Coyote Valley is a large expanse of farmland, orchards and homes located in the most southern part of San Jose, California Much of it is largely undeveloped and has been the subject of much controversy, as many in San Jose want to develop the land as a logical growth of the city, but many environmentalists want to keep it untouched.
I met the Los Gatos Plein Air Group here, for their usual Monday morning paint-out. We met at the corner of Palm Ave and Palm Court, right in the middle of the valley.
It was a wonderful morning! We had rain over the weekend which cleared much of the sky including haze which had seeped our way from the many fires in Southern California.
It was a great place for me to paint for now, as I could paint right by the car with my comfortable folding chair, and not strain my back too much!
I settled in and painted a fairly good scene of the farmland and California Hills. Below are some shots of the day.
Nick working on a masterpiece. Later, I think the owner of the farm was interested in purchasing the painting…way to go Nick!
Dave working away.
A shot of some of the group.
A picture of my work in progress on the easel. I draped a blue painting apron over the back to block the morning sun from my palette. You can make out a few unexpected visitors…the local hen population decided to join us for the paint-out.
The painting turned out quit well, I think a ‘keeper’, but it is lacking something. After bringing it home, I decided there needed to be a little more interest in the field in the lower right part. I might touch it up and put it on the blog in a couple days to see what you think.