landscape

James Harold Gallery Show

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We just set the date for a solo show at James Harold Galleries this summer. I expect to have over 20 new paintings, including a series on Yosemite I have been working on the last 6 months. Both studio and plein air paintings will be on display.

More details to follow, but the show will run July 3 -October 5, 2008, with an Artists Reception, Saturday,August 2, 1-4 pm , (James Harold Galleries,760 N. Lake Blvd (at the Boatworks), Tahoe City, CA.)

Below is both a studio and plein air painting which will be in the show–

yosemite cathedral rocks
yosmite glacier point

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Morro Bay

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I just returned from spending the better part of the week at Morro Bay, California. My sister had rented a house there, and most of her family was there. The house was right on the beach…nothing between us and the water except a little iceplant and sand dunes.  We have had many family reunions and outings there, but usually camped at the state park.

I had taken my paints expecting to maybe do a few works for an upcoming show at Lake Tahoe this summer. They want mainly Sierra scenes, so wasn’t sure how many real plein air paintings I was going to do.

The house had a nice little outdoor alcove which was perfect to set up. Good light, and protection from the howling wind. I ended up doing a Lake Tahoe scene, and a Yosemite scene. Below are a couple photos of the alcove and my setup.

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Below is a snapshot of the Yosemite painting of Tenaya Lake, still a work in progress.

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I couldn’t resist doing one painting of Morro Rock, which was just down the beach. I set up right on the back porch, overlooking the ocean. The wind was so strong though, I only managed to do about a 15 minute color study of the rock itself, but I think was right on in capturing the atmosphere of the coastline.

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Carmel Art Festival Day 3

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Today is the Carmel Art Festival‘s exhibit and sale. I had two paintings in the exhibit, shown in my last entry. There were lots of great paintings in the show. I am lucky to say I was in very good company!

The crowds were quite thin, though. My guess is less than half the number of people showed up relative to the past few years. At one time they had canceled this years show due to the economy, but then decided to go ahead with it. Sales also seemed slow, which I don’t think surprised anybody. Unlike past years when my works were bid up quite high, this year I sold only one of the two.

Below are a few shots of the show. First is ‘yours truly’ by my two paintings–

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A couple shots of the exhibit–

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After the festival ended for the day, Sandy-by-the-Sea held a reception and show for me and Stephen Sanfilippo. Here are a couple shots–

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Seasons of Martis

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I just received an email that I am once again accepted into this plein air show. Last year was their inaugural year, and although a fun event, it seemed the show was put together quite hurriedly. This year, it looks much, much different! Entry was juried by several of the top plein air artists in the country, Jean Stern and Kevin MacPherson; they are hosting a ticketed cocktail party and auction; judges for the event are Craig Mitchell and Zee Zee Mott…etc.

Last year I was honored with the People’s Choice Award, shown below.

truckee river, tahoe, california

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San Jose History Park

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San Jose History Park is sponsoring several artists paint-outs as part of the Breath of Plein Air exhibit. Today was about the only one I could make, so made my way through the unexpected heavy Cinco de Mayo traffic to the park. Only about 4 of us showed up. I normally don’t paint architecture, but am willing to practice. Below are a few shots of the afternoon.

Nick White was already there and talking with passers-by.

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There were quite a few people strolling around the park as there was a Greek Festival nearby. In fact we were entertained all afternoon by live Greek music! I decided to do a small 6×8 of an early 20th century gas station. Below is me by my easel.

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Below is my painting on the easel. It turned out just OK, but maybe a little better than I was expecting, as I did the entire painting in a #8 bright brush. I will have to add a little detail lettering later with a small brush.

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Denver and the Rockies

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I just returned from an all week trip to Denver, Colorado visiting my brother and chewing up some frequent flyer miles. I took my full paint set with the idea I might get to do a painting for the upcoming Nomadas Del Arte show.

