Donald Neff Weblog

I was honored for the eighth time to participate in the Carmel Art Festival. The show works like this: the artists have two days to paint at least two paintings to offer up for auction. You must have the back of your canvas (or whatever you are painting on) certified before the contest. They usually stamp it with a date, and put a little sticker on it. This is to ensure no one walks in with a painting they didn’t really paint on location during the time allotted.

Although Carmel is only about 90 minutes from my home, I always stay somewhere in the Carmel area to avoid spending 3 hours on the road each day, rather devoting all my focus to the work at hand. Early mornings and late afternoons are the best time to paint, which makes all the more reason to stay in town.

Wednesday
I drove down to Carmel around noon Wednesday, meandering a little bit in the area to look for new places to paint. After checking into my motel, I headed over to the reception area to get my canvases stamped, then out to a place on Scenic Drive overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Carmel River State Beach to start painting. A lot of the artists head to this area first as it is fairly close and there are only a few hours after the canvas stamping to paint until dark. For this reason, I had avoided it in past years, but decided to try it this year.

I spent several hours painting, waiting until almost sundown to finish the sky. In this instance, you can paint much of the scene in shadow as it will not change much. However, when the sunset lights up the sky, I quickly tried to catch the colors. I stayed until it was almost too dark to see. Below is the scene, and my painting on the easel. You can click on any picture to see a larger version.

The painting wasn’t quite finished, but some of the details could be done the next evening.

Thursday
In the morning, I drove up to Elkhorn Slough to do another painting. I had been painting this area the last couple shows, and enjoy the vistas. Parking along Elkhorn Road, with a great view of the slough, I opened the rear of SUV up and turned on the car radio to keep me company, as I frequently do. After painting several hours, the radio suddenly went off. Upon checking the ignition, the battery was almost dead and then I realized I had also left my headlights on! I raised the hood, as the universal sign of distress, but no one seemed to want to stop, so it was time to call AAA, the American Automobile Association. An AAA truck was not too far away, so he stopped by and gave me a jump start. It was time for a lunch break, so I drove into Moss Landing and had Sand Dabs at Phils Fish Market. (Actually half the reason I like to paint the slough is it is close to this great restaurant! The restaurant was just listed as the #1 world’s best beach restaurant by the BBC.)

I wanted to work on the painting another hour or two, so drove back to the spot and finished the painting.

About mid afternoon, it was time to head back to Scenic Drive and finish the prior evenings piece. By now I had two good pieces for the show, so the pressure was lessened from now on.

Friday
Point Lobos State Preserve was my destination Friday, which is a favorite of about everyone in the show. I first stopped and painted Whaler’s Cove.

Whalers Cove, Point Lobos

The afternoon I painted a quiet little spot in the preserve called Hidden Beach.

After framing the two pieces for the auction, I drove back into Carmel and dropped them off. Below are the four pieces I did, the first two were entered in the auction. The second two, I want to touch up a little bit before they were displayed anywhere. Click on any picture to see the entire painting.

Saturday
After a leisurely morning, I headed over to the show. The show was quite strong. We had artists from all over the United States, plus Australia and the Netherlands. You can see all the paintings on their website here. Below are a few pictures of me and the show.

Sunday
Sunday was somewhat of a repeat of Saturday. After a leisurely morning, I checked out of the motel, grabbed a deli sandwich and headed down the coast. I found a spot along Garrapata State Park for lunch and enjoyed the view…

Upon returning to the show, I met the lady who purchased my first painting, “The Last Five Minutes of Glory“. She was born and raised in Carmel (lucky lady!), had seen that scene countless times, and it reminded her of the Carmel of her youth. She purchased the piece as a wedding present for her daughter. It’s always nice to meet a collector who falls in love with your work! It’s a big moral booster!

Later that afternoon it was time to head home and start thinking about next month’s plein air festival in Los Gatos!

The 2nd Annual Plein Air Convention was held in Monterey, CA this year. I missed the first convention last year in Las Vegas, but since Monterey is only 90 minutes from my home, certainly couldn’t miss this one!

