Last night was the opening of my solo exhibit at the Pacific Grove Art Center. The center has four galleries and four simultaneous openings on the same evening. It was a grand time with around 400 art lovers showing up!
The show runs through February 26, so you’ve still got plenty of time to come and see for yourself! Pacific Grove Art Center hours: Wednesday – Saturday: 12:00 – 5:00 PM Sunday: 1:00 – 4:00 PM (Closed Monday & Tuesday)
Being busy, I didn’t take many pictures, but here are a few from the evening.
Here are a few short video clips–
Thanks to all my friends and neighbors who attended! I wish I would have taken more groups shots of all of us! Please stop by if you haven’t already!
All of a sudden, I am in two upcoming shows, one virtual, and one in Downtown Old Monterey. The first is in the California Art Club “From Sea to Sierra” virtual show, March 23 through June 29, 2026. The second is at the Casa Gutierrez in downtown Monterey, a State Historic location, December 12, 2025 – May 2026. More details to follow.
Dunes View (Monterey), 15×30, oil on canvasThe Bell, 9×12, oil on panel, plein air
Searching for the perfect, one-of-a-kind holiday gift that will be treasured for a lifetime? These charming little paintings are an unforgettable choice for anyone on your list! I’m also offering beautifully crafted notecards and art books at unbeatable prices. It’s my biggest holiday sale ever, with discounts of up to 70% off! Most pieces are unframed originals, but if a frame is shown, it’s yours too. If you are interested, just email me at donald@donaldneff.com http://www.donaldneff.com/blog/holiday-sale/
Having spent my adolescent and twenties in East Texas, I am always enchanted by the beautiful skies and clouds when returning for a visit. There’s something timeless and dramatic about those towering thunderheads massive, powerful clouds that roll in with a deep rumble, drench the earth in a quick burst of rain, and then move on as if nothing happened. On calmer days, great billowing cumulus clouds drift lazily across the sky, unhurried and magnificent, like giant ships sailing through an endless blue sea.
In my younger days working outside in the the relentless Texas summer heat, the cloudbursts would bring a short refreshing cool break to the heat, but in an hour or two there would be no evidence of the downpour.
Here at my current home in the Monterey Bay area, the skies are a little less dramatic. Being close to the Pacific, the skies are usually a non-event. The exception is just after a fall/winter storm, when we get a glimpse of that same grandeur I remember from growing up in Texas.
We had a storm front come through the other day, and during our usual walk among the Marina Dunes, the big cumulus clouds were rolling by. I couldn’t resist snapping a few photos for later study. One photo in particular was good, so I submitted it to the local newspaper Monterey Weekly. To my delight, the very next day it appeared in their daily eNewsletter as the “Photo of the Day.” You can see it here.
Well, I just had to paint the scene. Here are a few shots showing the painting as it came together.
Here is the finished piece. I did take some artistic license, heightening the clouds for a bit more drama. As always, I may tweak it here and there in the future, but for now, I’m calling it done.
Many of you know I recently traveled to Sapporo, Japan, for the very special occasion of my son’s wedding. I won’t turn this into a full travelogue, but of course, I couldn’t resist packing my acrylic paints. Between family gatherings, wedding festivities, and endless toasts, my paint kit stayed in the hotel until the final days of our visit when most everyone had left and I could finally sneak away to paint.
Our hotel, by design, was adjacent to Nakajima Park, which is one of my favorite spots in Sapporo. I’ve painted there a number of times over the years. Usually, we visit in the spring when cherry blossoms turn the park into a pink paradise. This time, though, it was early autumn. Only a few trees were beginning to show a slight color and most of the landscape still a sea of green. Paintings with mostly green are a challenge for artists, as it is difficult to bring out the variations of color to make a pleasing piece.
I set up in the Japanese Garden and started a piece, but after about half an hour, I was tempted to give up. The composition felt flat and dull. Still, I decided to push through. After over an hour or so, the painting started to come together—still unfinished, but promising. I reluctantly packed up and headed back for more family activities. Here are a few photos from that day.
