Morning in the Redwoods

This Wednesday our plein air group went to the UC Davis Arboretum.  It was very windy but deep on the floor of the Redwood section we were sheltered from it.  There are many redwoods and they grow quite close to each other.  There are breaks and light comes through.  I tried to capture this as the streaks come and go.  It gets darker in the distance with light at the top.  I've tried to handle this with a lighter green background as well as thickness of the tree trunks.  I put a couple of figures in black to give an idea of proportion.  

Playing with Fog

One would think that fog and watercolor would be a natural. There are many ways to do it. Whitney tried putting the paint down and rubbing it out and later turned to misting the shapes to show fog. After all, fog is just rain drops causing loss of the sharpness and color of what is in the fog. In a painting with fog the value scale is at the lower end, perhaps 3-5. In order to show fog you put color and definition into the foreground shapes. Others make up a color for fog. There is paint on the market that is labeled fog. Mixing a grey and doing a graded wash is what was done in this painting. A little color and definition starts to appear and then the rock shapes are definite and colored. In the past I created fog by using a graded wash of sky color and then washing it away. I watched the fog over the Golden Gate come in and leave blue sky above, so I washed the fogged in areas with clear water. I'll bet there are more ways to do it.

Mendocino Grazing

. This composition evolved from a house that I sketched in Mendocino, CA. The result was just a house so I decided to add. Eventually, the house was reduced to nothing special and I added the landscape. Finally, I put the cows in front. I'm not sure any of this fits with the lovely little town of Mendocino except for the cottage. This is fun making up scenes with no pressure to do anything. I'm ready to start abstraction. I have always felt that abstract art was on a different level. A good friend just died. Her gallery published an obituary with pictures of her abstract work. Their interpretations were wonderful. I always liked her work but she would never tell me the story she was telling.

Back Street on Cape Cod

There is something nostalgic about VW buses. This is a very old model as I remember. They were commonplace during the 6o's. I did not own one but had friends and when it appeared, a good time was ahead. There is a shop in Sacramento that works on VWs and often I see the old model buses. I have painted them into several of my paintings done on Cape Cod because I see them there. It is a bit more difficult drawing it from memory. I had a photo of this old house which I sketched from and painted a value study. This study was missing something so I put in a VW Bus. One of the discoveries that comes from value studies is composition and connecting shapes.

SF Summer

. I've painted a lot over 6 years in Sausalito. There are terrific views of the Golden Gate from Fort Baker where you can set up pretty close. I am not there now. This painting is from memory and many sketches done. Fog comes in under and over the bridge. This is the cooling system for the Sacramento Valley. This cool fog travels up the Delta and keeps us cool during the night. Many a summer tourist to SF has arrived dressed for warm weather only to learn that it is the coldest time of the year. Sausalito is in Marin and stays warm until the very end of the day. I will return and do some plein air work in Sausalito.

Stormy Davis

. It's only 3 days to the start of spring. After weeks of beautiful weather with sunshine and temps in the high 70s and 80s, we are cold with rain and dark skies. This adds to the misery of isolation and quarantine from our pandemic. It does mean painting but I'd prefer to be out doing plein air. As I manipulate my photos I want to see value changes and the real thing. When plein air painting, it is like taking an exam with all the answers in front of you.

Tornado Cleanup 2019

. A tornado came in from the ocean and hit Harwich on Cape Cod. We had the warning but couldn't believe it until we heard the screaming wind and retreated to the basement. It was over quickly but the cleanup lasted. The chain saws and grinders greeted us every morning. Every tree and arborist in New England seemed to land on Cape Cod and worked throughout the summer. I didn't have to go far to sketch the damage. I did some paintings plein air. Recently, I saw a painting done on a full sheet in watercolor that reminded me of my sketches. I couldn't wait to paint another from my sketches.

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.

Birches and Snow

I attended a presentation by the Daniel Smith Watercolor representative and given the colors to test, I did a birch tree in snow. The Daniel Smith colors are very nice but I wondered how the colors on my palate would compare. One gets used to making colors by mixes so I tried a full scene.That is what you see here. Birches are like soccer balls in terms of contrasting values and easily become a focus. Snow is white paper where the sun hits and shades of blue where shadows or contours occur. I do see a difference in the water. This is a stream and should be very cold, hence, dark blue. I'm not sure that I captured that as well as the Daniel Smith color of Mayan Blue did. I can tweak it some more.

