On Sunday I joined the Knights of the Vine for their annual BBQ, a tradition that’s been rolling along for more than thirty years on the Stillwater Cove pier beside the Beach & Tennis Club in Pebble Beach. As always, I set up to paint live, knowing the finished piece would head straight to the charity auction. This was my fourth time there (fifth invitation, though I had to skip last year), and it never fails to deliver, a relaxed stretch of painting, solid food, and even better wine. You can catch the blogs from my earlier visits and more about the group here.
Here are a few photos to share from the day.
The day was pure California: bright sun, barely a cloud in sight. In past years I’ve pointed my easel toward the Pebble Beach golf course on the distant bluffs, but this time I swung it around and took on the opposite side of Stillwater Cove. A mansion sits on the distant bluff, which I later found out is worth about $44 million and last sold in 2020.
A little over two hours later the cove was on the canvas, the painting made its way to the auction block, and it sold right there during the event. Here’s a snapshot of the piece on my easel.
In one of the first workshops I took in the early 2000s, teaching artist William Scott Jennings kept repeating the same advice: use a big brush…and use the same brush for the entire painting. Other instructors have put it this way—pick the brush you think is the right size, then go one size bigger. I’ve generally followed that rule ever since. Even on small panels, my main brush is about an inch wide. It lays down bold, confident strokes, yet the edge gives you fine lines and the tip of the side handles the smaller details.
Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters were painting at Otter Point in Pacific Grove, so I decided to join them. The forecast looked unpromising, mostly cloudy with little hope of clearing until late afternoon, and I nearly stayed home. Glad I didn’t. The overcast held all morning, soft light wrapping the rocks and water in a quiet gray-green calm.
Here are a few pictures of the group out painting.
I settled on a small rock study just below where I set up my easel. Other than the initial sketch, I used the same #10 Ruby Silver Satin Bright brush (about an inch wide) for the entire painting . There’s something satisfying about committing to one tool and letting it do all the work. Occasionally, I will use a similarly wide filbert to get softer edges, especially for clouds and backgrounds. You don’t have to carry a lot of extra brushes juggling them around, switching colors, etc. When I needed to dramatically switch to a different color or value, I would clean the brush with a little turpentine, or wipe with a paper towel.
Here is a picture of the painting nearing completion with the brush right in front of it.
A big brush on a small painting
Well, I get lucky sometimes. The painting came together well and will probably need little, if any, touch-up.
After the California coast and the majestic Sierra Nevada, one of my favorite places to paint is Elkhorn Slough. Just a short drive from home, this winding tidal estuary along Monterey Bay is one of California’s largest coastal wetlands, with quiet waters, salt marshes, mudflats, and grasslands that provide a home to an incredible variety of wildlife. But for me, it’s the ever-changing abstract patterns of water, marsh, distant hills, and sky that make it so compelling.
The Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters had a paint-out there Wednesday, and I couldn’t resist joining them. It’s a little over half an hour from my home in Marina to Kirby Park, where we gathered for a 10:00 a.m. start.
Here are a few pictures of the group out painting and enjoying the morning.
The morning began rather dreary, with a heavy overcast sky, but around 11:00 the sun finally began to peek through. I had painted from this particular viewpoint several times before, and it didn’t disappoint. Other than the occasional train gliding by, the morning was so quiet, peaceful, and serene.
I especially enjoy trying to capture the seemingly abstract mix of water and marshland. There are so many interesting shapes, subtle colors, and reflections that it’s easy to get lost in the scene. After a couple of hours, this is what I ended up with.
A little studio touch-up, and I think this one may be a keeper!
Tor House in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, is a historic stone home built by poet Robinson Jeffers and his wife Una beginning in 1919 on a windswept promontory at Carmel Point. Using granite boulders hauled from the nearby shore, Jeffers, working as an apprentice stonemason constructed the original cottage, completed around 1924, and later Hawk Tower, a Celtic-inspired structure overlooking the Pacific. Named for the craggy “tor” (knoll) on which it stands, the house served as both a family refuge and the place where Jeffers composed nearly all his major poetic works, inspired by the rugged coastal landscape.
Yesterday (Sunday) I was invited, along with three other Monterey Bay Plein Air Artist members to paint while the Tor House Foundation held a garden party. Although having driven by the Tor House many times but never been inside, it was quite a treat to participate in the event!