The next day was rainy and blustery, so couldn’t go out to paint, but the day after that was nicer. After another hour plus session, I finally think I got a keeper. Below are some photos.
Here is a quick snapshot of the painting.
BTW, in my recent studies on how AI can improve your paintings, I asked ChatGPT for several examples on how it would paint the scene. I think I like mine better!
One comment made after one of my last posts on AI is that everything will turn out the same, as you have the same instructor, a computer.
Not quite.
Each large language model (LLM) has its own “upbringing.” Much like children growing into adulthood, they’re shaped by what they’re fed. Behind the scenes, teams of human trainers pour in oceans of text—books, articles, websites, conversations—then refine the responses with feedback. The result? Each AI develops its own quirks, voice, and way of seeing the world.
Curious to explore this, I decided to run a little experiment. I chose a scene I know well: a coastal view I painted back in 2017 for the Carmel Art Festival. That painting went on to win the Plein Air Magazine Award of Excellence—so the place carries special meaning for me. The subject is Soberanes Point on Big Sur’s rugged coastline, beloved by artists everywhere and one I return to again and again with my brushes.
Below is the scene and my painting from that day.
Vertigo!, 24×12, oil on canvas
I presented a photograph of the scene to two different AI models: ChatGPT (which helped ignite today’s AI revolution) and Google’s AI Studio. The last time I tried Google’s tool, it glitched and couldn’t produce a painting at all. This time, however, it worked.
Both AI models used a similar color palette, and included many colors I use on my palette. However, the results couldn’t have been more different. One leaned toward a dreamy, impressionistic style. It emphasized more bright colors I normally wouldn’t do, but other artists use to great effect. The other was more literal, almost like a photograph with artistic filters applied. To my eye, the Google output felt less inspired, something I might achieve just as easily in Photoshop.
My painting is somewhere in between what the two AI models produced. While not being as bright as the ChatGPT version, it was a more literal translation similar to Google AI. Of course I did do some cropping and editing, as I wanted the point of interest to be the ocean and light behind the nearer rocks. I also moved the rocks around a bit, adding more to the right side to help balance the composition.
Below, I’ve shared the edited versions so you can see for yourself.
The biggest surprise? ChatGPT actually refused to take on certain aspects of the task—a hint of where the tangled question of AI copyright begins. That, I’ll share in my next post.
ChatGPT Results
Here’s how I’d approach developing this coastal plein air oil painting, step by step, with suggested colors:
Palette Choices
Sky & Water
Ultramarine Blue
Cobalt Blue
Cerulean Blue
Titanium White
Touches of Alizarin Crimson (for violets)
Viridian or Phthalo Green (sparingly, for water depth)
Sunlit Hillside
Cadmium Yellow Light
Yellow Ochre
Sap Green
Viridian mixed with Yellow Ochre (for spring greens)
Raw Umber + White (to dull greens where needed)
Cliffs & Rocks
Burnt Sienna
Burnt Umber
Yellow Ochre
Ultramarine Blue (for shadow planes)
Alizarin Crimson (for warm accents in rocks)
White (to modulate value)
Foreground Vegetation
Sap Green
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Viridian
Burnt Sienna (to warm greens in sunlight)
Touches of Cadmium Red Light (for warm sparks among foliage)
Development Process
Block-in (thin washes / transparent earth tones)
Sketch composition with Burnt Umber or a mix of Ultramarine + Burnt Sienna.
Indicate big shadow masses of cliffs and hill.
Keep it thin and transparent.
Establish Values & Light
Lay in the sky first: Cerulean + White near horizon, deepening with Ultramarine higher up.
Indicate water masses with broad strokes, reserving lighter passages where sun reflects.
Middle Ground – Hill & Cliffs
Lay warm ochres and siennas into sunlit cliffs.
Mix cool violets (Ultramarine + Alizarin + White) for shadowed rock faces.
