Cloudy Day, Big Bear Lake -a plein air painting from Big Bear, CA.

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase info Just got back from a beach camping trip, so here I'm finally posting the last of my Big Bear paintings. I got rained on a bit during this one, but I enjoyed it! Holding an umbrella in my left hand slows me down, but that might be a good thing. I have two paintings from Crystal Cove I'm anxious to post next, but in the meanwhile Just Plein Fun on Balboa Island starts Monday! I'm so thrilled to have been invited! I'll be on the Island or in the Fun Zone painting from Monday through Saturday. The two hour "Brush Off" competition is from 4-6 Saturday on Marine Avenue, followed by the Artists Reception and Awards at the Debra Huse Gallery. For more info, click here.

Wagon

oil 12x9 inches magnify/purchase info Nobody was home in these cabins just a few doors down from where we were staying. I walked down with my afternoon iced coffee and parked myself under the pines. What a nice rustic scene.

Boulder Bay -a plein air oil painting from Big Bear Lake, CA

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase info I made adjustments in the studio to enhance atmosphere and light. I lightened up the value of the distant mountain and grayed the color to push it back in space. I warmed up the shadow sides of rocks a bit, and added light and warmth to the lit surfaces. Sorry about the wet paint glare in the upper right.

Horse Farm Tunnel -a plein air oil painting from a horse farm

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase info I couldn't resist the light at the end of this tunnel, a barn on beautiful Baker Scudder Farm in Rancho Cucamonga. Thursday friends and I met up there to paint. Though overcast for most of the day, the dark inside the barn made for some nice contrast. I don't like to make changes once I get the painting home, but this time I risked it. Basically I added more interest in the focal area, and reduced interest in the foreground. Below is how it looked before the changes. I decided the red rake detracted from what I wanted to convey.

Permanent Parking -a plein air painting from La Verne Heritage Park

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase info Here's a plein air piece I did yesterday. I think this is an old citrus hauler. I was told by one of the volunteers that it's a 1938 and has 180 thousand miles on it all within the city of La Verne. I don't know a thing about vehicles except how to drive them, which I enjoy very much! This one won't start anymore. Lost all it's power, but gained a lot of character.

Yellow Cottage -a plein air painting from Crystal Cove -SOLD

oil 12x9 inches magnify/purchase info Yesterday I met others from SOCALPAPA to paint at Crystal State Beach Historical District. While I set up the sun started to burn through the overcast giving my subject some nice shadows. In the shots below you can certainly see the change in light conditions. (The last shot of the painting is more accurate than above.) By the time I finished, my subject was pretty much buried in shadow. It's always a surprise when I finish and look around me. The beach had filled up with sunbathers and children played in the waves. I chatted briefly with some of the other artists then headed home at 1:30 to try and beat the Friday afternoon gridlock. A great place to paint is worth the drive, especially if I come home with a good one, and this one made me happy.

Weeping Rock View -a plein air painting from Zion National Park

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase info On the second and last afternoon in Zion National Park I hiked the short distance up to Weeping Rock. My feeble attempt to describe it is this: At Weeping Rock you are on a ledge on the side of a mountain. The ledge is maybe 50ft long and 10 feet wide. The wall curves up and over your head with a curtain of water dripping off. The photo and my painting both show the view from the ledge. (If you enlarge the photo below, you can see the water droplets falling.) Spectacular atmosphere changing every ten minutes or so. Very challenging, but what a very special place to experience with my brushes in hand. For the painting, I was interested especially in the sweet spot where the mountains rise out of the valley floor so near each other. Also pictured are my four paintings for the trip laid out on my campsite table. The color represented is very accurate. It was a great trip.

Zion's Throne -a plein air oil painting from Zion National Park

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase Over the weekend I camped near one of my favorite spots on earth, Zion National Park. This was my fifth visit and my first time to paint there. For a painter, it's heaven. Hop on and off the free tram anywhere and choose your subject from spectacular views all around you. The changing light and weather conditions will certainly challenge you. Here you see "The Great White Throne" from River Walk Trail. It appeared violet in the distance. I had two days to paint. This is the first morning's effort. Five minutes after I finished clouds came overhead and very strong winds rushed through the canyon. The river sand flew everywhere...into my teeth and into my painting. You can see it here if you look closely. I hope I can brush it off when the paint dries.

IN OTHER NEWS: Spring Pickings is for sale at auction on Daily Paintworks. To view the auction, click HERE.

Up Canyon -a plein air painting of Moro Canyon, Laguna Beach.

oil 8x10 inches magnify/not for sale My favorite of the two painted at Moro Beach. And below, my favorite little dog, just waiting and keeping me safe. What a pleasant time I had, the nice stone bench and all. Ahhhh...can't wait to go back. This piece will be framed and available at the Balboa Art Walk, May 17th. IN OTHER NEWS: If you're near to Redlands, visit Stonewheel Olive Oil Company. Ten of my paintings are on display thanks to the owner, Alisa Chatman. Artist reception Thursday, May 7 6:30-8:30. 7 N. 5th St, Redlands. Come on out, enjoy the art and let Alisa fix you up with some specialty oils and vinegars. It's Redlands Market Night too!

Island Charm -a plein air oil painting from Balboa Island

oil 12x9 inches magnify/purchase info I hear the residents of Balboa Island want to have their utility lines buried to eliminate the poles. I think they add to the charm of the island. Of all my Balboa paintings, this one's my favorite so far. To see the others, go down to labels and click on Balboa Island.

