Sutter Buttes

We painted in Colusa, CA at a city park on the Sacramento River.  Looking down the river you could see the Sutter Buttes, the world's smallest mountain range.  It was a warm day and it was only morning. It gets very hot in Colusa during the summer.  We were finished shortly after noontime.  At this time in June, there is plenty of water in the river but it will dwindle due to our severe drought.

This is an acrylic painting done from two watercolors that I did on location.

The 'Hood'

Got back to my acrylic paints this morning.  After being away for two weeks and doing little painting and sketching it felt good to do a quick acrylic painting.  The dicipline of daily painting is important to move on.  I have not tried a painting a day, but can see the benefit, particularly, if you do the same subject for a week.
It is summer here in terms of tree foliage and warm temperatures.  This should get me out to doing more plein air work.

Herring River Retreat

This is a large watercolor painting (28X34) that evolved from many smaller attempts.  I have sketched and done plein air paintings on this river at various times of the year.  It is a quiet, peaceful and rather lonely stretch. I suppose if I were a neighbor, I might witness some activities going on.  I tend to do my painting early and that maybe, is the answer for my description.

I like the eye path that the river makes to the focal point of houses.  The greenery is lush and that means mixing a lot of different greens.  I use pthalo-blue and combine it with my yellows, including raw sienna and burnt sienna.  That gives me plenty of green variation.

Sunshine on the Delta

What a glorious day today.  I painted on the Sacramento Delta at the Reamer Farm in Clarksburg.  Temperatures have been up to 100 degrees by mid-afternoon, so I was out there a little after 8AM.  Some birds kept me company but it was a cool quiet morning and I had my umbrella to protect me from the sun.  No bugs were around and the grape vines were very robust with the drippers going.  This water is actually a slough which runs off the Sacramento River.  There are many of them which make up the Delta.

Church on Broadway

The Urban Landscape Painting Group headed out to Broadway in Oak Park last Wednesday.  It was a nice warm day with plenty of sunshine.  I set up my new umbrella that I just bought at Costco.  It allowed me to be out on the sidewalk to paint this scene.  I bungied it to a fence, otherwise, it would require a jackhammer to put it into the soil (made for beaches).
I always go on about Oak Park.  It is a changing scene with new housing units and shops opening.  Right next to us, they are completing a brewery with outside dining area.  The area has wonderful alleyways, old homes and plenty of homeless.  

Tarique

This acrylic painting was done a number of times switching colors.  I first did the portrait with a smooth blending of color and then did it a second time by putting in patches of mixed color.  I liked the latter so put it on my blog.  The blending technique gives a more photo-like appearance.

I doubt that I will ever become a portrait artist but it is challenging to do something different.

Pleasants Valley, Winters

Another wonderful day of plein air painting in Winters, CA.  We met at the coffee shop and went out early to Pleasants Valley where we enjoyed the warm summer-like morning temperatures.  It is so quiet out here, that it seems you can hear someone speak from miles away.  There are deer and other critters scurrying around.  It is a communion with nature.

I have found many new greens from mixing pthalo-blue with raw sienna, new gamboge, or burnt sienna.  The green shades are always a challenge and it is mixing that makes the different ones.  Once they are down I sometimes add more blue while they are still wet to create darker shades.  Adding red to them creates almost a black for cast shadows.