For hillside greens, alternate warm greens (Yellow Ochre + Sap Green) with cooler mixtures (Viridian + Blue).
Foreground Rocks & Shadows
Deepen shadows with Ultramarine + Burnt Sienna (rich dark neutral).
Add sharp edges and angular brushwork for the rocky forms near bottom.
Accentuate contrast between warm cliff planes in sunlight and the cool shadows below.
Final Accents & Movement
Bright foam of waves: Titanium White with a touch of Cerulean, applied with broken brushstrokes.
Add warm sunlight accents with Cadmium Yellow Light glazed thinly over cliff faces.
Foreground grasses with flicks of Sap Green + Cad Yellow + touches of Red for sparkle.
Google AI Studio
Painting this en plein air, I’d start by establishing the broad shapes and values.
Sky: I’d lay in the sky with a mix of Ultramarine Blue, a touch of Cerulean Blue, and plenty of white, keeping it light and airy, especially towards the horizon where it meets the distant hills. A hint of yellow ochre or a very light peach might be blended in near the sun for a subtle warmth.
Distant Hill: For the large hill, I’d use a mix of Sap Green, Yellow Ochre, and a touch of Burnt Sienna to suggest the dry grasses and varied terrain, keeping the values lighter and colors more muted due to atmospheric perspective. The sunlit areas would get more yellow ochre, while the shadowed side would have more green and a touch of Ultramarine for coolness.
Ocean: The deep blues of the ocean would be built up with Ultramarine Blue, Prussian Blue, and a hint of Alizarin Crimson or Burnt Sienna in the darker, deeper areas to create that rich, cool depth. Near the shore and where the waves break, I’d introduce lighter mixes of blues with white, and possibly a touch of viridian for the shallower, more vibrant greens. The white foam would be a quick highlight with titanium white, perhaps with a touch of the water’s color mixed in for translucency.
Cliffs and Rocks: The prominent cliffs would be a mix of Raw Umber, Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre, and a touch of Dioxazine Purple or Ultramarine for the shadowed crevices. I’d vary the texture and color for the sunlit faces versus the shaded undersides, using lighter, warmer tones for the former and cooler, darker tones for the latter. The smaller rocks in the water would echo these colors but with more blue reflections from the water.
Foreground Vegetation: The immediate foreground plants would be rendered with more intense greens (Sap Green, Lemon Yellow, a touch of bright Cadmium Yellow), focusing on their distinct shapes and the play of light and shadow on their leaves.
Development: I’d work from general to specific, thin washes to thicker impasto. First, block in the sky, then the distant hill, followed by the ocean. Next, define the large rock formations, working from the general shape to more detailed highlights and shadows. Finally, I’d add the foreground vegetation and the whitecaps of the waves, paying close attention to the interplay of light across the entire scene to capture that bright, clear atmosphere.
I haven’t been out plein air painting since the Carmel Art Festival last May. Far too long. So when the Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters scheduled an outing at Rocky Point, that wild stretch of Big Sur coastline just south of my house, I decided it was time to get back out there.
It was overcast on the 25 mile drive to the point and the first hour or so of painting, but the weather forecast was pretty accurate, and the sun came streaming out late morning. A pretty good crowd of a dozen or so showed up, quietly concentrating on their work. I spent about two hours on the piece.
Frequently when you are painting in direct sunlight, and bring the painting indoors, it becomes ghostly dull. Colors flatten and shadows lose their depth. True to form, that’s the way it turned out. Some artists use an umbrella to shade the painting and alleviate this problem. I carry one in the car, but it is such a hassle to set up, I rarely do. Many times it is just too windy.
Here is the painting after about two hours work. I’d say it’s a keeper with a little touchup–
Continuing my dive into experimenting on whether Artificial Intelligence can improve an artists work, I asked ChatGPT how to improve the piece. It gave a pretty accurate echo of what I’d already been thinking about improvements (shown below).
