonderful. I always liked her work but she would never tell me the story she was telling.

Back Street on Cape Cod

There is something nostalgic about VW buses. This is a very old model as I remember. They were commonplace during the 6o's. I did not own one but had friends and when it appeared, a good time was ahead. There is a shop in Sacramento that works on VWs and often I see the old model buses. I have painted them into several of my paintings done on Cape Cod because I see them there. It is a bit more difficult drawing it from memory. I had a photo of this old house which I sketched from and painted a value study. This study was missing something so I put in a VW Bus. One of the discoveries that comes from value studies is composition and connecting shapes.

SF Summer

. I've painted a lot over 6 years in Sausalito. There are terrific views of the Golden Gate from Fort Baker where you can set up pretty close. I am not there now. This painting is from memory and many sketches done. Fog comes in under and over the bridge. This is the cooling system for the Sacramento Valley. This cool fog travels up the Delta and keeps us cool during the night. Many a summer tourist to SF has arrived dressed for warm weather only to learn that it is the coldest time of the year. Sausalito is in Marin and stays warm until the very end of the day. I will return and do some plein air work in Sausalito.

Stormy Davis

. It's only 3 days to the start of spring. After weeks of beautiful weather with sunshine and temps in the high 70s and 80s, we are cold with rain and dark skies. This adds to the misery of isolation and quarantine from our pandemic. It does mean painting but I'd prefer to be out doing plein air. As I manipulate my photos I want to see value changes and the real thing. When plein air painting, it is like taking an exam with all the answers in front of you.

Under Quarantine

One of my great moments as a child growing up in New England was the 'no school whistle' that sounded after a big snow storm. It meant breaking out the board games and playing music with my sibs. There are some similarities to the current quarantine with the corona virus, painting plus the board games. I pulled out some photos and did some sketching and painting and there went nearly an entire day. This painting is a scene of a favorite bike ride in Winters CA. There is no shortage of places to paint in this area. I like plein air painting there and take it all in including the smells and sounds. It is a favorite.