Fog on the Bay

Hurray, the sun is back and the fog is lifting. Many times I have watched the fog creep over the Marin hills and under the Golden Gate. It was exciting to recreate the picture I have of it using boats in the foreground which would have to be Angel Island or the other side of Tiburon with the fog over Sausalito. I put a little warm note in the sky (raw sienna and opera) and then covered it with ultramarine blue. I then washed it by running a thin streak of clear water over the paper, tilting the board with the paper from side to side to soften the edge. It takes some practice but is a great technique when you paint low fog. Something you need if you paint on the San Francisco Bay.

Painting on a Cloudy Day

I needed a painting for a watercolor critique and painted this one in half an hour. I know the scene well, it is the Kite Shop in Harwich Port, and painted it from memory. I roughed it out with pencil and then added the paint. The criticism was the lettering; once you spell something out, the eye of the observer is arrested. It is like seeing someone wearing a tee shirt with writing on the front. After reading the message, if asked for the vaguest details about the person, you are stumpted. That said, I see many urban watercolor scenes that are completely boned out with signage on everything from taxis to storefronts. It does have an effect, but I am not sure of the need to avoid all lettering. Paintings need some symbol to let you know where you are.

Frosty Days are Here

We do not usually get snow but it has been cold and overcast. The sun came out yesterday and it reached the mid 60's, which feels warm. I painted this scene to remember how it is to paint snowy scenes. There is nothing like this until you get up in the mountains which are 2-3 hrs away. In painting this you leave a lot of white paper which you texture with streaks of blue and spatter. No yellow snow!

Downtown Davis California

I started this picture of the downtown movie theater years ago. While cleaning out my studio, I ran across it and decided to give it a facelift. The theater is still in Davis showing foreign films but the buildings around it have changed.
When I want to paint but can't decide what to start, I find an old unfinished painting and go to work on it. I feel free with it and experiment. It keeps me painting and sometimes is just the trigger I need to fire me up.

Clearing Fog on the Bay

Yesterday morning was foggy but it began to brighten and clear before noon. This painting captures the clearing fog with three distant hills of varying intensity or value. The boats are a counter balance to the larger mass on the right. It was done with 3 colors: ultramarine, Paynes grey and burnt sienna. It was pretty wet when I stopped half way through and let it dry. I then put in the water and the snaggle pines give it a story and mystery.

Mendocino Water Tower II

Water towers in Mendocino are like hot tubs on high and wide platforms. I tried to be a little more realistic in my painting this time. My calligraphy is not as prominent as seen on the original but it was fun painting this version after doing the previous one. I did not block out and tried to save my whites by painting around them. Next time I think I would block out with something and then they would not appear wobbly.

Mendocino Water Tower

A very common site in Mendocino are the water towers that remain from the past. It is cold and frosty in California these days so paintings are from memories instead of plein air. I love painting outside, on site, but not when it's cold or windy. One remedy for the cold is to paint warmer scenes. It is the placebo effect; you get lost in the painting and warm up. Save the snow scenes for hot summer days.