San Quentin Ca.

You'd never know from the peaceful setting that I was walking distance from death row, but there I was. This is some kind of pump house or something on Main St. heading to the main gate of the penitentiary. I drive by this spot everyday on my way to work, and decided to explore this beautiful little peninsula on my way home.

Down the street from San Quentin 6x8 O/P

There's a rather quaint little community outside the gates, and some stunning views overlooking the Bay, no wonder developers are salivating over the prospect of shutting down the prison. There was beautiful late afternoon light on this little structure just crying out to be painted, but the best light hit just as I was wrapping up ( of course!), the sky went all purples and reds, but it was just too late to add it's full intensity to my little sketch. I did sneak some in, but it's really another painting. Enough chasing of the light for one session. Even though the final product isn't much more than future reference for another painting, this was one of those sessions that make you glad to be an outdoor painter. Despite being a stones throw from the Richmond Bridge, it was somehow quiet, or maybe just muted. The weather was perfect, with balmy, gentle neo-Hawaiian trade winds, and then of course there was the evening light show. Perfect.

Yosemite Rocks

Rocks near the "Devil's Elbow" on the Merced River 8x8 O/P


A broken boulder on the Merced heading out of the Valley 8x10 O/P


A USGS marker? This was hammered into a big slab where I painted the above picture, way too close to the road.

Had a great birthday weekend in Yosemite. Perfect weather, did four paintings, and I even scored the very last camping permit in the Valley. Can't believe I haven't painted in two months, and it showed in my first attempt (which I've since burned). On Saturday I decided to hike up to Upper Yosemite Falls with my not-so lightweight paint gear in search of Germans, Brazilians, the French, and some great views, and I found them all in great abundance. The painting was no success, but it's hard to feel bad in such a beautiful spot. However I did curse myself for carrying all that gear for a "warm-up" panel. I've REALLY got to get my Thumb Box in order. After descending from my 7 mile stroll, there was still light left, so I was able to knock out a quickie of the Cathedral Rocks from near the base of El Capitan.

Sunday I kept to the river and walked down the Merced from the El Cap Bridge to a bend called the "Devil's Elbow". I was in deep concentration when I saw a little movement out of the corner of my eye, and looked up to see a little Black bear right behind the rocks I was painting. My reverie was broken by an ugly stream of tourists stopping their cars (in the middle of the road) and chasing down the poor bugger for a photo (into the middle of the road). Wildlife paparazzi. I didn't get the satisfaction of seeing the fuzzy little guy's mother chasing the tourist's though, too bad.

Cathedral Rocks 6x8 O/P

More Clouds

Clouds Over Zephyr Cove 8x10 O/P

Went up to Tahoe to attend a quick painting workshop, and it rained pretty good on Friday and Saturday. This was done on Sunday, and the sky was spectacular...

Cloud Study

Paso Robles Hammerhead 8x8 O/P

Spent a relaxing and productive weekend visiting some wonderful friends at their family ranch in Paso Robles. This was done in the shade under one the many great oaks on the property. After catching a gopher snake in the yard (by the tail!), I also kept an eye out for rattlers. I painted this very quickly... : )

Bayside

Dockside Crane 6x8 O/P

Stumbled upon a great spot a while ago and just got back to it last week for a quick after work paint session. Lots of cool boats, old and new and lots of cool old rusty junk, not to mention an honest to gooodness Victory Ship/museum. What was really cool, was there was no one around except one old guy who rode by on his bike and exclaimed "Plein Air" then gave me the thumbs up. True story!

Exercise

Inspired by the bold colors of Mike Dutton and Bill Cone, I decided a little exercise was in order.

Lunch time behind Costco in Novato 6x8 oil on cheap ass cardboard

There are a number of things that have been bothering me about my paintings lately, and I wanted to address them with this sketch. I've noticed on several paintings, that my colors are looking muddy and also my brush work seems to be lacking finesse, and lastly, back to color, I feel I've been approaching color too literally. So with this sketch, done quickly during lunch, I tried to really concentrate on these issues (with the exception of brushwork, which I chose to make a non-issue altogether by focusing on color as very basic SHAPES). For starters, I did this painting on cheap ass card board, which due to it's unfinished surface, really sucks the moisture/medium out of your paints. This forced me to do a couple of key things when mixing and applying color. You can't be lazy (which I've found myself getting lately) or stingy with your paint. You have to really mix a big pile of color, and lay it on thick or else you can' get any color down at all. Doing this, makes you more aware of the color you're mixing, not just idly adding dabs here and there, you have to be decisive, which can lead to boldness! So active thought in color mixing and application was one thing I tried to work on. I continually had to fight the urge to dabble, instead mixing a pile of color for EACH color note. Color choice was the other thing I tried to play with, I like the expressive use of color used by the Impressionists as well as the Tonalists, and I'm trying to keep in mind how they implemented color by pushing and exaggerating (even substituting) various colors for effect and mood. The painting above is godawful, but I really feel like it was a valuable lesson for me in concentration and being truly conscious. Which of course brings up all other kinds of debates about intuition and going with the flow or being in the zone. I've never claimed to have any answers.

This next painting, done the same day, basically chucks away everything I tried in the previous painting : ) It was the end of the day, and I was getting shut down again trying to find a nice spot to paint in Marin (how can you NOT find something in China Camp? Sheesh!) When Mike texted me that he wanted to paint in Berkeley. How could I resist? I was saved! Well it was blowing a gale out at the Albany bulb, so we decided on an old stand by, the cement plant on 2nd and Cedar. The light was perfect when we rolled up, which of course meant that it would be gone in about 15-20 minutes, which it was. We finally had to call it quits when the industrial sodium street lights kicked on. But, the lights also came on at the cement factory, and that will make a really cool nocturne! Another time...

Berkeley Cement Plant 6x8 O/P

An Early Bird Returns

Got up early on Tuesday to hit the hills with a new flock of Early Birds, and a few returning ones. It was a gorgeous day and I really enjoyed being surrounded by some truly great artists, I hope they post their pics over at the Early Bird Site.

Mike's Experiment 6x8 O/P

I love seeing Bill and Mike's pieces over at the Early Bird site, their expressive use of color is nothing short of inspirational. And speaking of inspirational, Bill has a show up over at the Studio Gallery of some absolutely stunning pastel paintings of the Sierra that he's been hoarding for the last few years. See it NOW! What are you waiting for? You can see a few on his blog too.