Spring Run of Putah Creek

. Just back from Mexico and out with my Plein air painters. This morning is warm, about 60 degrees, and the hills are green. The trees are not yet budding but it won't be long. These are perfect conditions for painting. The sun creates some shadows as well as rim lighting on some tree limbs. The water is running fast as it is coming down from the dam just up the canyon. Ducks even appear every so often.

Walnut Planters

. Last week was the Plein air Festival in Winters, CA. Winters is a wonderful venue for an artist. They have mountains, hills, barns, and a bustling downtown. Everything is there and I have painted in these events for the past 10 years. It does attract lots of artists. I was brought to this home high in the hills and looking out saw this planting activity. The hills were all carefully groomed and cross hatched for planting. Now, they don't plant walnuts but dig little holes for seedlings to be planted. The men walk the acres of field with shovels and then return later planting the little seedlings. The hills of Winters are usually blue but after all of the rains they are still with some greenery. It was a perfect background for me.

Putah Creek #3

There are 3 fishing turnouts along Putah Creek in Winters CA.  This morning we had this site pretty much to ourselves.  The sun was brilliant and the creek was running fast.  It is still high from all of our rain, but there is no snow melt adding to it.  It was just a wonderful day to be out painting.  I tried mixing several greens that I do not usually use and was happy with them.  One can never have enough green hues for painting in CA.  What a day; no bugs, plenty of shade and perfect temperature.

Park Winters

Yesterday was a beautiful day for painting. Our group went to Park Winters which is an oasis in the country. It is a place with a restored mansion and new dining room/barn with food that deserves a Michelin star. We tried to find a place to paint among the gardens, old and new buildings. When finished in the morning, some stayed into the afternoon and others argued that we should return again next week. The gardens are robust and in bloom. The grounds around the house are beautiful. I love houses and with the sun hitting the side of this mansion, I couldn't resist. It is not white but a cream and has plenty of gingerbread. I stuck to basics trying to focus on the building and not get into the weeds with all of the detail. Can't wait to return.

Pleasant Valley Road

Painted this scene in watercolor and now I am doing it in acrylic. It is a rural country road in Winters, CA. It is fun to watch the bike riders cruise down this valley. I did this plein air in watercolor and then tried it in acrylic. This painting has a completely different feel to it in comparison to the original watercolor version.

Horses, Horses, Horses

A little morning chill but sunny and clear for painting. We visited a horse farm in Winters. There were lots of horses, individually housed in a luxurious stable in a French Chateau like building or in small stables or sheds. They all had plenty of room to wander around and that created a problem. I'm not used to drawing or painting horses especially moving ones. After plenty of quick sketches, I set up at the beginning of a road that ran between some stables. I was fascinated with the mottled light from the cast shadows of the young trees. After several sketches I settled on one. Behind me was a huge arena which was continuously used by owners exercising their horse or riding them. Plenty of chatter with the attendants about the health of their animal. It must be wonderful to own a horse that you can ride and talk to anytime of the week.

One Tree Hill

Painted yesterday at the Rominger farm in Winters, CA.  We were taken to a hill that overlooked the entire world.  It was spectacular.  The hills were like huge moguls and were green from the the recent rain.  One can look across the vista to the city of Sacramento (just behind the tree on the hill).  It was a bird's eye view.  I had an urge to ride a motorcycle across all of these wonderful cushy hills similar to skiing down a mountain.

Near Retirement

Painted at the Park Winters in winters CA yesterday. Great buildings.  Some old ones including a pump house and main house that are totally restored and some such as in this painting.  It is a venue for weddings and meetings.  There are grounds for just lounging along with a swimming pool.  The vista is sweeping with the blue mountain range.There was a nice noisy chatter from sheep grazing in the alfalfa fields.  It was a good feeling to be out there and painting.

The trees are showing some color.  It was a bright and hazy most ot the morning with the sun coming out fully just when I was leaving.  There were shadows from time to time. I need those projected shadows for my painting composition. This outing was part of an Art and Farm project, so painters will return on Saturday.

The Fields of Winters Calif

This painting was done in the late afternoon during the Winters Paint the Town event last week.  I wasn't sure whether the cloud cover would break.  I settled on this rural road.  Signs kept telling me 'No Outlet' but I did get enough height to look over the valley and the cloud cover started to break up.  There were cast shadows on the fields from the clouds.  The color was exceptionally vivid.  I'm glad that I waited around.

ALLEY I (Winters, CA)

This is the 6th year that the Winters Paint the Town Plein Air Festival has been held.  It started this past  Friday but I didn't get to paint until today.  The light kept changing but it was not windy nor hot.  Just right.  Winters has so many wonderful painting venues.  I chose one of the alleys for this painting.  It was Sunday and rather quiet but a few onlookers cheered me on.  I have painted some of the alleys in the past but there are many to do. 

Great to be out painting.  Will be back for more as it will continue all week.

Ridge Above Putah Creek

It was a very hot morning and wasn't even 10AM.  There was a warning on the trail about snakes.  This led me to a shady spot in a wide opening under this huge rocky outcropping above Putah Creek.  The creek was moving swiftly and birds were singing.  I was really into my painting when I heard a rustling in the leaves beside the path.  I must have jumped 4ft.  I looked around but saw nothing moving.  Having been warned about the snakes, I was very distracted from that point on. 

Plein aire painting has so many features.  Seeing shadows dance across surfaces and appreciating values of distant and close objects are just two.  Sounds just add to the adventure.

Morning Meetup

A couple of weeks ago, I was out early to paint in Winters, CA.  I wanted to catch the morning sunlight on the downtown but when I arrived the wind started blowing and the gusts kept intensifying.  I got behind a large tree and painted fast.  Nothing is more annoying than wind.  I really like the result of the early morning sunlight on the building with the color bleached out due to the brightness.  Good things happen when painting fast with gay abandon and not overworking it.  You take risks, are bold and get a good result.

Blue Oak Farm Vista

It was a sunny morning with a frosty biting wind.  I find wind the most difficult condition for plein air painting.  I found a large tree to stand beside and looked out on this fantastic vista.  Planted fields had different colors.  The lush greens of the trees and grasses were unreal.  You could see all the way to the Sierra Mountains in the distance.  (Wind does clear the air.)
Because of the weight created by the tree on the right side of the painting, I needed something for informal balance in the composition.  I painted telephone poles and lines for this.  By the end I was shivering and this only added to my brush strokes.