Sails on the Lake

Spent the morning with Mikey and his watercolor class.  Resuscitated this scene from a black and white print that he had.  Lots of good pointers.

Sailboat Racing in the Northwest

I loved playing with fog and mountain ranges.  The water reflections are easy to pull out if you do them when the paper is wet.  Getting soft edges is a matter of timing in a watercolor.  I put the sky in with a graded wash and then, while still wet, tilt my board up and run water down.  I keep adding water to wash out the sky color and put in some bumps to soften the fast line created by the water.  I then return to painting the mountain in the foreground and stretching the trees up into the cleared fog area.  The fog then falls behind and gives the composition some depth.  I let the painting dictate when it is ready for the next phase. 

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.

Cape Cod Boat Yard

I started off with a sketch of two boats and set up to paint them. The yard was filled with boats stored for the hurricane. The sun was blazing, it was hot and there was no shade. I quit and brought my sketch home.
My best feeling when painting is to get lost in the painting. This is what happened and the painting kept growing as it took on a life of its own. This is what I like; paint something you know, only imagine it. I ended up with 3 boats, 3 people, a shop and a wood pile. The original two boats were white and blue but you can see what happens on an afternoon with a paint brush.

Cape Cod Sky

There were gigantic tall clouds hanging over the bay yesterday morning. I was down on the beach sand and painted this scene. The sky kept changing with the clouds going from defined billowy cumulus types to softer, more blurry shapes as I painted them.
When you paint a sky scene you simplify the rest of the landscape in the painting. There were grasses and moored boats but I did not dare paint them into the scene. I have the sketches for future use. The sailboats in this painting act as a counter for informal balance in the composition.
It turned into a glorious day.

If a Tree Falls...

In painting this I am reminded of that philosophical argument: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?". This is a study of textures with the rough outside of a fallen tree trunk and coarse cypress growth contrasted with the pillow-soft sails of the distant boats. There is no one around.
It's been a wonderful week of painting with the warm weather. I have lots of sketches to develop but while the weather is perfect, I will be painting on location.

Secure in the Slip

It looks like a new sailboat or certainly new to those managing its careful mooring. They were very excited securing this boat after getting ashore. This watercolor is from a sketch that I did on Cape Cod last summer. With the start of summer near, I am getting ready to move to my little cottage on the Cape and sketch and paint some landscapes. Cape Cod has fantastic light that makes things jump out. Everyone comments on this and it is true. It must be from the land surrounded by water. A lot of artists work on the cape. Summers are hot and humid but the ocean is always close. Plenty of seafood is available and on Wednesdays and Saturdays, I join up with my friend, John, and go clamming at low morning tide. This is the life.