I registered for the convention quite awhile ago, but then a month ago they added me to the ‘faculty’ to do an acrylic painting demonstration on the Expo Hall Demo Stage. Although I do most of my finished paintings in oil, I do take acrylics on travel trips, especially international excursions. Plein Air magazine had published an article about it last year, so I decided to just expand on the concept. At any rate, it was quite an honor to be in the same venue with some of the top plein air and traditional artists in the country.

Arriving Wednesday, the convention got off to a great start that afternoon, and didn’t slow down the entire time. It was non-stop lectures, demos, eating, meeting, vendors, and just fun. I won’t go into all the events and demos, as you can find them here, but every demo and lecture was top notch.

There seemed to be so many things going on, it was difficult to pick and choose which to attend. A few that stood out in my mind was James Gurney’s (Dinotopia author) totally entertaining lecture on opening night, where he gave about a semesters’s worth of art lessons in an hour. Also, demos by Gil Dellinger, CS Mundy, were a hoot. Brian Blood gave away his secrets on painting fog, and Ken Auster did a 52×52 inch painting in 90 minutes. The portraits painted by Michelle Dunaway and Jeremy Lipking were amazing.

My demo time slot on Saturday morning was only 45 minutes, but the prior special event went 15 minutes over, so I only had about 35 total minutes. I didn’t get far in the actual demo, but mainly answered lots of questions from the audience. I did finish the painting later in the Expo Hall, so those interested could watch and then see the finished product.

Here are a few pictures during the demo. You can click on any picture to see a larger version (Thanks, Sam for providing the photos!)–

Below is the finished painting–

Akaroa Lighthouse 12×16 Acrylic

That afternoon, the entire group went to Asilomar for lunch then painted in the area, mostly on Asilomar Beach. It was quite a ‘trippy’ experience to see hundreds of artists painting together on the same beach! If there were a Guiness World Record category for this, we certainly would hold the record!

A few shots of the crowd–

I was a little tired from standing, painting, and answering dozens of questions most of the morning, so took my chair, semi-relaxed, and did a small 8×10 oil of the beach. It was quite windy, which put a chill in the area, but everyone toughed it out like good plein air artists–

Asilomar Beach 8×10 Oil

The next day, Sunday morning, many also met along the wharf in Monterey, where in places they stood shoulder to shoulder painting. Here are a few shots of the crowd. The first picture shows James Gurney, author of the Dinotopia books sitting and sketching–

I did another painting of the Monterey Wharf area. Here is me by the easel–

Yours truly out painting with the group

And the painting–

Monterey Wharf 12×24 Oil

I soon had to head home. April 15 was the next day, and time to finish up the tax returns!

The producer of the show, Eric Rhoads (publisher, Plein Air Magazine) mentioned afterwards they are still looking for a venue next year. I’d recommend going for anyone interested in Plein Air painting. It was absolutely wonderful to meet and talk with some of my art ‘heros’, all of whom were very generous with their time and advice. Hope to see everyone there next year!

We just returned from a two week cruise to New Zealand and Australia on the Diamond Princess. We flew into Auckland, NZ, then headed down the east coast of New Zealand visiting Tauranga, Picton, Wellington, Akaroa, and Dunedin. Our ship then circled around the southern end of the south island, and we spent a day cruising in and out of the sounds in Fiordland National Park, including the well known Milford Sound. After spending two days crossing the Tasman Sea, we visited Hobart, Tasmania, then up to Melbourne, and disembarked in Sydney. I won’t go into the trip much more here, and my Facebook Friends can see more pictures of the cruise.

In between all the tours and activity I managed to do three paintings. The first was in Picton, NZ, at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound on the south island. The cruise in and out of the sound was spectacular, with the quaint little town of Picton so picturesque. After walking around town for a few hours, I had a couple hours to sit by the waterfront, so did a straight up view of Picton Harbor. (Click on any pictures to see a larger version.)

Picton Waterfront

My paint set laid out along the Picton waterfront.

