Rough Patch

Was at a familiar spot for some painting but it was really different. Pretty neglected and the sheep were scratching to find grass. Must be new owners, hard times, on extended vacation?

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.

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.

Workers Live Here

This painting is a composite of several attempts at painting alleys in Mexico. This imaginary one goes down to the beach and shows two methods of transportation;horse and truck. Most of the alleys in my neighborhood in Sayulita are not paved and the back or side of the house comes out to it. It is a place to park. Most are not cluttered with bottles or paper. The sides that are on the alley usually need some fresh paint or at least a good wash. It makes good subject matter for a painter.

Farmland Color Change

Waiting for autumn color on my patch in the world has taken great patience. There are many farms here where I have painted but, thus far, little fall foliage color. We are pretty warm during the day and that may have something to do with change. So, in this painting, this is what I imagine I would like to see. Why not create your own? I did thicken my watercolor paint with some Aquapasto, a product made by Winsor Newton. It is fun to push the color around with this and I think I will bring it with me when out painting on location.

An Empty Main Street

This is the main street of Locke. Locke CA is an old Chinese settlement of workers who built the great railroads and levees on the Delta.  It is a wonderful place for plein air painting because of the old buildings with porches and dilapidated  alleyways. Some business is still active but it is a tourist destination.  The bikers love to come here and roar up and down Main Street.  We have great weather and yesterday we were there for a paint=out.  I worked wet into wet and boned out some buildings as it dried.  It was a big puddle for a long time but I came back with some dry brush.

Rice Harvesting in Woodland CA

Was at the Conaway Ranch this morning trying to find a place to sketch and paint.  It was cool and breezy looking over 26,000 acres of rice fields that had been harvested.  Lots of birds in the water and trenches of the field.  I spotted this harvester that was back lit with the rising sun.  Below was a water channel and there were many grasses that reached very high along the borders. 
The way that I proceeded was to wet the sky area and around the harvester down to the horizon.  I dropped 3 primary colors in spots and then tilted the board and mixed them.  I laid it down on the road to dry but it was quickly found by ants.  Next I wet the harvester and distant bank of the waterway and dropped 3 primary staining colors in and mixed them.  A halo was left around the harvester and some grasses with a candle.  Back lighting produces a silhouette so no details were painted on the harvester.  The foreground was warmer and again, all grasses.  I painted these and left a little white for the water. 
Overall, I liked the concept but this is probably a studio project.

Autumn on the Herring River

There is a nip in the air.  The greens are now golden.  Birds seem to be more active.  We went to our spot on Thursday to paint.  The tide seemed to be running out and it was quiet but beautifully sunny on the river.  What a day to paint.  I captured the furthermost house with its boat in front and chose to ignore the few houses along the road on the left side of the river.  That way, I have a focal point that is not compromised.  The eye path has a reward at the end.  I finished the entire painting on site and have not done any more to it.  It was a great day of painting.

MORNING VISIT TO GRAMPA

This is a large (24x28 inch) watercolor painting.  It includes several of my favorite subjects like barns, tractors and Volkswagen bus.  I just finished up a teaching session and while doing a demonstration, I thought of this composition.  The light is from the left casting shadows so it could be morning.  The sky is a warm yellow and the painting is warm.  The gradated wash of the sky gives a depth to the distance.  I like the composition and the story.  I am reminded of a rural location in Northern California or Oregon.

MORNING IN THE NORTHWEST

These water tower converstion houses popup everywhere in wine country and along the north coast.  I love putting them into my paintings along with other farm equipment.  I presented this structure to a large class of watercolor painters that I teach.  They did some wonderful things with it.  Introduced fog, hills with grape vines, telephone poles, and fences.  We had fun with it.

MORNING ON THE FARM

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Was up and out early this morning so that I could get to a farm.  About 10 of us went off to this wheat farm in Yolo, CA and the weather was magnificent for painting.  No bugs and the shade kept slipping away as the sun rose in the sky.  What a day for painting.  I didn't put any of the wheat field into the painting as I could not imagine how to make it interesting.  Instead, I captured this long road onto the property and the arching foliage.  The clouds kept passing through an otherwise, blue sky.