This is a farm scene which I witnessed many times. It is from my imagination. The weather this week in Northern California has been smoky from all the fires. We did take a chance on Wednesday and painted but it was tough going. It is the first time I am anxious to have some wind to blow this smoke away. The town is quiet with few people out and most wearing masks. The schools are closed. I am an out door person. Where I live I can be in shorts most of the year. We don't expect these setbacks. We are Californians and worry about the people suffering from fire. It was horrible to imagine being stuck in traffic trying to escape and the fire closing in as the traffic stalled. My painting is on a bright fall day and has all my favorite things like barns, broken down trucks and chickens. I would much prefer to be on the scene painting it.

Downtown Collinsville, CA

Our group painted in Collinsville this morning. Some painters were on the levee but I chose to look back at the town. The town ends at the levee. All morning there was a single pickup truck that passed me checking what the gathering was all about. Pretty quiet place but lots to paint. I was attracted to the palm trees that seem to be windblown. All of the houses (and there are not many) are raised up off the ground because of flooding. This info came from that lone pickup truck driver who came to check me out. It is always good to talk to the locals.

Loading and Unloading at the Airport

I am back in California. Where I live, it is rare to see interesting skies for painting. This is what watercolor is excellent at capturing. Recently saw a painting of an airplane with a bright cloudy sky and white airplane so decided to try painting one in a wet into wet style. It is relatively fast to do it in the studio since I use a dryer. I like the stark white of the plane contrasting with dark shadow.

Mendocino Home

Did this painting this morning in watercolor group while a winter storm raged outside. It is from a very old photo taken in Mendocino, CA. What a wonderful location for painters. I took lots of liberties painting and completing it in an hr. My plan was to use paint on a wet surface by mixing colors when applying the paint There is some success if you look at the front of the building where you see yellow and cobalt blue. There are lots of surprises when you rush through a painting at high speed. I generated new ideas not planned with watercolors. I intended a picket fence and then saw the whites that were left and worked out the fence, steps and rocks that you see. You should try it.

A Whimsical High

The Kite Shop is a favorite site to paint when spending the summer in Harwich on Cape Cod. This is different from previous paintings. I wanted to make it whimsical since this is the way one of my buyers described my work. She said she always smiled when looking at my art. I tried painting a whimsical style many years ago but gave up on it. In this painting my intent is to paint the place where whimsy abounds. Every kid here drags a parent there to find something to make them happy. So, why not paint the entire scene as a fun site? My idea of being creative is to interpret with art. I wish I could interpret and paint in an abstract style which is another level of creativity. I am interpreting in whimsical terms. It was fun and I will try it again.

Harwich Port, Cape Cod

From previous sketches, I put together this monochromatic painting.  The whites all interconnect leading you into town.  They are created by leaving the paper clear.  It is a fun exercise, especially with all of the wet into wet background.

Way to the Beach

Many families trek by the house enroute to the beach. Some are loaded down with inflatable rafts, umbrellas, chairs and towels. Others are already suited up and only have their shades. Some very lucky ones have a beach pass so everything is in the wagon. Later, they all slowly return from a fun day in the sun.

Beach at Sayulita

Viewed from our house on the hill, the waves were rolling onto the main beach of Sayulita, Mexico.  In the late afternoon it attracts a bunch of surfers.  They were out there, but seen as just black spots on the water, so I did not try to paint them into the scene.  The far away hills look lonely when seen during the day, but when the lights come on at night, there are plenty of homes tucked into the greenery.

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.

Converted Water Tower

This painting resulted from my class demonstration of side lighting.  The purpose was to show shade and shadow projections.  It was totally imaginary but served its need. 

There are plenty of water towers around my area of California.  Because of the extensive farming, the tower was a part of the farm.  Now many are used for other purposes.

Water View of Amalfi

Took a long break in October but did a lot of painting.  This is the last of my watercolor paintings from my time in Italy this summer.  We took a water taxi from Amalfi to our hotel.  The view from the water is very different than from the road.  I did this painting on Arches 140 lb paper that is glued to board.  No wrinkling and painting on paper is soooo much better than fabric or clayboard.  I am interested to see how it holds up.