A few weeks back in my “Aah Feel Good” post, I was out with the Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters (MBPAPA) at Garrapata State Park, right along that wild Big Sur coastline. It was classic coastal fog, socked-in so bad that some moments you could barely make out the ocean crashing below the cliffs. My piece turned out solid enough to probably be a keeper after a little studio touchup.
Now, the California Art Club was having a paint out at the same location, and it was bright and sunny!
Quite a few fellow artists showed up. I am not sure the count but there had to be at least twenty artists scattered along the cliffs. It was also great to reconnect with some artist friends I hadn’t seen in years. Here’s a few pictures of the group painting along the coastline–
On the drive down Highway 1, I was contemplating: Should I just paint sunshine right over that foggy version and finish it off? Or start fresh? I polled a bunch of my painter buddies on-site, and every single one told me: “Don’t you dare! That foggy one’s already good—leave it alone!” So, I set up at the identical viewpoint, grabbed a panel the exact same size, and went for it: Garrapata Twins! One moody and atmospheric in the mist, the other bursting with golden California sunshine.
Here’s a few pictures of me out painting (one photo courtesy of Nancy Takaichi)–
The new painting, I think is also a keeper after some TLC in the studio. Here is a snapshot–
After touching up both, I am tempted to frame the pair as a diptych, fog vs sunshine. Here is a shot of both them stacked in the studio.
What do you think? Diptych or not? I’d love to hear your take!
Update—
I had a few short videos I’ll add after publishing this post.