Picton Harbor 8×10 Acrylic

My next painting opportunity was in Akaroa. Akaroa is a historic French and British settlement nestled in a harbor formed by the heart of an ancient volcano. The hilly terrain reminded me of the California coastal hills in the summer, with golden grass punctuated by green foilage. New Zealand was in the middle of a drought, so I am not sure if the grass is usually this dry. In California, the green is primarily oak trees, but I am not sure what kind of trees were in Akaroa, but fairly certain they weren’t oaks. The beauty of Akaroa is the hills plunge into almost tropical green waters of the bay setting up the beautiful scenery. I was up at sunrise as the Diamond Princess cruise ship sailed into the harbor, and it again was breathtaking!

I spent most of the day, doing one painting in the morning and then one in the afternoon. Here are a few pictures around Akaroa–

Akaroa Harbor

Akaroa Lighthouse

Akaroa waterfront, the scene for my first painting.

And some painting scenes–

Akaora Waterfront 9×12 Acrylic

My paint kit with the scene of the second painting in the background, the Akaroa Lighthouse

Akaroa Lighthouse 8×10 acrylic

I didn’t have time to paint for the rest of the cruise. The most spectacular scenery we saw, of course, was in Fiordland National Park where we cruised in and out of three sounds. It was a somewhat gloomy day, and painting from a moving ship wouldn’t work. Below is a picture of Milford Sound.

Milford Sound

By coincidence, Mike Bagdonas, a fellow artist from Northern California who I encounter at many of the art competitions was on the boat. We ended up having lunch toward the end of the cruise to ‘talk shop’.

As mentioned earlier, my Facebook friends can see more pictures of the cruise. If you wish to see them and are not a friend, let me know.

So here was the deal: My wife wanted to spend New Years in Las Vegas with some of her family, and I agreed to go under one condition– she could fly with them, but I wanted to drive and then spend time painting in Death Valley and around Lone Pine, CA, on the way home. So, after a great New Years, they flew back, and I started my painting expedition on the way home.

New Years day, I drove a couple hours to Beatty, NV, which is on the eastern border of Death Valley National Park, for the night. This is where the painting adventure begins.

Jan 2 – Death Valley

I stayed in Beatty as I wanted to drive the 27 mile, one way, dirt 4×4 road through Titus Canyon into Death Valley. Taking off south from Beatty on Hwy 374 I first stopped at Rhyolite, a ghost town about 5 miles south. Rhyolite was a thriving, but short lived town of about 5,000 in the early 1900′s. More about it here. Only a few building remains are still there. Here are a couple pictures (click on any thumbnail to see a larger complete image)–

Continuing south via Hwy 374, I soon came to the Titus Canyon road turnoff. You can read about the canyon here and here. Like I said, it is a dirt 4×4 road, which started out looking something like this:

It soon got more rugged and steep, climbing up over Red Pass in the Grapevine Mountains which form the eastern border of Death Valley.

Red Pass

As soon as I was over the pass, the first glimpse of Death Valley came into view in the far off distance, and it looked like a good scene to paint, so stopped for a couple hours. Only a couple of vehicles drove by the entire time painting. Below are a few images, of the scene, my easel, and SUV (click on any thumbnail to see a larger complete image)–

I continued down to the east entrance of Titus Canyon. The entrance was interesting, so stopped and did a smaller painting there (click on each thumbnail to see a larger complete image)–

Continuing to 4 wheel through the canyon, I can see why the road is only one way into Death Valley. The canyon is so narrow in places it was only as wide as a one lane road! In a few spots, you could almost have reached out both sides of the vehicle and touch the canyon walls. Some more pictures–

Early afternoon, I finally emerged from Titus Canyon into Death Valley. Since we were a little elevated from the valley floor, it was a great view, so did another painting right there (click on any thumbnail to see a larger complete image).

It was soon approaching late afternoon and the sun goes down early this time of year (before 5 o’clock) so I moved on to Stovepipe Wells and checked into the Stovepipe Wells Village Hotel. Death Valley only has a couple lodging facilities, and this was one. The room was nice, clean, but fairly basic. No TV, telephone, or cell service, but they did have free WIFI. The only restaurant was surprisingly good considering they have a very captive audience. Desert sunsets are usually spectacular, and no exception here! Below is a picture of the last rays of the sun from just outside my motel room–

Death Valley Sunset

Jan 3 – Death Valley

The next day was spent around the Furnace Creek area. Someone had recommended I check out “Artists Drive” (duh.), so I did. Along the way, I encountered three fellow plein air artists from Utah painting on the side of the road, so stopped and chatted for awhile. Along my route was Badwater Basin, which at -282 ft elevation, is the lowest spot in North America. I ended up working on a painting from Artists Drive looking towards the distant Panamint Range which frames the western side of Death Valley.