Putting the Boat into the Water

A springtime ritual is putting the boat into the water.  This is an overall warm painting and the focal point of boat and figures is framed by the dark wooden fence structure.  This creates the darkest dark/lightest light focus.  It is a vertical format to give the relative size to the figures. 

Air Conditioned Barn II

Good morning for painting today, until the wind came.  This barn is located about 10 minutes from me.  I've painted it several times from different views.  Every year the barn loses a few more boards but the farmer still stores his hay and tractor inside.  No patching or repairs have been undertaken, so it has developed character.  There were sheep in the yard the last time that I painted it. 

I put a bungy cord around my paint box and clamped my paper block down.  I think that painting with the wind blowing is the most difficult condition of all.  I keep my paper wet and let the paints run.  I set my paper on a vertical so there are plenty of drips.  In the past I would get bothered with the running water and color but now, I know that I can just blot or lift it if dry.  The paint just works better on a wet paper.

My VW Bus

Love VW buses.  They were the rage during the '60's and 70's.  It was fun driving them.  I remember taking our bus to Tahoe during the winter and having trouble finding it after a snowstorm.  We didn't dig it out for a week.  It started right up and got us home.

This was a very quick sketch and painting for a Senior Watercolor Class.  The object was to grey colors by mixing some black.  It worked for some colors but not all.  The bus didn't get any and you can see the sparkle.  I prefer to make greys by mixing complementary colors in nearly equal amounts.  This method produces greys that enhance one or the other of the complementary colors when placed next to it.  The mixing can be done on the palate or directly on the paper.

Quiet on the San Juan Islands

Simple subjects always make the best compositions.  Some hills, houses and a boat lead to a peaceful scene.  You can see the value changes from back to front which create depth and a third dimension.  I started this painting by wetting my paper and putting in the sky.  Usually, I turn my paper upside down and progress from yellow to red to blue.  I then tilt my paper (which is on a board) to allow some running of the color across the paper.  This is what I like about watercolor media.  The colors run, and their transparency creates new colors. 

Converted Water Tower

Exercise in 3/4 side lighting on shade and projected shadows.  Total imaginary scene for teaching.  Kept it simple and stressed value, graded wash, shadow. 

Seasonal Repairs

I pass this old boat in front of the marina on my trips to Sausalito.  It probably will not last too much longer as boards have sprung and there is plenty of rot.  In the past I painted it on site but this time I stopped and took photos.  It sits on a bed of ice plant, propped up on a skid and cinder blocks.

What I want to happen, is for a repair crew to come and resuscitate this grand model of fishing craft.  As I think back on the scenes that attract me to painting, I keep finding old retired equipment, dilapidated houses, broken fences, etc.  Is this a result of my aging?

Larry's Produce Stand at Halloween

What a fun place to be as families arrive to pick out pumpkins for their Halloween celebration.  Larry's Produce Stand in Vacaville, CA, is always busy, but it goes all out for Halloween.  There are mazes with hay bales, huge pumpkins, old farm equipment, hay rides, drinks, etc that are added for the shoppers.  The produce is always the best and inexpensive.  You can even pick your own.  The shopping is done in wheelbarrows.
I had plenty of visitors as I painted.  Kids wanted to tell me about their paintings.  Others debated which pumpkin to buy.  The general rule that I heard from several parents, 'you have to be able to carry it to the car'.  This is a plein air painting experience that is among the best.

Dixon CA Train Station

Little known secret: Dixon California has a train station even though no trains stop there.  The station is currently used by the Chamber of Commerce.  The train tracks run along the front and there is a path across them.  While I was painting, many trains came whistling through at high speed.  The warnings at the crossings all go off and gates come down on roads that cross the tracks.

Some day, when the population increases to some size that warrants a stop, this station will be in business.

Snow and Birches

We have not had rain in Northern California since November. Today, it looks like it is going to happen. The skiers will rejoice hoping for the mother of all storms in the Sierras.
I am posting a recent painting that I did of Birch trees. They are like soccer balls for the artist because of the white black contrast. Add a little snow and threatening sky and it makes a nice composition. We are waiting for a storm.