This is a lovely plein air piece—you captured a strong sense of atmosphere and the rugged coastline really well. Since you only had a couple of hours, you got the essentials in, but here are a few ideas for improvement that could help push it further:
Suggestions for improvement:
Value contrast: The mid-ground cliff could use a stronger dark/light separation to make it pop against the water.
Edges: Sharpening a few edges in the focal area (maybe where the waves crash on the rocks) would give more energy.
Color harmony: Adding a bit more warmth (orange, sienna, or subtle pinks) into the rocky areas could balance the cooler greens/blues.
Atmospheric perspective: You already have soft hills in the background, but pushing them slightly bluer and lighter would add depth.
Water movement: Suggesting more directional strokes in the water could give it more life and rhythm.
If you’d like, I can generate a new JPEG for you with digital adjustments that reflect these improvements (higher contrast focal cliff, enhanced warm notes, softened background hills, livelier water).
Below is the painting ChatGPT came up with. Although I like some aspects of it, the painting is probably a little too saturated and contrasty. It doesn’t really reflect what we were seeing that day.
I’ll touch the piece up in the next week or so, and return here with a final version.
My last post was about unexpectedly discovering that AI (Artificial Intelligence) might be able to help with your oil paintings. Could it really step into the role of an art instructor? I decided to pursue this further, and subsequently uploaded some of my paintings to ChatGPT curious to see what it would come up with. I chose one piece I’ve always been happy with, along with two that never quite sat right with me. To my surprise, not only did it critique them, but it also offered to generate revised versions with its suggested changes!
The first painting is one of the Clarke Bridge in Yosemite National Park right after a snowstorm. I have always liked the piece, and did not plan on changing it. After ChatGPT’s analysis, it did give a few pointers on what might be improved. I did not like the image it generated (it must see a lot of Kinkade paintings!), but possibly the suggestion to soften the background is warranted. It also suggested adding more sunlight, but that defeats the purpose of the piece, to depict Yosemite during a misty snowy day.
BTW, I asked another AI model, Google AI, about the same painting. Its critique was somewhat similar, however due to some bug, it produced, but could not show me the new AI modified painting.
Here are the two versions: the original on the left, the AI interpretation on the right.
Early Snow, Yosemite, 15×30, oil on canvas
All the ChatGPT conversations are below, which are quite lengthy.
The second painting came from a trip to Germany a couple of years back—Hohenschwangau Castle. I’ve never been fully satisfied with the background mountains, even after repainting them three times. The AI suggested softening them, which isn’t a major change, but maybe it’s a step in the right direction. I did like a few of the suggested changes in the middle ground in that the trees around the castle are a little too bright, but overall AI gave it a darker feel. It then asked if I wanted a more dramatic version, and of course, go ahead! It then gave me another version, which although quite dramatic doesn’t appeal to me.
Here are the paintings, the original on the left, then the AI two versions.
The third piece is of Crater Lake, painted about a decade ago. I’ve always felt the distant cliffs could use some softening, lightening, and graying to push them farther back. ChatGPT had some of the same recommendations, though I wasn’t a fan of its final rendering. It was maybe too dark for my tastes. Still, it confirmed what I already suspected needed doing.
Original on the left, AI version on the right.
“Crater Lake Overlook”, 28×22, oil on canvas
While I don’t think AI as yet can replace a personal professional critique, it can help. If you are all alone in the studio and stuck on a painting, perhaps it can give you a nudge in the right direction.
Stay tuned for more adventures in AI!
ChatGPT Conversations
Clarke Bridge
how would you improve this painting?
ChatGPT said:
This is already a lovely painting — the arching stone bridge, soft winter light, and the play of warm and cool tones make it very inviting. That said, here are some ways it could be enhanced while keeping its character intact:
1. Depth & Atmosphere
Add a bit more aerial perspective: the far bank and distant trees could be softened with cooler, lighter tones to push them further back and make the bridge pop forward.
