seascape

FortyNine: Fog Time

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Continuing the “Creeks and Rivers of Silicon Valley” year long quest.

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San Francisco peeking above the fog. Photo courtesy Scott Loftesness*
San Francisco peeking above the fog. Photo courtesy Scott Loftesness*

 

The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.

Although some have attributed this quote to Mark Twain, he probably didn’t say it. Anyone who has lived in San Francisco or visited during the summer agree with that old saying.

 

Much of the coldness can be attributed to the fog which rolls in almost daily during the summer months along much of the coastline of California. The frequency of fog is due to a particular combination of factors peculiar to the region. San Francisco is bordered on three sides by water. Morning sun heats the ground further inland with temperatures reaching into the 90’s and 100’s. The hot inland air rises and the heavier cold ocean air rushes in to replace it. This flow from the high to the low pressure zone pulls the marine layer through the Golden Gate passage and into the bay. The marine layer is basically a layer of fog which hangs out in the Pacific Ocean.

I painted 49 by the Docktown Marina in Redwood City. Docktown consists of about 60 floating houses which are not quite houseboats and not quite houses, but they do float on the water. Lately the marina’s longevity has come under a cloud and it’s days may be numbered as Redwood City would really like to get rid of it. Redwood City used to have three waterfront communities where people lived aboard their boats or in floating homes, and Docktown is the last that remains.

Docktown sits at the mouth of Redwood Creek, a 9.5-mile-long stream which starts in the Santa Cruz mountains, and flows through the towns of Woodside and Redwood City before discharging into San Francisco Bay.

Signs of Silicon Valley are all around. Lowlands are being converted to houses and condos, with high tech companies popping up all over. Oracle, the worlds second largest software company, is just down the road. Oracle software is used to store much of the information on the Internet.

 

Click on a thumbnail to open up a larger picture***

Docktown homes.
A view of Docktown from across the slough.
Some of the locals.
The basic scene I was painting.
My easel on a pedestrian bridge across Redwood Creek.

Although it was quite overcast when I got to Docktown, the fog and clouds quickly dissipated. I have been wanting to include more wildlife in some of these works, so painted a white heron which was scouting nearby. The sun was just starting to peek through the fog.

 

Fog Time, 8x10, oil on board
Fog Time, 8×10, oil on board

 

    Coming up: Ghosts!

 

Click this link for a map of all painting locations along with each painting.
Click on this link for a Pinterest catalog of all paintings so far.

*Photo courtesy of long time friend and excellent photographer, Scott Loftesness. You can see more of Scott’s photos on his weblog here, or Flickr stream here.

***Email subscribers may not see all pictures. Just click on the title for a link to the online version.

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Twentyone: Baylands Fun

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Continuing the ‘Creeks and Rivers of Silicon Valley’ year long project. (Click here for complete info.)

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180 degree panorama from the Lucy Evans Center
180 degree panorama from the Lucy Evans Center

Ringing the lower San Francisco Bay is a wonderland of estuaries, marshes, ponds, tidal and fresh water habitats, accompanied by an amazing amount of small animals and particularly rich in bird life. It is a major migratory stopover on the Pacific Flyway and one of the best bird watching areas on the west coast.

The Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve is the largest remaing tract of undisturbed marshland in the San Francisco Bay area. Over the years, actually since the 1850’s, much of the bay’s shoreline had been converted to salt evaporation ponds for the production of sea salt. These are really quite pretty from the air. Much of that is being restored now to its natural state, but some still remain.

Once again, the Los Gatos group was out painting a place on my “to-do-list”, so I joined them again! We painted close to the Lucy Evans Nature Center. There was a good painting everywhere you turned. One friend in the Los Gatos group asked if this qualifies as a Creek or River in Silicon Valley. Most assuredly yes, I replied. The water is the estuaries formed by the San Fransiquito and Matadero Creeks as they empty into the bay.

Click this link for a map of all painting locations.

Some pictures of the day. You can now click on a thumbnail, then scroll directly from picture to picture—

The Los Gatos artists enjoying the day.
More of the local artists working away.
Teresa painting the estuary.
I set up right in front of my SUV in the parking lot.

I love the abstract shapes of the marshes with their islands of grass and the water reflecting the sky, so that was the focus of my painting. This is the first painting in the series which actually shows San Francisco Bay.

Baylands Fun, 8x10,oil on board
Baylands Fun, 8×10,oil on board

The distant shore is the East Bay Foothills above the Newark/Fremont area, and to the left going out of frame would be the Dumbarton Bridge. On the right distant shoreline, I indicated a few of the huge salt piles (which were really there). My guess is these are over 50 feet high. San Francisco Bay is the water just in front of the distant shore.