Spring Farm Work -a plein air oil painting at Amy's Farm

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase info I took advantage of a cloudy day and headed over to Amy's Farm. It was a nice cool day to paint. The volunteers working in the field kept moving of course, but I managed to paint them very quickly and then paint the scene around them after they moved on.

Lockheed Lodestar -a plein air oil painting of aircraft

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase Up close and personal because the planes are parked so close together in the "boneyard" that it's hard to get back any distance. I got permission though, to plant myself inside the ropes next time, as long as I don't get paint on the planes! (Don't tell anybody.) I really like this view though, and the various colors I saw in the shiny underbelly. A bit more of the cockpit shows in the painting. My photo is a bit lopped off at the top.

Cold Pond -a plein air painting at Prado Regional Park

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase Our camping weekend was cold and rainy, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway. Can you see the cold in my painting? It tried to rain on me, but the clouds didn't really let loose until that night. I was interested in the branches of this tree/bush/thing and also the light on the water. There were big storks out there, so I included a few. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Prado Pond, Winter -a plein air painting in oil

oil 9x12 magnify/purchase Last day of 2014 I put soup in the crockpot and went out for some afternoon painting. The day was cold and brisk with migratory birds out and a few fishermen. Quiet and peaceful. The sun was strong and I had forgotten my hat. I ended up painting while holding a rain umbrella in my left hand to shade my eyes. I usually clean my brush with paper towels held in my left. So I wiped my brush on a folded up pad of paper towels laid next to my brushwasher instead. It wasn't a problem at all. I remember Carol Marine doing this, and Kim English doing the same, but with a terry cloth rag. In fact, it was kinda relaxing. Might try that again! It's been a while since the plein air workshop with Kim English, but I used a lot of what I learned: pre-mixing all the colors I see, no initial drawing, but rather laying in the large shapes with thinned paint. Once he said "Cover the numbers as quick as you can." I love that!

The Grain Bin, Amy's Farm (sold) - And A Painting Frenzy!

oil 9x12 inches magnify One day back in August I took advantage of an overcast morning and headed down the road to Amy's Farm, one of my favorite painting spots. I try to stick with how the scene looked when I started, but the sun came out and added interest to that grain bin. I know it's risky to "chase the light", but I couldn't resist. I'm pleased with the result. At Amy's farm they sell all kinds of organically grown veggies. They had just harvested the most gorgeous heirloom tomatoes. I bought a big bag full and was home by noon. They looked so beautiful on my kitchen counter, their rich color just sucked me in and pulled me into my studio to paint. Finished around dinner time, I ate something quick and headed off to my paint/talk/laugh group. We had a model that night. It was a crazy wonderful day of painting. Plein air, still life and portrait all in one day. Not planned at all! Here they are lined up against my backyard fence.

I'll post the tomatoes and portrait in the next two posts.

Along The Rogue

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase Last painting of the trip. The morning was overcast and cool, but the sun was trying to come out. I got so shivery I had to go get a sweatshirt. I can paint when I'm hot (barely) or cold, but if I get cold enough to shiver I can't control the paintbrush! As a native Southern Californian it felt kinda good to shiver in August. This is one of those paintings that looks so much better in person. Full of subtle color shifts.

Simple Fishing

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase The last few days of our trip we camped on the Rogue River at Grants Pass, Oregon. This couple went out each morning from the other side of the river to fish. They would float away downriver and then motor back up again within view. I tried to capture this simple, peaceful little excursion in their small shiny boat. What a nice morning for the blue-shirted lady. I think she was just along for the ride. Once I got the scene drawn in, the boat floated away of course. So I worked on the rest of the scene until they returned again and again never in the exact same position. I had to rely on my memory. It was a fun challenge and forced me to simplify the figures. Does the painting make you want to get in that little boat?

Beach Creek

oil 8x10 inches magnify/purchase Painted on location at Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach, Oregon. Where's the haystack? Waaaay off to my left. I chose this scene for the clouds. My linseed oil was missing from my pack when I started, so I painted this without any. Too far to walk back to camp. I discovered that while manganese blue works well for sky and water in Southern California, I needed ultramarine for these northern scenes. Lots of grayed blues. A HISTORY NOTE: This is Ecola Creek flowing into the ocean. Ecola is the Native American word for whale. The story goes that Lewis & Clark were nearby when they heard there was a beached whale at this location. They traveled to this spot to see it and named the creek. IN OTHER NEWS: I'm off to Victoria Gardens to paint. Last day of the show. I've talked to so many nice art lovers, and done two sunflower paintings so far. Once I have posted all the paintings from the trip, I'll share photos from the show.

Oregon Coast

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase Painted on location about twelve miles north of Gold Beach, Oregon. I liked the gray sand in this location. We stayed at a campground very near this spot, called Honey Bear. Privately owned by a friendly German couple. On Saturday night they served a nice dinner in their German style dining hall. Live entertainment before and after included the owner singing German songs. Fun stuff. IN OTHER NEWS: I'm happy to announce that I received First Place in Oil at the Art Show last night for my painting "Sunflowers and Eucalyptus." I was also awarded the Pomona Valley Art Association Award for "Hibiscus High." Thank you to Associated Artists of the Inland Empire for all their hard work putting on a great show and promoting arts in the area for fifty years! I'll share some pictures in the next post.

Camping Among Giants

oil 10x8 inches magnify/purchase Painted on location at Humboldt Redwoods State Park, CA. For more info, see my post on August 28.