Sunny and 70

The rain stopped and the sun came out on Saturday. This is the road to Valley Oak Wool Mill which was an Art Ag paint out site. There was an excellent turnout for the event. Most of us couldn't wait to get out and paint. Sunshine, warm air and plenty of artists gets the juices flowing. We got a tour of the woolen mill which was interesting. I did a quick value sketch and between greetings with many artist friends, got this painting done. Just a perfect morning.

The Farming Engine

We painted this morning in Woodland CA. There is plenty of farmland here and also silos. The grains and rice are big crops. I love this kind of scene with all its verticals and horizontals. It is tempting to want to bone out all of the pipes, walkways and cross bars. I put some of them in but then washed over it all with cobalt blue to pull it together. The early morning had fog and was chilly. It soon warmed up and was clear and sunny.

The Art Ag Outing

We visited a wonderful farm this morning. The day was beautiful and plenty of people showed up to paint. The corn is up to 4ft and the tomatoes are thriving. This scene is along one of many roads and includes the 'bone yard'. There were not many bones in the yard. Everything looked in working order with no traces of rust. It is a very tidy farm. those are the blue mountains of Winters in the background.

Just Resting

Painting this morning at the Yolanda Ranch, Woodland, CA. Many structures and old buildings on the property. Also some very friendly animals watched me paint. Two ducks kept me company along with a large black angora cat who desperately wanted to be petted. I chose this leaning house because it was tired and old and that could be said for most of the stuff here. They are restoring the main house (not this one) to host wedding parties. Many people showed at 8AM but by 11AM, when I left, there were just a couple of cars. The cast shadows were changing while I painted. The fronts of the barn and house were totally shadowed at the start but only had partial shadow later. It was not a very sunny day but cloudy off and on. My paper dried fast so I kept misting with my spray bottle.

California Oak Tree

It was a beautiful morning for plein air painting.  At first, a little nip in the air, but then warmed up so that you would be most comfortable in shorts.  I was painting out on the levee of Cache Creek.  The creek has little water but the oak trees are magnificent.  They drip like candles or like willows.  There was a bright blue sky with only a cloud or two.
I painted this wet into wet.  I started with the sky followed by painting the leaf canopy in raw sienna, then direct glazed with sap green and then direct glazed with ultramarine blue.  When still wet I put in the trunk and limbs using wet lines and adding colors.  When all dried I finished the leaf canopy with an indirect glaze of cobalt blue and added shadows. 
The shed had a horse who showed only once and I kept waiting to put it in the painting but it never showed again.  What a great feeling to be out painting.

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.