A Visit to the Davis Train Station

. Returning from a vacation means getting restarted. There are always many things to attend to and they always assume priority. In order to jump start my painting, there is my muse, the train station. I paint it often and it works. We have recently had plenty of rain, so I photographed this between rain showers and waited for the sun. It was on and off with the black clouds but the sun did appear briefly and I caught it. The painting was done in my studio. I did exaggerate values, painted no black thunderheads and I like it.

Davis Farmers Market

You will find me here on Saturday morning. It can be a very busy place. I always wondered how to paint the scene, so I took a few pictures and put a composition together. It is difficult to keep to value changes with all of the whites and shadows. The background of trees is very dark. This was fun and I will try a different approach next time, maybe, even find a place to setup for plein air.

A Quiet Place

We have been here before but there is much to see and paint. This is the Old Sacramento Cemetery. The sun is out and the shadows abound. The challenge is in getting the lots correct in perspective. The place is well maintained and it seems that every variety of plant and tree that can be grown in Sacramento is here. Some of the gravestone inscriptions are very humorous.

7th St. Alley

Slept in this morning due to daylight saving change. Missed my sketch class so went out and painted in Davis. This is an alley with morning sun. One side shaded and the other bright. Many of our trees are budding and some in bloom. Davis has many alleys in the older or central core. They are not paved and have houses on them. They are pretty neat to paint because of the light changes. I will have to try some more.

Dreary Day

It was a cold morning for painting. No sun and threatening rain but I was out there with the Wednesday morning group. I did a lot of sketches and then setup my easel and painted an old familiar landmark of Winters, CA. At first, I was intensely occupied with composition and value; unaware of any chill. There was no color to the sky. Traffic moved but few people were out. After an hour, I was cold; it being 43 degrees. The only asset of being cold is a shaky hand for drawing tree branches, it helps. I did not touch up this painting and it is as painted. We all gathered later at the Cafe for some hot chocolate and soup and slowly everyone came back to life.

Shopping in Positano, Italy

An exercise for my art class was to put together this sketch and painting using value changes. As a demonstration painting, it was a tour de force having only an hour and a half to complete and answer questions. More time for critique and individual help would be nice but is limited by room availability. My Senior Center volunteer teaching has been a rewarding experience. They are wonderful, accomplished artists along with beginners and I try to have something for everyone.

Cold Morning at the Train Station

We have not had a lot of opportunities to paint plain air. Lots of rainy days which we desperately need here in Northern California. Visited my favorite site yesterday and painted for a couple of hours in the cold. Yea, we are real wusses when it comes to cold; comes from being too comfortable over the years with warm weather. Most of the trees and shrubs are bare. The station is busy, both with travelers and homeless who gravitate to this location. I am unsure but maybe it is the warm waiting room. The painting has plenty of lost edges and color runs. I like mixing my colors on the paper, feeling that it intensifies the hue. Hope this is the beginning of a run of decent weather.

Quiet Alleyway in Davis

The older section of my town, Davis, has alleyways that are very different charm than the streets of Davis. I am not sure what they have for a mailing address but the residences are typically small without a garage. There are power lines and they have trash pickup. It must be a tight squeeze for the trucks, especially if a car is parked. As you can see in my painting of this alleyway, it has deep ruts which collect big puddles of water, now that the rains are here. In the early morning the sun lights up one side and creates wonderful shadows. When I wander around town looking for something to paint, I am drawn to the alleys.

Fall Finally Arrives

Wednesday was a spectacular day painting in Oak Park. The trees along 34th street are ablaze with fall color. Our urban landscape group set up in the morning at an intersection and worked away. It was also warm.

Run Into Town

On vacation, yet, everyone out running in the morning. This is the approach to Harwich Port. The traffic builds during the day as people make their way to the beaches or breakfast. The summer is winding down but there is still a lot of activity in town. Used my iPad to take a photo and then copied from it to paint the picture. No need for prints.