Downtown Collinsville, CA

Our group painted in Collinsville this morning. Some painters were on the levee but I chose to look back at the town. The town ends at the levee. All morning there was a single pickup truck that passed me checking what the gathering was all about. Pretty quiet place but lots to paint. I was attracted to the palm trees that seem to be windblown. All of the houses (and there are not many) are raised up off the ground because of flooding. This info came from that lone pickup truck driver who came to check me out. It is always good to talk to the locals.

Napa Valley Farms

I painted last week with my friend, Jerry Stitt. This is a favorite theme of his and he has done many versions of it. I tried my version, quickly throwing the paint on and keeping it wet. I then went back in and scraped out the foreground fence and weeds which requires thick and wet paint. I was done in half an hour. It is very uplifting to paint loose like Jerry. He really encourages it and we hit it off. I love to paint fast, while standing and dancing around my painting. While I may throw more paintings away due to this style, I enjoy it.

It was too windy to paint outside so we talked and then painted.

Painting in the Hood

Was out in the local town of Woodland where there are wonderfully restored Victorian houses. It was a cold day. Sketched and painted this scene in about 90min. The sun came out at the end which allowed some shadowing. The green of the house was mixed on paper using a pale yellow and sap green. I believe this direct glazing activates the color, creating a more vivid color than when mixed on the palate and then put on the paper. My teeth were chattering at the end of this outing and I headed home for some hot soup.

Autumn in Rural Northern California

I did this watercolor painting on a beautiful Sunday afternoon outside of Fairfield, CA.  Some clouds in the sky and everything quiet on this farm.  It had rained during the night and the ground was muddy but drying out.  The other two photos show a produce stand with a special setting for the season and a vineyard not quite turning color yet as it is still getting into the 80's temperatures.  Nice and warm and sunny for painting.  Trees are just now showing some fall color.
It will be perfect for painting if the weather continues this way.  I want to go back and capture the turning colors of the vineyard, which should happen pretty soon.

Fixer Upper on the Creek

Just finished a week of plein air painting in Winters, CA. It is an annual event at Briggs Gallery. Winters has lots of farms, a quaint downtown area that is very popular with bicycles, and plenty to paint. The weather did not cooperate except for the first two days. It was stormy and overcast most of the days. Still, lots of artists could be found out on the hills and downtown.
My 'fixer-upper' was my second painting of the day and done in a little over an hour with plenty of chatter with the locals. Great light and shadow. When you are ready and fast and loose, the crispness of the work shows. The house is just about to fall down.