Suisun Marsh

. Our group painted on a beautiful Wed morning just below Suisun, CA. After getting very lost, I found the group and had an hour to paint before lunch. There is nothing like having few choices to get a painting done. First, a value study and then the painting. With the warm sun the paper easily dried. When I painted the reflections on the water, I carefully sprayed some additional water and let the paint run. At that point everyone was finished and ready for lunch.

Rain Over Davis

The rain arrived overnight and the Yolo Bypass got its fix. This is a stop on the migratory bird flyway and I have painted it many times. It is quite a large area with lots of marsh and water. I gave it some large thunder head clouds and lots of color on the far hills. During my teaching this past month we painted clouds with lots of successful paintings resulting. It is interesting since we do not see many cumulous clouds in our skies.

The Davis Bypass

It was raining in the distance and the wind really picked up at the flyway. A few hardy souls stuck it out and it did eventually brighten up. At times the clouds were dark and dramatic. I tried painting them and it was difficult with rapid changes and drying paint. Hundreds of birds would suddenly fly up and then disappear. The winds really blew them around. The flyway is maintained for the birds and birders come to see them. There are roads around the waterway and the islands of reeds are everywhere. I had to bungie the palate and paper to my easel after the wind took it off. There was no place to shield from the gusts.

Plein Air Painting in Martinez

Last week went off to Martinez, CA to paint with a plein air group. It was a good experience that included new friends, a cookout, and a very friendly critique of everyone's work. There were plenty of good works from this group that meets weekly.
Martinez is a major train hub and I doubt that many get a full night of sleep with all of the whistles that sound from arriving and departing trains. I loved it.
My painting was done on the edge of the marsh with the bright sky emerging. There was no egret, but I needed a focal point and some balance to the weight of objects on the left side.