Fountain Rest -a plein air oil painting of the Orange Circle

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase Our weather has been beautiful and I've gotten out to paint the last two days. Friday I painted this at the Orange Circle. It sprinkled a bit, but I just kept painting. My little dog Sandy went along and attracted lots of nice folks, especially children who wanted to pet her. I enjoyed painting and chatting with them as the cars swirled around the circle. They're swirling much faster than they did when I was a kid, and honking now too. We have become so impatient, especially in our cars. All those honkers need to sit by this fountain a while! I think this man discovered that I was painting him. He soon got up and left before I could get the dog in. I added the dog last by looking at my iphone shot.

Courtyard Fountain

oil 10x8 inches This might be my favorite of the mission paintings. The cypress trees provide strong verticals to the design.

Check'n The Map

oil on gallery wrap canvas 8x8x1 1/4 inch
ready to hang
click here to bid



While in San Diego we did a walking tour of Balboa Park. My husband sat down to see where we were going next. The tiles at his feet were also between him and the water, and painted as a solid color field it was reading as a vertical plane instead of horizontal. I had to add some indication of tile pattern receding in space which seemed to help. I've submitted this to Dana Cooper's DPW Challenge; the seated figure. To see the other entries click here.

The Fountain

oil on canvas panel 8x8 inches
click here to bid
shipping available after January 17th

Yesterday fellow painter and blogger Dana Cooper and I met up for a day of plein air at the circle in Orange. This fountain in the circle center just glowed with the morning light. I quickly decided it deserved to be smack dab in the middle of the canvas, dominating the scene. We were oblivious to the cars whizzing in a circle around us, caught up in the perfect weather and the morning light out there painting together. We agreed it was an ideal spot to set up and paint. After a nice lunch we took photos of the area and headed home. I finished it up in my studio last night from memory and photo references. Can't wait to go back!
In other news: Thursday I head off to Meridian, Idaho to visit our son and his family. I'll post again after the 17th when I return. Later!