March 4, 2008

I had recently been doing a series of small paintings of Yosemite. My gallery in Carmel wanted a few, so I decided to do the 90 minute drive down and then go on to Big Sur to do a little painting. My painting buddy, Nick White came along. The forecast was for a little morning fog followed by sun, so we were expecting a nice day.

We arrived in Carmel about 10:30, and the sun was out in abundance. After dropping the paintings off at the Sandy-by-the-Sea Gallery, Nick and I grabbed a bite to eat at the Rio Grille, then headed down to Garrapata State Park to paint.

I wanted to paint close to the car so I could carry my chair and save my bad back. We settled on a place I had painted several years before in the morning sun. I just checked the link to Garrapata State Park and the photo in the heading looks like the exact same spot! It was a wonderful sunny day, however very breezy! I had to fight the wind the entire time blowing my equipment and supplies around. We spent about one and a half to two hours, I did one painting, and Nick did two. Mine was definitely a keeper.

Below is the scene I painted–

Nick painting up the hill a bit–

My painting. I did not finish the bottom part as I just held the panel in my hand so I could just relax in my chair without bending over and aggravating my back–

We moved on to the next turnout, and spent a little less than an hour. I almost finished a 6×8, again leaving the bottom to finish later–

Here is Nick painting on the bluff–

After driving down the coast awhile, it was time to head back. Below is a shot of the coast with Bixby Bridge. I am sure you will agree it was a wonderful day!!