Here’s a few pictures of the Tor House…
We arrived a little before the party started, and after looking over all the property, we all settled in a spot to paint. Some of my fellow artists painting…
I am mostly a scenery type artist, but also wanted to include a bit of the old stone buildings, so picked a spot out of the way showing just the edge of the house and a large boulder. It also had a view of the Pacific Ocean with Point Lobos in the far background…perfect! A few shots of me painting. (Some photos complimentary of Jackie Bleisch.)
The party was well attended and quite lively with bagpipes, chamber orchestra, and other delights! Click on the videos to enjoy the music…
While I was busy laying paint to canvas, one of the docents came over and told me I was painting a historic rock. The Thuban Rock is the massive granite cornerstone of the house that Jeffers incorporated deep into the structure while building his home. Jeffers addressed this ancient stone in his poem “To the Rock That Will Be a Cornerstone of the House,” Long before Jeffers built Tor House, however, this site is believed to have been a sacred place for Native American peoples of the region.
The grey morning turned into nice sunshine, and I used some artistic license to make the lighting a little more dramatic and moved the bushes a bit.
After about three hours of painting, it was turning out rather well, so I stopped. Generally these plein air pieces reach a point that if you keep going, you may start to ruin the freshness of the moment. It was also getting windy and cold! I had a number of inquiries about purchasing the piece all afternoon as it was developing. Coming prepared, I framed it, and it was purchased by one of the docents of the Foundation!
Point Lobos has always been a special place. Spanish explorers called it “Point of the Sea Wolves” hearing the cries of the sea lions echoing off the cliffs. From the late 19th century on, it became a magnet for artists seeking its raw, untamed beauty. Landscape artist Francis McComas famously called it “the greatest meeting of land and sea in the world.” Photographers like Edward Weston and Ansel Adams also returned again and again, creating iconic images of the twisted cypress trees, wave-worn rocks, and crystalline tide pools. It became one of California’s first state reserves in 1933, preserving this wild sanctuary for future generations of artists and visitors.
There’s something profoundly satisfying about painting en plein air. I tell passersby I do it as much for the excuse to just sit there for several hours, feeling the breeze on your face, watching the light change minute by minute, and in this case, listen to the crashing waves, seagulls, and barking sea lions.
Wednesday was one of those perfect California coastal days, so I joined the Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters at Weston Beach in the Preserve. Trying to get there early, fighting the slow rush hour traffic down the coast (yes, the Monterey area does have rush hour traffic!), I finally arrived at the preserve about a half hour after it opened. By then, the parking areas were almost full!! It was a busy day at the preserve with families, hikers, and nature lovers filling the trails and viewpoints, making the most of this glorious weather, and one fellow artist reminded me it was still spring break time for the local schools!
I only saw about three other artists painting. My guess is the park filled up so fast, many might have been turned away and had to go to other points along the beautiful California coastline. (Note to Al: perhaps schedule Pt Lobos more during off season and especially not during spring break!)
I had determined to try to get a ‘show worthy’ painting done. Spending about 2 1/2 hours, here is the piece as I finished for the day. I think this one is definitely a keeper.
I finally pulled it off and the secret’s out! I’ve dreamed for years of painting from this spot, simply because it’s so wildly unique. As far as I know, no one has ever set up an easel here before. In fact, only a handful of people have even seen this view, let alone tried to capture it on canvas. It took years of training and preparation for this mid 70 year old to accomplish it, but I have finally achieved it!
Take a moment to watch the short video and follow the adventure. Be sure to turn the sound up and watch to the end!
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.
…so goes the iconic James Brown Song. It had been quite some time since I had been out painting on location, way too long, and going out felt good!! It had also been quite awhile since visiting the Big Sur coastline, not far from my home.
Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters was having their usual Wednesday paint-out at Garrapata State park, one of my favorite spots to paint, so joined them. The forecast promised a partially cloudy day, and it was around the house here in Marina, but as soon as I got to Garrapata, here is what it looked like—
In some directions you couldn’t even see the water, just hear the crashing surf! Quite a few had shown up, maybe 12-15 artists, and we were all hoping a little sun would peek through the fog, which as expected it did towards noon time.
By the time I was packing up to head home, it was somewhat sunny, but the fog was starting to roll back in!
I spent several hours on the piece, which I think is a keeper after maybe a little studio touchup–
untitled, 8×16, oil on board
The California Art Club is having a paint-out in the same area in a couple weeks. It will probably be time for a return visit!
This is the last week of the Randy Higbee Gallery 6″ Squared show, and they are offering a President’s Day 20% discount! My little jewel of the crashing surf along the California coast is still available, plus others!
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!
