An Old Barn

. The morning sun was shining and our group traveled out to farm lands east of Davis. As you can see from the photo this barn was not much and was quite distant in a large field. I set my easel up and did a value study trying to decide if should go any further. Everyone else was settled in with various trees and roads, so I decided to paint, making several changes. This is the warmest weather (74) we've had this month and I was very comfortable. I love painting old barns and bone yards. We have lots of them to practice on. If they are not old looking, I know how to transform them and give them some aging.

Mexican Seaside

. This morning I was visiting a large marina to paint some boats. In setting up I tried to find shade from he hot sun. Under a large palm I found myself facing this little enclave jutting out into the bay. I did this painting in an hour and then went off then to paint sailboats. I did attract visitors who were also walking under the palm trees. We had a lot in common, since everyone was on vacation and looking for something to do.

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.

Red River Beach at Morning

We painted at the very end of Red River Beach. Lots of early morning exercisers turning around and heading back. The view of the dune is North with the shadows of Chatham in the distance. There was no sun. A father and sun chased a frisbee on the beach. It was quiet. The sand was recently cleaned and was so smooth. I added the sailboats for balance and some life. I like the quiet mornings whether it is painting or clamming.

Atop Berryessa

Our Wednesday plain air group went to Lake Berryessa Dam on a sunny warm morning. The rock formations are alluring so I settled by the roadside to paint them. It was tricky and far more difficult than I imagined. The morning sun was coming up so shadows changed rather quickly. This is always a challenge with Plain Air painting but with all the different rock edges casting shadows, it is daunting. I sketched out what I wanted to paint and put in some shadows. By the start of painting, the cast shadows changed and continued changing. Never the less, it was a good outing.

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.

A Rural Road to Winters

Last week we found a quiet road to stop and paint. No one was very enthusiastic because we originally setup and found the site to noisy with lots of truck traffic. We packed up and went around to the distant street and began again. It met our needs and everyone was much happier. Little traffic but a lot of bike riders.

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.

Round Cove Afternoon

Round Cove is quiet this afternoon. One sailor is out in a good breeze. It is autumn and the air is clear with a brilliant sun. The temperature reached only 70 degrees. This is ideal painting weather. I used my next to last sheet of watercolor paper. I leave the Cape in a few more days. That should be fine but I have a habit of painting on the other side of a finished painting. This confuses people when they find it in my rack. Round Cove has lots of boats moored so I only selected a few. The green grass growing along the edge is overpowering. There is a sand bar in the background leaving a way out of the cove. The grassy slope of the distant hill is bathed in sunlight. What a sight.

Red Canvas Cover

What a beautiful morning for painting.  At the end of the river was a brilliant red covered boat.  People were busy putting in their kayaks.  I set up my umbrella and started sketching.  The tide was coming in and the paddlers were going upstream to take advantage.  Cape Cod is magnificent at this time of year.  The light is bright and everything pops.  Great place to be painting.

Waiting for Breakfast

I was up in the center of Harwich this morning and did a quick sketch and painting of Ruggies, a very popular breakfast spot. Several people were in front waiting to get a table. The morning was cloudy with sun coming and going. Great to be out painting.

Swan River Lobster Shack

Yesterday was a hot day on Cape Cod. I ventured out trying to find my plain air group meeting on the Swan River. I ducked down to the water's edge and painted this fish market on the Swan River. There were plenty of kayakers with comments. It was so humid that my wet into wet was never in danger of drying.

Plein Air Painting in Audubon Sanctuary

Anther beautiful California day for painting. We were at the Bobelaine Audubon Sanctuary near the Feather River on this trip. There is water and lush vegetation all over this farming country. Plenty of shade for painting and the only limitation was the poison oak growing all around the water sites. I painted from the dike instead of being on the shore which I prefer. After a couple of sketches I got started but then totally changed my focus. Usually, I stick with one of my sketches which has all of the detail and value change. When I do, the painting is easy.

Meeting at 2nd and G

Painted in downtown Davis this morning before the stores opened and while there were plenty of parking spaces. All was quiet before 8AM and then the nail shop behind me opened and a lot of smells were in the air. Then the wonderful smell of baked bread and soon the coffee drinkers arrived. It is interesting to see the city awaken. The cleaning ladies are seated on the benches viewing their smart phones awaiting someone with a key to show. The trees are in bloom except the one in the foreground which is just starting. It is sunny and warm. There are long shadows with the rising sun. It is a challenge to edit this scene. There is so much signage and plenty of things on the walkway. Big trucks pull up and block the view as they unload kegs of beer but they are quick. Getting down a good sketch at the beginning is the secret to paint changing shadows and blocked out views.

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.

Two Icons

The Taco Truck and the Water Tower stand out in Winters, CA. I picked a spot across the street and painted this scene yesterday. It amazed me how many people come to the truck. There is pretty much a continuous stream of people and this was after lunch. Cars pull in and empty out the occupants. They stand and wait for the orders. This is a busy spot for traffic going into this small town. Fun place to paint.

Eucalyti Robusto

Was out on the far reaches of Dixon, CA this morning. It was sunny and a bit chilly for painting. The landscape here is flat as far as you can see. There were sheep and cattle grazing and then we came upon a dike with water and a stand of eucalyptus trees. There were also some cat nine tail and other reeds. It was like an oasis. I painted from below the dike looking at the trees and reeds. The two eucalyptus trees were different. The distant hills could not be seen because of haze. Everyone had fun painting with most of them sitting atop the dike and looking down into the water. I loved being out there but prefer some structures to put into my composition.

The Garden Fountain

It was a nice warm morning and the flowers were blooming. My focus was on the fountain with some of the flowers behind. There were many greens to mix, always trying to change the value of color with every plane change. It was a challenge to find different greens because there were so many. The final painting size was 18x24. I liked the painting although I am always uncomfortable with flowers and manicured lawns. My preference is wide open spaces.

Alleyway to the Beach

Returned last evening from the warmth and sun of Mexico. It is raining here in California and we welcome it for our severe drought. This painting was done on location right next to a primary school. All of the children would come to the corner of their play area and tell me how well I was doing with my painting. Of course, they spoke Spanish to me so I am not sure about all of the critiques but I did hear something that made me think they liked it. (Wish I spoke some Spanish.) The painting hue is done in a high key. I see this after getting it back home, but while painting in the bright sunlight it is difficult to judge the values in a painting. I just keep comparing and see relative differences. The horses are left there and keep being moved or exchanged as someone comes to ride them. The lane is also used by the local taxi group and they park cars in the lane. Despite all of the distractions, I would do it again as it is quite enjoyable.

An Alleyway in Davis

Last week our Davis Plein Air Painting Group visited the alleys that are found in the older section of our town. For some, it was a first time discovery. The morning was bright and sunny with the sunlight shadowing one side of the alley and casting long shadows. We did a sketch crawl through several of the alleys and ended up with pictures done with pen and ink, colored pencil, watercolor pencil and watercolor painting. This was from one of my sketches that I liked. We all promised to revisit the alleys and find new ones. It was a good outing.