Today, I ended up spending as much time exploring as painting, seeing Zabriskie Point, and Twenty Mule Team Canyon. I figured I could get one more painting in though, and headed towards Salt Creek, home of the rare, famous, and endangered Salt Creek Pupfish. The flowing creek in the middle of the parched desert was a study in contrasts and a fitting painting subject. There was even a nice bench on the boardwalk where I could sit and paint.

I had to get to Lone Pine for the evening, so packed up late afternoon and headed west. As I was climbing out of Death Valley, I stopped, turned around, and caught the last sun flaming on the Grapevine Mountain Range where I first entered Death Valley from Titus Canyon just the day before.

Death Valley Sunset

On the way to Lone Pine, I passed through Panamint Valley in the twilight which was also a beautiful but less famous valley.

Jan 4 – Lone Pine

I remember well our family used to drive through Lone Pine when I was a kid and we always stopped to view Mt Whitney. It had been so long, I forgot how really spectacular this area is. With scattered snow on the ground, Lone Pine was getting to the low 20′s at night, so I decided to let it warm up a bit before I ventured out.

My destination was the Alabama Hills, nestled just outside of town below Mt Whitney, the tallest peak in the continental US. Alabama Hills has probably been seen by virtually every civilized person on earth. Not that they have actually been there, but it has been used in so many films, primarily westerns, it is easily recognizable. Recent movies such as Gladiator, Iron Man, Transformers, and Star Trek filmed scenes there, just to name a few. More about it here and here.

The setting and views were spectacular every turn of the road! The Sierras had just had their first big blanket of snow, and they glistened above the stark rocks of the Alabama Hills. Here are some pictures I took around the Hills, many of which show Mt Whitney in the background–

I drove around the dirt back roads and finally settled on a spot to paint right along Movie Road. Although, this area is one of the more spectacular sights I have painted, for some reason couldn’t get it right. After an hour or so, I scraped the entire canvas and started over. The second time was a little better, but still couldn’t capture it like I wanted. Below are a few shots of the location and my failed painting when I quit.

After three hours struggling on the piece, I decided to take a break and just drive around, sight see in the hills, and take photos for future studies. I am still trying to analyze why I couln’t capture the scene as I wanted. The mountains were very complex geometrically, and I tried to simplify the shapes. I also may have been making them a little too warm in color and too dark in value. I’ll analyze it back in the studio, and finish the piece there.

Jan 5 – Home
I would have liked to stay another day in Lone Pine to see if I could get a painting right, but also needed to get home for another upcoming trip. So, I left Lone Pine early in the morning for the seven hour drive home. Before leaving, I caught the sunrise on the Sierras out my motel window…what a view!!

I am hooked on Lone Pine now and want to return maybe sometime this year, and also drive up Hwy 395 for more of the eastern Sierras. There was also a lot I missed in Death Valley, so another visit or two would be worthwhile.

All the paintings need some touch up & when I get that done, will post better pictures of them.

Till next time!

It’s been 3 years since my last autumn trip to the Yosemite High Country. I mentioned this to my best buddy from grade school so he flew out from Florida, and the two of us took off in the RV for a week. We agreed to concentrate on the high country, but he hadn’t been to Yosemite Valley in a long time, so we also planned a few days there.

After picking George up at the San Jose Airport, we got an early evening start Saturday, so we drove close to the Yosemite Hwy 120 gate and parked at a little secret spot I found years ago just off Hwy 120 to sleep for the night.

Rising early, we drove into Yosemite, and our destination for the day, Porcupine Flats Campground, the only campground still open in Yosemite along Hwy 120.
I did an afternoon ‘warmup’ painting right by the RV. Porcupine Creek was dry, but the lush grass around the creekbed seemed to attract the local wildlife.

