Don't Look Up Here - a plein air painting of The Crab Cooker, Newport Beach -SOLD

oil 12x12 inches. Purchase info here. I'm back! July was a rough month full of one malady after another. Glad that's over!!! It's time to catch up. The Crab Cooker is an iconic restaurant in Newport Beach that holds memories for an untold number of Southern California families and visitors as well. Great food and fun decor, like the signs that say; "Don't look up here!" and my favorite; "The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." New heavy construction right next door damaged the old foundation, so this year it's due to be torn down and rebuilt. People are scrambling to eat there and artists are scrambling to paint it before the tear down. My chance came in June. I stood on a narrow meridian in the street and painted until I felt a bit blinded, then treated myself to their Manhattan Clam Chowder and a shrimp cocktail. Yum! I added the figures the next day in my studio.

Field Study 2

oil 8x8 inches At Newport Back Bay I turned my easel just a bit to get this scene. I liked the rocks, yellow flowers and row of trees on the bluff.

Field Study, Newport Back Bay

oil 6x8 inches Yesterday I painted at Newport Backbay for the first time. I arrived with the mindset to paint small and simplify. Also, I wanted to practice atmospheric perspective: a clear indication of distance, mid ground and foreground. Most of this piece I'm happy with, but the foreground is too busy. It's hard for me to judge what a painting really looks like until I get it home and sometimes even the next day, so I left it alone. I know I'll paint it again another day. I had a snack, and did another painting which I'll post next.