I plan on painting more around the bayshore before the project is finished. In fact will be painting on the distant shoreline looking back this way soon enough.

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Los Gatos Art Festival 2013

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Last week I participated in the Los Gatos Art Festival as an ‘invited artist’. I always enjoy this show as it is close, don’t have to travel, and familiar with the area. But mainly, the sponsors always treat us artists well!

I won’t go into many details of each day, but just a few notes and pictures on the activities…

Tuesday
We stamped our canvases in the morning, and I took off for Stevens Creek Park, and did a painting of the stream, mainly for a ‘warmup’. There was a mandatory artists reception/meeting that evening, so I didn’t want to stray far. I forgot to take a picture of the painting in progress, but a few scenes below for the day. (Click on any photo to see a larger version).

First scene I painted at Stevens Creek. I forgot to take a picture of the painting on the easel!
We had an artists reception and meeting Tuesday night.

Wednesday
This was my big ‘travel day’. I literally painted from the mountains behind my house, to the ocean. In the morning I went up Quimby Road behind the house and did a morning view of the Santa Clara Valley and downtown San Jose. Early afternoon I was in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park painting the redwoods and late afternoon at Sharktooth Beach near Davenport painting the ocean.

Painting by Quimby Road. My home is at the bottom of this hill, and it is a very steep and windy road! That is Silicon Valley in the distance
Painting in Henry Cowell State Park.
North of Santa Cruz and just south of Davenport. There were a number of paintings of this cove in the show this year.

Thursday
An artists luncheon was scheduled in Los Gatos, so I stayed around the San Jose area, McKean Road to be exact, and did a painting of a red barn right by the road. Little did I know, but the day before, a group of artists in the show painted the same red barn. I think there were about 8 paintings of that barn on exhibit!

The luncheon was at a Los Gatos residence, catered by Togo’s Sandwiches. After eating, I headed for the bathroom, and found a painting I sold last year at this event hanging on the living room wall!

My afternoon painting was a quiet spot on Coyote Creek right by Metcalf and Monterey Roads.

The red barn when I first arrived early morning.
My easel out painting along McKean Road
From last year.
Coyote Creek at the corner of Metcalf Road and Monterey Highway.

Friday
I went out early on San Felipe Road close to my house and did a painting of a Eucalyptus. The afternoon was spent in touch-up and framing.

That evening was a gala at a mansion in Los Gatos. It was a wonderful setting, and quite a crowd. The pictures below are before the crowds showed up.

Friday night Gala
Friday night Gala
Friday night Gala

Saturday
I delivered and hung all my paintings for the show…

My paintings at the Saturday exhibit and silent auction.
Another shot of the exhibits at the Los Gatos Art Festival

Below are the paintings in the show (I didn’t show the first painting from Steven Creek, as I feel it still needs more work)…

Downtown 16×20 Oil
Pathway in the Redwoods 8×16 Oil
Sharktooth Beach 8×10 Oil
The Red Barn 12×24 Oil
Coyote Creek 10×8 Oil
Eucalyptus Study 11×14 Oil

It was a good show with many strong works, however sales were quite disappointing, at least for me. It’s always fun, though, to paint, meet old friends and other artists!

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2013 Carmel Art Festival

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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.

Along Scenic Road
My easel painting along Scenic Road

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.

Painting Elkhorn Slough

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
Whalers Cove, Point Lobos

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

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.

Last Five Minutes of Glory
Elkhorn Vista
Whalers Cove
Hidden Beach

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.

Yours truly at the Carmel Art Show
Wider view of the paintings pavilion.

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!

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2nd Annual Plein Air Convention

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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!)–

Demoing at the convention
Demoing at the convention
Demoing at the convention
I finished the demo painting in the vendor hall.

Below is the finished painting–

Akaroa Lighthouse 12x16 Acrylic
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–

Hundreds of artists painting at the beach.
A Guinness World Record!

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 8x10 Oil
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–

Sitting in the middle is James Gurney, the author of the Dinotopia books.
Painting shoulder to shoulder along Monterey Wharf
Painting shoulder to shoulder along Monterey Wharf

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

Yours truly out painting with the group
Yours truly out painting with the group

And the painting–

Monterey Wharf 12x24 Oil
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!

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The Lands Down Under

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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
Picton Waterfront

My paint set laid out along the Picton waterfront.
My paint set laid out along the Picton waterfront.

Picton Harbor 8x10 Acrylic
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 Harbor

Akaroa Lighthouse
Akaroa Lighthouse

Akaroa waterfront, the scene for my first painting.
Akaroa waterfront, the scene for my first painting.