Light mist or subtle snowfall in the background could enhance the wintry mood and depth.
2. Water Detail & Movement
Increase variation in the water’s surface — some sharper highlights in the foreground water could suggest sparkle and movement.
Slightly more reflection of the bridge stones in the water could unify the scene.
3. Snow Highlights & Texture
Enhance the sunlight’s influence on snow — warmer, creamy highlights in sunlit areas and slightly bluer shadows in shaded snow could add dimension.
Introduce more variety in snow texture — some soft, powdery patches, some crisp edges where snow has just fallen.
4. Foreground Interest
Add a few more warm-hued dried grasses or twigs in the lower left to create a color bridge between the warm stones and cool snow.
Consider one or two more prominent rocks in the water with sharper edges to lead the viewer’s eye toward the bridge.
5. Compositional Flow
The left tree slightly blocks the bridge. You could thin or shift a branch to reveal a bit more of the stone arch for balance.
A faint pathway or footprints in the snow near one of the bridge entrances could add a storytelling element.
If you’d like, I could mock up a quick digital overlay showing what these adjustments might look like so you can visualize the changes before painting.
You said:
OK
Hohenschwangau Castle
How would you improve this painting? after discussing that, make a jpg of the improvements
ChatGPT said:
This painting is already beautiful—great sense of depth, light, and atmosphere. The snow-capped peaks, shimmering water, and the castle all stand out wonderfully. But if the goal is refinement, here are a few improvements that could elevate it further:
Suggestions for Improvement
Atmospheric Perspective
The mountains are already receding nicely into the distance, but you could push it further by softening the edges and slightly cooling/desaturating the farthest peaks. This will increase depth and realism.
Water Highlights
The lake has a nice shimmer, but it might benefit from subtle gradations of blue and a few horizontal strokes of lighter tones to give a sense of rippling reflections.
Castle Detail
The castle could pop more with slightly sharper highlights on the sunlit walls and warmer reflected light in the shaded areas. This will make it the true focal point.
Foreground Interest
The foreground is richly painted, but adding a bit more texture (rocks, flowers, or small branches) would give it extra life and balance the detail of the middle ground.
Sky Variation
The sky could include subtle color transitions—perhaps a touch more warmth near the horizon or soft cloud forms—to enhance atmosphere and mood.
Color Harmony
Introducing a few echoing colors (e.g., some of the castle’s warm yellows reflected lightly in the foliage or the rooftops reflecting in the lake) can unify the whole composition.
? Would you like me to make a subtle refinement version (keeping it realistic and atmospheric), or would you prefer a more dramatic enhancement (like intensified colors, stronger contrast, more romantic lighting)?
Once you choose, I’ll generate a new JPG with the improvements.
Crater Lake
how would you improve this painting? also give me a sample jpg of what an improved painting would look like.
ChatGPT said:
This is a beautiful landscape painting—the depth and atmosphere are very well handled. If we’re thinking about improvements, here are a few artistic suggestions that might elevate it further:
Possible Improvements
Atmospheric Perspective
The distant mountains could be softened with slightly cooler, lighter hues to push them back further and increase depth.
Water Surface Interest
Adding a few gentle ripples, reflections of trees, or light sparkle on the lake would enhance realism and contrast the smooth water with the textured land.
Foreground Emphasis
Introducing more detail, brighter highlights, or subtle color accents (e.g., warm tones in rocks, flowers, or lichen) in the foreground would give the eye a focal anchor.
Color Harmony
Some of the greens in the trees could be varied—mixing cooler pine greens with warmer sunlit foliage—to avoid uniformity.
Lighting Drama
Enhancing the shadows and highlights, especially where the sun hits rocks and trees, would add drama and depth. A more defined light direction can also guide the viewer’s eye through the scene.
? If you’d like, I can create a modified sample JPG showing how these adjustments might look (softer mountains, more water reflections, enhanced foreground detail, and richer lighting).
Do you want me to go ahead and generate a visual version of these improvements?
