seascape

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!!

Sandy-by-the-Sea Gallery in Carmel wanted a few more of my miniatures, so I took a day trip to Carmel to drop off paintings and do a little plein air work. Nick White, one of my good plein air painting buddies came along. I decided I wanted to paint along the Big Sur coast in the afternoon rather than my usual morning stints, so we left around mid morning.

We arrived in Carmel around 11:00 and stopped by the gallery to drop off 5 small paintings, including one I just did at Elkhorn Slough, shown below.

Misty Elkhorn * 8×16 * Oil on board

After lunch, we headed down the coast to scout out a place to paint. What a wonderful day!! A large northwestern storm had sent huge swells down the coast and the entire Big Sur area looked like a sea of churning whipped cream. This same storm system was pounding Washington and Oregon with floods, even closing Interstate Highway 5.  I remarked to Nick that what looked like fog was actually mist kicked up from the churning water. The waves were probably 15 to 20 feet high and the ocean churn probably went over a quarter mile out.

We were at the southernmost tip of this storm system, so the sun was peeking in and out of the cloud cover. The painting mood today was definitely misty, gray, churning coastline! What a great time to paint!  Below is a shot from where we painted.

I had been doing a number of 8×16 paintings lately and really enjoyed the change from some of the more standard plein air sizes. With the grand panoramas before me, today was a good day to paint in that horizontally elongated size again. I set up fairly close to my car with a nice camping chair to occasionally rest and spare my back, so we painted for a couple hours.
Below is a shot of my easel with Nick painting down the hill a bit.

Here is me beside my easel and painting.

This is a quick snapshot of the painting sitting on my easel, the snapshot a poor representation of the painting, definitely a keeper, but maybe needs a little further touch-up.  I’ll try to get a better image in the next couple days.

We finished around 2:30 and then drove further down the coast for some picture taking and general sight seeing. We went as far as Bixby Creek Bridge, shown below. Notice what looks like fog in the background is actually mist kicked up by the surf.

All too soon, it was time to head home. What a great day trip!!

I had been wanting to take a day trip to Carmel for some time, as the gallery I show there, Sandy by the Sea, had been selling a number of paintings, and needed more. Also, a little plein air painting was in order. Originally, I planned to ride the Harley, but at the last minute, the gallery emailed wanting some larger paintings which I could not carry on my bike, so had to take the car. I emailed my good friend and fellow plein air painter, Nick White the night before, and he jumped at the chance to come along.

We left around 7:30 and made a beeline to Garrapata State Park, one of my favorite places. We settled on a spot, and commenced painting. The weather was beautiful, but quite windy! Below are a few shots from the spot.

A beautiful scene, some paints, and a blank canvas…what else could you want!!

My painting on the easel.

Nick painting.

When I went back to my easel after photographing Nick, I found the wind had blown my palette face down in the dirt! Luckily, only the edge had gotten dirty, and most my paints were still intact.

My painting…probably a keeper, but needs more work.

We headed back to Carmel for lunch at Cafe Stravaganza, one of my favorite lunch places. After lunch, we decided to head to Point Lobos State Reserve. We wanted to find a more sheltered place out of the wind to do one more painting.

Nick Painting.

The view of China Cove.

My second painting.

It was mid afternoon, and time to head to the gallery to drop off some paintings. As we were heading back into Carmel, Rick Mauck, owner of the gallery called, and asked when I would get there, as a collector was just in the process of purchasing one of my works. Well, we arrived in short order, and I met the collector. After visiting with the collector, Rick, and a little gallery hopping, it was time to head home.

So, for the day, I did two paintings of the California coast, experienced beautiful weather, visited a number of art galleries, and sold a painting!!

A fine day in Carmel, indeed!