Our home for a week, my Lazy Daze motorhome (you can click on any photo to see a larger copy)–

Permanent residents–

The first painting of the trip–

The next day we headed east, further up Hwy 120 toward Tioga Pass. After stopping at some of the viewpoints like Olmstead Point, we stopped at Tenaya Lake so I could do another painting. Here are some shots along Hwy 120–

Views from Olmstead Point. That is Halfdome in the back of the first, and Tenaya Lake in the second scene–

A small Lake just below the highway (not sure the name) –

Here is Tenaya Lake, me painting and the finished painting–

Another stop was Tuolumne Meadows, the campground and other facilities had closed for the season, but the gas station was still open. The Tuolumne River flowing through the meadows–

We originally planned on staying at Porcupine Campground for 3 nights, but instead decided to go on over Tioga Pass and see if there was any space available (and my RV could fit) in a couple small Forest Service campgrounds there. We found a good place at Tioga Lake Campground. It was quite unsheltered/open and the view was wonderful. I did a painting right by the RV in the late afternoon.

A couple of shots of the motorhome and me painting.

Here is the scene I was painting, and the painting–

It was a full moon that night, which came up later in the evening. That was nice, but it also washed out the starry sky.

The next day, our destination was May Lake. It is a 1.2 mile hike uphill all the way to the lake, and close to 10,000 feet in elevation. Ever since my last hike up to the lake in 1992, I had been wanting to go back and paint it.

Hiking up to May Lake–

Painting at the lake–

The scene I was painting and the finished painting–

In the afternoon, I did another smaller painting–

We hung around the lake for most of the day, then hiked back down, and headed back to Porcupine Campground for the night.

Next day was on to Yosemite Valley. We took our time, sightseeing along the way.

Here is one view as we were coming into the valley–

The next day, we drove over to Sentinel Beach Picnic area and I did the largest and probably the best painting of the trip. I had company of some of the local ducks. They kept getting underfoot waiting for a morsel from my lunch to drop–

Here is the scene and the painting–

The next day, we got a fairly early start and headed back to San Jose.

After having been out of town for quite awhile, I am finally getting around to finishing the large work of Iguassu Falls. I have been posting a bit on my Facebook artist page here, and previously in this weblog here.

One of the methods many artists use to aid in making sure their values are correct is to view the painting in black and white. I took a snapshot today, and made a greyscale version of it, both shown below (you can click on each picture to see a larger version). I think the values are pretty close, but see some minor changes here and there. I am also still undecided on the foliage in the foreground. There are lots of darks and greens, maybe too much, but after all, it is in the jungle! What do you think?

I was invited to do a demo at the Millbrae Arts Association in Millbrae California last night. I demoed for them several years ago a snow scene along the Truckee River near Lake Tahoe. They asked me to do a water scene, so I decided to paint the Merced River in Yosemite Valley with Sentinel Rock in the background using a study painted several years ago for a commission piece. Allotted about 90 minutes actual painting time, covering a 16×20 panel is a challenge! We did manage to get the basics down of how to paint reflections and other water subject techniques.

Below are a few pictures of the event…

The Millbrae association is a small, but friendly group, and it was a fun and great opportunity to spend an evening with them!

Many of you know I took a trip to South America earlier this year, and spent two days at Iguassu Falls, both on the Argentinian and Brazilian side. You can read about the entire trip here.

The falls is such an awe inspiring natural wonder, it is really hard to take in. To paraphrase Eleanor Roosvelt when she visited, “This makes poor Niagra look like a kitchen faucet”. It was a long time wish fulfilled, and I did two plein air paintings while there. Well, it is time to do a studio piece, and I started by doing a 12×24 inch ‘small’ study shown below. I may make a few minor adjustments, but it is pretty much finished–

You can click the image to see a larger version. Well, it’s time to break out the big brushes! I have two 36×36 inch canvass which I am going to paint the smaller study onto. It will be a diptych with final measurements of 3×6 feet, which is the largest work I have done so far. I don’t plan on offering it for sale, but want to hang it in my living room as a reminder of my visit to this spectacular wonder of the world. Stay tuned.