And some painting scenes–

Akaora Waterfront 9x12 Acrylic
Akaora Waterfront 9×12 Acrylic

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

Akaroa Lighthouse 8x10 acrylic
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
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.

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San Mateo Coast

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My nephew, Jeff was spending a few nights in a tent cabin at Costanoa, so I decided to ride the Harley up the coast and paint, spend a night, then paint back down the coast. I left around noon Monday, and my first stop was Greyhound Rock. It was nice painting there as I could sit on a park bench with my easel.

First stop was Greyhound Rock state park.
A fellow from Frankfort, Germany stopped by. After chatting a bit, he took a photo of me painting.
Here is a quick snapshot of the painting at Greyhound Rock. I left the lower right a little unfinished as it was time to move up the coast.
Next stop was Pigeon Point lighthouse. I have been planning on doing a large work of this coastal landmark, so decided to practice.

It was blowing so much, my canvas was shaking all over the place, so I didn’t even attempt to paint the lighthouse, but rather all the surroundings.

The tent cabin for the overnight stay. After a nice bbq steak dinner, and some campfire philosophizing, it was off to bed.
The next morning, I decided to stop at Greyhound Rock state park on the way back down the coast as the park benches were very welcoming.
A quick snapshot of the second painting by Greyhound Rock.

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Galerie Julianne and Big Sur

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Several weeks ago I received an email from a new opening gallery in Carmel, CA, wanting to show my work. I had been showing in Carmel up until a year or so ago, but that gallery became a victim of the poor economy. To make a long story short, I drove the 90 minutes to Carmel today and dropped off about a dozen paintings. The new gallery, Galerie Julianne, is still in the process of ramping up, but they are open & the gallery looks like a wonderful space in an ideal location. Carmel does not have street addresses, so, you can find them on Dolores Street between 6th and Ocean.

After finalizing everything with the gallery, I took off down the coast to paint and enjoy Big Sur. Below are a few shots from the day.

I stopped to do a painting at the below spot. I have been fighting a cold and congestion, so I tried to stay out of the brisk wind, but only lasted about 45 minutes painting, getting about half done…

I decided to just drive, hike, explore, snooze, and generally hang out until sunset. It was worth the wait.


There are a few more photos on flickr, which you can find here.

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California Art Club and Half Moon Bay

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California Art Club was having a paint out at Half Moon Bay today, so decided to go. I hadn’t painted with them in quite awhile, and it was a beautiful day. We actually met in Princeton by the Sea, several miles north of Half Moon Bay & site of the world famous Mavericks surfer contest.

Would have been a great day to take the Harley, but my back was a little sore from a ride last Thursday, so took the car instead. After arriving at Princeton, I found Karen and Kay, two of the coordinators of the event and also long time painting acquaintances. They directed me to a good place to park and places to paint.

It was truly a lovely day! Nice and sunny with an occasional wispy cloud. It was fun just being out there! I ended up painting two works, one of the boat harbor, and then another along a beach area. Below are some shots of the day.

Here is part of the boat harbor. I ended up doing my first painting from the break-water in the middle ground.

cachmb1.jpg

My first painting was this scene. It has been decades since I painted a boat, so was fun to try for a change.

cachmb2.jpg

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After a couple hours, I declared it finished…or at least as finished as it was going to get today. Below is a quick shot of the painting on the easel.

cachmb4.jpg

After completing the first painting, I wandered around and found some of the group close by painting the coastal magnificence.

cachmb5.jpg

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After a quick lunch of fish and chips, I ended up joining the group and painting the restaurant I just ate at..

cachmb7.jpg

All too soon, it was time to head home. It had been quite awhile since I had been out on a group paint out, and I have been starting to miss it! Time to start going more often!!

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Carmel Art Festival Day 4

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Today was the main event for the Carmel Art Festival. Judging was in the morning, a silent auction in the afternoon, awards ceremony at 5, and live auction at 6. After a leisurely brunch, I hung around the show while Josie went shopping in downtown Carmel. It was a good show. For the first time, you could bid for paintings online. All the paintings in the show can be found here.

Below is one of my paintings, followed by a few shots of my ‘panel’–

Soberanes, big sur, seascape, california
carmelartfest4a.jpgcarmelartfest4b.jpg

I ran into Eric Rhoads, publisher of Fine Art Connoisseur. Here is a photo of him taking a photo of Brian Blood, this years first place winner in the festival–

carmelartfest4c.jpg

A live band played–

carmelartfest4d.jpg

Live sculpting —

carmelartfest4e.jpg

The awards ceremony–

carmelartfest4f.jpg

All-in-all, it was a great show. I had been expecting slow sales, due to the economy, but paintings seemed to be selling at a brisk pace!

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