San Francisco Goodbye

Totally fictitious address and Victorian with see through window and porch. It is a vertical format with lots of vertical movement conflicting with the slants of sky and hill and horizontal roof line. Take that Mr. Whitney for composition rules. I think of some of the points made by Whitney, but I think one needs to let it go and then review them on the finished painting. Maybe then, they will be more intuitive while painting the next picture. It was fun putting the painting together and bringing the tree behind the porch, which my neighbors call decking.

The Guest Cottage

Love painting birch/aspen trees and there were many of them in Canada. The guest cottage isn't really ready to topple over but this was a very quick painting. Sometimes when my painting gets ahead of my thinking, I come up with astonishing results. This is basically a cool green painting and the warm red note of color on the door of the house is perfect at the focal point.
I taught my senior class on watercolor how to paint birches and some are still marveling at it and putting them in all of their paintings.

Back Country

Was visiting with friends outside of Vancouver, BC. Truly beautiful unspoiled country with many possible paintings. It seemed there was one at every turn. Brought some pics home and painted from them. This one was done on 300lb Arches paper which is rugged stuff. I had a graded wash down to the trees and then put in the mountain range. It blended out, so when dry, I went back and put it in again with French Ultramarine which needed to be dulled down with some Payne's Grey. It is a nice complement to the golden and yellow colors.

Sutter's Fort Sacramento

Trying to be creative in painting an image of Sutter's Fort is a challenge. As you can see from the photo, it is a block. I'm not sure how that tree got there, but probably a later addition when the place was safe. This fort was the center of the city of Sacramento. Inside there is a beehive of activity with people in period dress doing things as they were done at the time. Buses are continuously discharging groups of school children. There also were plenty of critics on hand as I painted. They are the many homeless that stay around this spot.

It was a beautiful day to paint. If I were to do it again, I would compose a contrast between the fort and the modern structures that surround it.

China Camp Beach

It was a beautiful Wednesday afternoon for painting at China Camp State Park on San Francisco Bay. This old fishing boat is up on the sand and in a state of advanced decay. Perfect for a painting. I tried to give the roof in the back a rust appearance. There is plenty of rust and corrosion on the buildings at the beach. This is a place worth return visits, as there is plenty of material.

Fort Baker Victorian

Were these buildings, which are now used for tourists, considered 'Victorian' housing when this was a military base? Ft Baker is at the beginning of the bay around from Golden Gate Bridge. There are many wonderful places to paint, including the lighthouse under the Golden Gate. You can protect yourself from breezes or sun with all of the buildings. Fort Baker has become a popular spot for children and tourists.
This was another Sausalito outing for our group and we all found something different to paint. I wished afterward that I chose a structure with more sunlight on the front so that I could detail with the cast shadows. My original sketch had a porch on the sunny side which I changed as I was dealing with the trees and shrubs. I am partial to structure rather than vegetation. This is a vertical format.

Strawberry Stand

I have been painting this month but negligent of the blog. Last weekend, I drove by this roadside stand. I had my paints and sticks, so decided to stop and paint. I ended up with this painting and after looking at it, decided that the cars were way out of proportion. The cars came and went as I was painting and adding them was a last thought, but nothing there to size up. I brought it home and decided to redo, but with no autos.

The owner of the stand liked the painting and gave me a free box of the best strawberries. My grandkids were up and really loved them. All gone the next day.