Once again, I participated in the Los Gatos Art Festival this year. It was five days of non-stop activity! Below is a summary of each day.

TUESDAY
Tuesday morning was time to stamp the back of the canvas to ensure all paintings were done during the festival. I arrived at about noon, got my canvas stamped, and then headed to Stevens Canyon Road to paint along Stevens Creek. It was also very shady, which was nice as the week was forecast to be very hot. I ended up doing one painting, using a little artistic license for the lighting as the canyon area was quite dark.

I then went several miles away to another part of the creek and started another painting of a pool with a family looking for tadpoles and fish..

I only got it about half done before having to leave for an artists reception and meeting back in Los Gatos. Below are a couple shots of the artists meeting–

There were plenty of hors d’oeuvres, wine and beer. The Rotary Club of Los Gatos, who put on the event, really treat the artists very well!!

WEDNESDAY
The forecast was to be clear all day, so I departed at 5:30am to try and catch the morning light in the New Almaden and Hicks Road area in the southern part of Los Gatos and San Jose. It was foggy! I proceeded up around Almaden Reservoir, and found a great spot at the end of the lake with a lot of vegetation and color. It was also looking towards the sun peeking through the fog. Around 9 the sky had mostly cleared.

You can see my easel set up right behind my car. Its kinda nice painting right by the car as I can listen to the radio, and not have to hike and carry my painting setup very far!

After painting for about three hours, I drove on up Hicks Rd to the Mt Umunhum Road, and up it. Lo and behold were several artists painting the view! Carole Gray-Weihman was teaching a student apprentice the ins-and-outs of plain air painting!

Below is a view of downtown San Jose from Mt. Umunhum road.

Late morning I proceeded into New Almaden, and found the Carson House, built in 1854. I liked the way the light was illuminating the large cactus and the plants along the fence. I pencil sketched in the painting, then went off to have lunch with my motorcycle riding buddy, Pete Kemling.

After lunch, it was back to Carson House to continue work on that painting.

The light was a little different, but I painted the way I saw it before noon.

Later in the afternoon, it was time to head back up Hicks Road to find a late afternoon scene. It wasn’t very far, when I decided to paint the same cove in Almaden Reservoir from a different direction–

I was able to paint right out the back of my SUV, which also kept me and the painting in the shade and out of the late afternoon sun–

The lighting just kept on getting more dramatic–

I got the piece only about half done before it was getting too dark, so headed home.

THURSDAY
Woke up early, but wasn’t planning to go out until the fog had cleared, and what do you know, a clear morning! It was around morning rush hour and I wanted to go back to the New Almaden area, so took the back roads, Hwy 101 down to Bailey, and up over a small ridge to McKean Road. It was foggy again in the area! As soon as I cleared the ridge, though, the fog was lifting and Mt Unumhum was lit up by the rising sun. A great view I had to paint. As soon as I pulled off the road, a local park ranger came by and said I could not park along the road and had to wait until 8a when the Calero Reservoir parking was open. So, I killed some time getting coffee, and came back to Calero and spent most of the morning doing the painting.

By the time I was done, the fog had completely disappeared…

Lunch was put on by the Rotary again, at a home in Los Gatos. Again, great food and drinks!

I went back in the afternoon, finished both the Carson House painting, and then the Almaden Reservoir painting…kind of a repeat of the afternoon before.

FRIDAY
I had 5 good paintings for the show, and was pretty tired, so spent Friday around the studio doing touch ups, framing, and other preps for the show.

That evening was a ticketed gala at the California Cafe. The entire restaurant was reserved for the event, and it was packed! Once again, great food. Just a couple pictures of the event–

SATURDAY
Today was the main show, which took place outside in the central Los Gatos Park. Below are a few pictures of the event, followed by my paintings in the show. It was a very hot day, reaching over 100, but that didn’t seem to stop the crowds from coming! Two of mine sold, Unumhum View, and Almaden Afternoon.

Me by my panel. By the time I got this picture taken, one painting was already gone, being sold at the “Buy it Now” price–

We had live music all day–

Below are the paintings I exhibited in the order I started them. You can click on each to get a slightly larger view of the piece.