We spent a night at Black Hawk, the ‘Las Vegas’ of Colorado, which is a short drive into the Rockies from Denver. While there, I went out in the early morning to paint Clear Creek, although it certainly wasn’t a very clear creek. Actually, it is the north fork of Clear Creek. I ended up painting just a mile downstream of Black Hawk.

The morning light was wonderful! Below is the scene as I started painting. The sun was just hitting the distant hills with the stream reflecting the bright morning sky.

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Another shot of my easel before I actually started painting.

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After an hour of painting, the sun peeked over the nearby hill and I was drenched in sunlight. There wasn’t a good way of getting out of the glare of the sun, and I began to have problems judging values and colors. If I weren’t so far from home, perhaps I would have had my shade umbrella, but didn’t bring it. Below is the scene after the sun was completely out.

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Below is a snapshot of the painting on the easel when I was about ready to pack it in. I can do the final touches in the studio.

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Stick to Your Original Plan

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When doing plein air work, it is usually wise to stick to your original plan. Sometimes the light may change, but if you change a painting along with it, the entire thing may not work. I affirmed this lesson the other day…

Alum Rock Park, founded in 1872, was the first municipal park in the U.S. state of California. Located in a canyon in the Diablo Range foothills on the east side of San Jose, it is fairly close to my home. The Los Gatos plein air group was painting there today, so joined them.

The park has many things to paint. Penitencia Creek winds its way through the canyon, and there are plenty of century old bridges, rock formations and hillsides. It was cloudy, but the sun would peek through occasionally lighting the distant hill side. I decided to paint one of the foot bridges in shadow with the sun catching the hillside behind it…

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The painting started out well, but as soon as I finished the lit hillside and was halfway done with the bridge, the cloud cover lifted, and the bridge was now bathed in light…

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So, I changed it. Bad decision. The bridge just didn’t look right. So, I scraped it off and repainted it in shadow. The entire painting is probably a scraper, but it also taught me a lesson. Below is a quick snapshot…

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And one final picture of some of the Los Gatos painters.

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Yosemite Touch-up

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I finally got around to touching up and photographing some of the plein air paintings I did in Yosemite last February (here, here, and here). Below is the result.

yosemite

Snowy Cathedral * 8×16

yosemite, half dome

Half Dome over the Merced * 12×10

sentinel rock yosemite

Sentinel Rock * 12×9

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Use Big Brushes

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I have long been an advocate of the bigger the brush you use the better. For most of my paintings, even the smaller ones, I use a #10 bright, which is about 3/4 of an inch wide. To quote John Cogan, “get the largest brush you can possibly use for the job, then use the next size higher”. (John is one of my favorite artists, and definitely my favorite acrylic artist.)

The last few weeks I have been working on a large commission, using primarily a #12 bright. Yesterday, I took a break and continued working on a series of Yosemite paintings. I used the same #12 bright, which is about an inch wide, and painted an entire 16×20 using only the one brush. (I did use a #12 round for just the sky in order to have softer edges.) Although it is painted in a fairly loose style, I had no problem painting to the level of detail wanted. Although I might touch it up a bit, below is the resulting painting.

glacier point, yosemite, california

Morning Light on Glacier Point * 20×16

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“A Breath of Plein Air”

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Just received word, I am juried into this plein air show sponsored by the History San Jose association. The paintings must be plein air works of San Jose, Santa Clara, or Silicon Valley and runs from May 4 – September 21, 2008.

I don’t do too many paintings of the immediate area, so several weeks ago, I did a painting from Quimby Road in anticipation of entering this show. Up to three paintings can be submitted, so I found a few of my favorites over the last year or so I did with the Los Gatos Plein Air group. All three paintings made it into the show, shown below.

san jose, quimby

Along Quimby Road * 12×16

almaden, san jose

New Almaden * 8×10

san jose, eastridge

Eastridge * 10×8

“A Breath of Plein Air” Read More »