Care Needed

It was a frosty start yesterday in Arbuckle, CA.  The sun eventually warmed the place.  I chose to paint the old railroad station and stay in the sun.  The station is actually fenced in with a large sign on it requesting donations for restoration.  I remember seeing this beauty several years ago with all sorts of things growing up through the platform and building.  These have all been removed and it just sits there naked.  I removed  the fences but I painted a rickety structure that has plenty of work needed.  The sun created some nice shadows from the exposed beams.

There was not a lot of activity in Arbuckle but a few cars stopped to pick something up on Main St.  A long train rolled by.  The large parking lot remained empty except for a few painters.  It was great to be outside.

Plein Aire Painting in Davis

Just finished teaching a 5 week watercolor course and it was a success.  I actually got people outside several times to experience plein aire painting.  They all agreed that it is more difficult than painting from a photo.  It was especially difficult to edit what you see and simplify.  Many had their greatest challenge with perspective and wanted to know how I do it.  This was difficult to answer since I rarely think about it.  I choose the tallest structure in my composition and then sketch what goes off to the right and left.  My left brain supplies the logic and my right does the creative thing.  Overall, it was appreciated that you could see details and value changes that were not there in a photo.  When you sketch and add color to your sketch on location, you go back to the studio and it is just as you remember.  That doesn't happen with a photo.
When I do a sketch, I give it a name so I have a record of what story I was trying to tell.

There is such gratification from my teaching.  I love doing it.