Stevens Creek 16×12 Oil–

Almaden Morning 12×24 Oil–

Carson House 11×14 Oil–

Almaden Afternoon 16×20 Oil–

Umunhum View 12×24 Oil –

For artists wanting to enter plein air shows, I would highly recommend entering this one. The Rotary treats their artists the best of about any plein air competition I have participated in!

Just returned from the Carmel Art Festival. The weather this year was great, and it was good to meet old artist friends and make new ones! Below is a brief day by day post on the experience…

Wednesday
Drove down to Monterey/Carmel to participate in the Carmet Art Festival. After checking into my motel, I stopped by the festival to have my canvases stamped. In plein air competitions such as this, you have several days to paint at least two paintings, which are then auctioned off. The festival coordinators stamp the back of the canvas to ensure all work is done in the two days allotted.

After having my canvases stamped, I headed down the coast to Garrapata State Park to start a painting on Soberanes Point. I wanted to catch the sun in the late day, as the forecast was foggy mornings. I worked a little over an hour on a smaller canvas with the intent of finishing it later.

BTW, all pictures were taken with my iPhone, so may not be the highest quality.

Thursday
The next morning it was a little foggy, so I went out mid morning and painted all day around Elkhorn Slough. In the morning I worked on this painting of a little side inlet–

After lunch at Phil’s Fish Market and Restaurant (great fish restaurant, I had Sand Dabs) in Moss Landing, I headed back to Elkhorn road and did a painting looking through the trees at Elkhorn Slough. There was still a little fog hanging around which made for great depth in the painting–

Here is a picture of my easel with the tail door of my SUV, which I used to help shield some of the wind.

Friday
I saved Friday for painting down the coast as the forecast was to be completely clear. I headed out to be there at the crack of dawn, and I wasn’t disappointed. I painted a piece on the trail out to Soberanes Point looking up the coast near where I had started the other painting on Wednesday. When I got there, light was just starting to splash on the land. What a magnificent scene! The picture below was taken near the completion of the painting when the sun was completely up—

Taking a break, I walked over to where two other artists in the show were painting across the cove. You can see Soberanes Point in the background. Coraly, on the left, shows at the same gallery I do, James Harold Galleries, in Tahoe City. The other was Josh, who I just met–

After lunch, I touched up the two paintings I planned to enter in the festival, and framed them ready to go! I then went out and finished the piece I had started Wednesday on Soberanes Point. This gave me plenty of time to get the paintings in by the 8pm deadline.

Saturday
After sleeping in Saturday and having a leisurely brunch, headed over to the festival. I was honored with an honorable mention on the painting I did of Elkhorn–

The other painting I entered was the Friday morning piece along the coast –

Here is a shot with me by the two paintings–

Both pieces already had auction bids, so I was quite pleased!

Later in the day, was the awards ceremony, and here is a shot with Gil Dellinger, the judge, giving me the award–

My wife, her two brothers plus spouses drove down for the day, so we all went out and celebrated with a big prime rib and fish dinner!

Sunday
Since I won an award, I was eligible to participate in the Sunday quickdraw. They give you 2 hrs to produce a painting, framed and ready to sell. This means you have about 90 minutes to actually do the painting. After I got my canvas stamped, I drove to the Carmel Scenic Drive, a mile or so away, found a good spot, and did a panorama of Carmel Beach–

The quickdraw auction was well attended. Here are a few pictures, including my painting–

When I was out painting the quickdraw, a local couple stopped to say hello whom I had met at the auction the day before and really like my work. They liked what I was painting, so they ended up purchasing it at the quickdraw auction.

When I had arrived at the show Sunday morning, I noticed the Elkhorn piece was still there. It had gotten at least one bid during the Saturday auction, so should have been paid for and gone. It turns out the bidder withdrew, which surprised me a bit as I didn’t think they could do that! The festival sponsors are still tracking it down to let me know exactly what happened.

A little after three o’clock, I packed up and headed home. It was a great week with good weather, sold a few paintings, got an award, re-acquainted with fellow artists, and a great tan.

Next up is the Los Gatos Plein Air Show June 12-16!